Economic Predictors of Marital Quality Among Newly Remarried Rural and Urban Couples

Abstract

Guided by family stress theory, this study compares newlywed samples of remarried couples from rural and urban areas. More than 900 men and 1,000 women in remarriages responded to questionnaires that assessed their economic pressures, family characteristics, and relationship quality. On socioeconomic characteristics, rural and urban couples differed. Urban couples were more educated, had smaller households, and had higher incomes. However, both samples reported high levels of satisfaction and low levels of relationship instability. Regression analyses identified gender differences in the economic predictors of relationship quality. For wives, both marital satisfaction and marital instability were predicted by financial concerns. For men, relationship outcomes were related to the ability to make ends meet. Material needs (having enough money to afford necessities) also predicted marital satisfaction for women, but not marital instability. Implications for family life education are provided. Family scholars have observed that couples experience diverse challenges based on different stages and types of marriage. For example, newlywed couples generally experience greater dyadic adjustment difficulties than do more-established marriages (Carrere, Buehlman, Gottman, Coan, & Ruckstuhl, 2000). Remarriages, especially those involving stepchildren, encounter additional relationship stress due to the complexities unique to stepfamily life (Ganong & Coleman, 2004). Previous research on marital quality in rural America has shown that rural couples, in general, exhibit decreased marital stability and satisfaction. These studies associate their findings with the economic pressures that are characteristic of rural areas (Conger et al., 1990, Conger & Elder, 1994). Collectively taking into account the literature on new marriages, remarriages, and rural marriages, we hypothesize that newly-remarried rural couples may experience considerable difficulties regarding marital satisfaction and instability. Specifically, using a sample of newly remarried couples from rural and urban areas, we investigate the rural influence of economic pressure upon self-reported marital instability and marital satisfaction. Several economic variables, which have been implicated in the extant literature as stressors in rural communities (i.e., financial pressure, income, family size, and education level) are examined in order to understand their influence on couples in this stage and type of marriage.