Ask any couple what most of their arguments are about, and a good percentage will say that financial issues are the cause of much of the relationship troubles. How those arguments affect entrenched couples differ, but a new study out of Kansas State University has put couples in the early part of their relationships on notice: fighting about money now will lead to a lot of headaches and heartaches in the future.
"Arguments about money [are] by far the top predictor of divorce," Sonya Britt, a KSU researcher told The Huffington Post. "It's not children, sex, in-laws or anything else. It's money—for both men and women."
Britt was a part of a group at the university to release a study titled "Examining the Relationship Between Financial Issues and Divorce" and published in 2012 in Family Relations journal. It surveyed data from more than 4,500 couples as part of the National Survey of Families and Households. Beside the predictive nature of the results, the study also noted that money fights are more intense and last longer than anything having to do with in-laws or children.
"It doesn't matter how long ago it was, but when they were first together and already arguing about money, there is a good chance they are going to have poor relationship satisfaction," Britt said.
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Divorce Study: Financial Arguments Early In Relationship May Predict Divorce (Huffington Post)