Li, Yiting2025-01-282025-01-282022-08https://hdl.handle.net/11299/269645University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. August 2022. Major: Family Social Science. Advisors: Virginia Zuiker, Tai Mendenhall. 1 computer file (PDF); vi, 106 pages.Young couples nowadays tend to get married later in life compared to prior generations (Olson et al., 2008; Olson et al., 2019). However, they continue to face challenges related to managing their finances. Although getting married later can mean having more assets and higher incomes, research shows that money – as a general topic – endures as a source of conflict (Archuleta, 2013; Eiger & Schiavone, 2016; Mao et al., 2018). Olson et al. (2008), for example, found that finances are more frequently cited as a conflictual topic than other subjects (such as sex or health), even for relatively happy couples. Others have found that financial conflicts are still one of the most frequently cited grounds for relationship dissolution, relational aggression, and divorce (Dew et al., 2012; Garbinsky et al., 2019; Olson et al., 2008; Olson et al., 2019; Totenhagen et al., 2019; Wheeler et al., 2019).The common adage that “birds of feather flock together” (Curry & Dunban, 2013) means that similarities in core values and beliefs among couples make for higher attraction, happiness, and relational longevity (Bahns et al., 2017; Burleson et al., 1994; Montoya et al., 2008). Totenhagen et al. (2019) found that shared financial values between couples positively predict relationship satisfaction. However, couples often bring different values from their respective families of origin, and it can thereby be challenging for them to come to common ground(s) without healthy and effective communication. Research has shown that early parental interactions over finances, for example, are strong influencers on the creation of young adults’ personal financial values (e.g., money as a means of security, status, or pleasure), knowledge (e.g., about compound interest, investing options), behaviors (e.g., saving versus spending, credit card use, debt accumulation versus repayment), and outcomes (e.g., financial security versus insecurity) (Jorgensen & Savla, 2010; Shim et al., 2010; Xiao et al., 2014). These socialized influences from parents can have long-lasting impacts on young adults’ later lives, especially when they commit to a relationship or marriage. Studies found that when young adults form relationships with others who have similar goals and values about finances, they tend to do well in terms of marital and financial satisfaction (Archuleta, 2013; Archuleta et al., 2013). Many have focused on how parents influence individuals’ behaviors, but not many have considered how parental financial interaction influences young couples in their married life (Mao et al., 2018; Shim et al., 2010; Xiao et al., 2014). Several factors have been found to be in direct association between financial matters (e.g., financial values and beliefs, financial knowledge, financial distress, financial infidelity) and relationship satisfaction, such as gender, financial planning, and interpersonal power (Ford et al., 2020; Garbinsky et al., 2019; LeBaron et al., 2019; Rea et al., 2016; Totenhagen et al., 2019; Wheeler et al., 2019). It is also important to note, however, that no two people will join a committed relationship with exactly the same opinions or values about money. Therefore, it is important for young couples irrespective of their parental financial interaction and family background start to learn how to communicate about difficult topics, including finances. Healthy communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution are thus important; couples who are equipped with these skills (or develop these skills) are bound to fare better. Couples, who purposefully engage in cooperative conversations about their respective financial socializations that they have retained, and who co-create new solutions/plans regarding money management, tend to report higher overall relationship satisfaction (Kerkmann et al., 2000). Those who do not do this are more likely to be unhappy and/or leads to divorce (Archuleta et al., 2013; Dew et al., 2012; Mao et al., 2018; Totenhagen et al., 2019; Wheeler et al., 2019). Current understandings are underdeveloped, however, regarding the factors that differentiate couples who do all of this well versus those who do not. Over the past decade, extant literature regarding couple communication and parental financial interaction has evolved separately (Afifi et al., 2018; Falconier, 2015; Williamson et al., 2016). A paucity of attention has concentrated on how (a) couple communication has a direct association between financial disagreements and couples’ relationship satisfaction, and (b) how parental financial interaction continues to have direct effects on young couples’ financial distress and/or overall relationship satisfaction. The purpose of the two-part dissertation presented here was to build upon extant literature to inform helping professionals – and the couples they serve – with wisdom to assist in the successful navigation of dyadic communication about financial values, beliefs, and behaviors. Few studies have focused on Asian couples, more specifically their finances and their relationship satisfaction. Therefore, the first study utilized hierarchical multiple regression to test the factors that impact relationship satisfaction for Asian married participants. The work was guided by social exchange theory (Thibaut & Kelley, 1959). Further, because of the paucity of literature focusing on Asian couples per se, it is still unknown whether Asian Americans react similarly or differently compared to Caucasian Americans regarding their parental financial interaction, their finances, and their relationship satisfaction. Therefore, the second study utilized hierarchical multiple regression to examine and compare the financial situation, couple financial situation, parental financial influences, and couple relationship situation. This effort was guided by life course perspective (Bengtson & Allen, 2009). It specifically examined financial distress in Asian participants who are in the early developmental stages of marriage (i.e., newly married), and addressed how early parental financial communication and current financial support influence overall relationship satisfaction mediated by couple financial stress.enAsianFamily Financial SocializationFinancial DisagreementIntimate RelationshipsParental SupportRelationship SatisfactionThesis or Dissertation