Financial stress disrupts communication in couples

According to a new study, the more stressed people are about their finances, the less likely they are to talk about money with their romantic partners.

By recognizing the impact of financial stress on the willingness to communicate and exploring strategies to overcome obstacles, couples can strengthen their bonds and work together toward financial well-being.

Using both real-world correlational data and experimental data, researchers found compelling evidence that financial stress plays a significant role in hindering communication between partners about finances.

The article titled “Discussing Money with the One You Love: How Financial Stress Influences Couples’ Financial Communication” was published June 15 in the journal Journal of Consumer Psychology.

“That’s the first thing that fascinated us about this topic: The financially stressed people who most need to have these conversations are the least likely to have them,” said Emily Garbinsky, associate professor at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, who co-authored the paper with Suzanne Shu, a professor at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and Nirajana Mishra, a postdoctoral associate at Yale University.

According to the study, financial stress, characterized by feeling overwhelmed by expenses, struggling to meet financial obligations, and worrying about managing money, affects a staggering 70 percent of Americans. They found that even objectively affluent individuals can experience financial anxiety, and that this type of stress not only creates conflict but also depletes cognitive resources, making it more difficult for individuals to engage in financial constructive conversations with their partners.

Shu and Garbinsky found that a common strategy for dealing with anticipated conflict is to avoid it altogether, and that when individuals expect that discussing financial matters with their partner will lead to conflict, they are more likely to avoid these conversations. Importantly, what the research team finds is that this avoidance stems from the belief that financial conflicts with a partner are perpetual rather than resolvable.

The researchers conducted several studies to validate their results. They first analyzed survey data from thousands of participants who responded to either the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s National Financial Well-Being Survey or a survey conducted by the National Center for Marriage Research.

Both sets of survey results confirmed that higher levels of financial stress are associated with less communication about finances with a partner. Additionally, a pilot study found that individuals anticipate more conflict when discussing financial stressors compared to other common stressors, such as work-related issues.

Research also suggests that changing individuals’ perceptions of financial conflict could potentially improve communication between partners.

“When individuals view financial conflict as an issue they can resolve as a team, rather than a perpetual, long-lasting disagreement, they are more willing to initiate conversations about money with their partners,” Shu said. “This finding highlights the importance of reframing how couples approach financial discussions to foster healthier patterns of communication.”

Moving forward, future research could explore interventions aimed at normalizing financial stress, potentially reducing its impact on communication between partners. Additionally, researchers could study how stressors from other areas, such as time management, influence couples’ willingness to communicate.