Pushed Together or Pulled Apart? Economic Stressors and Romantic Relationship Quality

Abstract

Previous research indicates that romantic partners’ relationship quality is associated with poverty and material hardship. Few studies have used longitudinal data to incorporate changing economic circumstances over time, included a range of economic factors, or investigated the role of social support in this association, however. Using five waves of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we extend prior work by evaluating the association between multiple economic stressors and romantic relationship quality over time, and whether social support explains or alters this association. Changes in economic stressors are associated with changes in romantic relationship quality over time, particularly nonstandard work and material hardship. Social support neither explains nor moderates this association in most cases. This study confirms the stress process perspective, showing how economic and work-related stress can proliferate into family life, but does not support the contention that social support buffers families against stress proliferation.