When a big credit card bill hits or the rent is due, that stress can bleed into our closest relationships, adding another source of tension between partners.
But according to a new study out of the University of Florida, a partner who provides emotional support – rather than simply trying to solve the financial problems at hand – can reduce how much stress spills over from financial worries into the relationship dynamic.
“Economic issues are increasingly important nowadays, so we wanted to understand how couples handle economic stress, how this can influence their relationship stress and how couples can deal with it,” said Zhongchi Li, a graduate student in psychology at UF and lead author of the new study.
Li and UF Professor of Psychology Gregoy Webster , Ph.D., surveyed 84 unmarried couples about their levels of financial and relationship stress. Each member of the couple filled out a baseline survey. For the next seven days, the couple reported their stress once a day.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, couples who faced greater financial stress when the survey began also reported more stress in their relationships. But the researchers also asked couples about how they coped with this stress. In particular, the surveys focused on two support mechanisms: emotional support and problem solving.
One was a clear winner, at least during the week-long survey period.
“For financial stress, we found that the most important thing is for partners to show more emotional understanding, show care and be supportive of each other, rather than simply giving them solutions to the problem,” said Li. “Partners who receive more emotional support reduced the spillover of financial stress onto the relationship.”
However, the study was limited to the seven-day diaries. Webster said future research could follow couples over months rather than days, tracking stress around paychecks, rent and other recurring financial obligations to see how relationships are affected in the long term.
For people living paycheck to paycheck, Webster said, a relationship can provide a buffer against financial stress — or compound it, depending in part on how partners communicate.
The study was published Sept. 3 in the journal Personal Relationships.
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