The Determinants of Financial Disagreements in Russian Families

Abstract

Western researchers highlight financial arguments between spouses as the key predictor of family disruption and divorce. Moreover, such arguments between partners are defined as the most difficult and prolonged. Meanwhile, the topic of money in general is considered an utter taboo in society, due to the underlying matter of power. However, the question of what are the determinants of financial disagreements emerging remains a blank spot in a vast body of research devoted to marital conflicts and financial management. This study is an attempt to fill this gap and answer questions about what may lead to their occurrence. At the theoretical level, it was suggested that there are 5 aspects that influence financial disagreements: financial management in the family, the distribution of power and household responsibilities, each spouse’s contribution to the family budget, their employment and financial difficulties in the family. The empirical study is based on the Survey of Consumer Finance data of the 2013 wave, as well as three methods of analysis (classification trees, logistic regression and log-linear analysis). The data shows that the main determinants of frequent disagreements about money in families are: the combination of a cohabitation form of relationship and independent financial management, a couple consisting of a non-thrifty husband and a wasteful wife. To decrease the frequency of financial arguments, it is vital for a man to have traditionalist attitudes and a higher degree of satisfaction with making financial decisions compared to a woman.