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The model of economic hardship (Conger et al. 1990) guided the current longitudinal study examining whether perceptions of relational aggression (love withdrawal/social sabotage) mediated the relationship between financial distress and marital quality concurrently (2009) and over 2 subsequent years (2010 & 2011). A modified dyadic longitudinal mediation model explored associations among 335 two-parent, heterosexual, married households following the recent economic recession. Data from three waves (2009, 2010, & 2011) of the Flourishing Families Project revealed that perceptions of social sabotage and love withdrawal partially mediated the relationships between both spouses’ financial distress and both spouses’ marital quality in 2009, but not in 2010 or 2011. Other findings, including indirect effects, and implications for research and practice are discussed.

The current study used a multi-generational and qualitative approach to examine perceptions of what parents/grandparents taught their children/grandchildren about finances. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 98 participants consisting of 77 college students, 13 parents and eight grandparents. Team-based qualitative analyses of these interviews revealed three consistent themes: (1) the importance of setting financial goals, (2) planning and acting to meet financial goals, and (3) understanding the time value of money. About 70% of participants mentioned at least one of the three main themes in their interviews. In general, parents and grandparents held regret for not providing financial lessons earlier in life, while students demonstrated gratitude for helpful conversations and good examples from parents. Implications are discussed for practitioners, educators, and parents.

Objective Although research has investigated financial planning for retirement, less is known about how adults plan their retirement activities. Even less is known about couples’ congruence and incongruence in retirement activities planning. The authors examined husband and wife reports of retirement plans across a 5-year period that involved a U.S. economic recession. Method Using data from 335 midlife couples who participated in the Flourishing Families project, retirement plans were grouped into five categories—family, leisure, volunteer, work, and uncertain. We estimated probit dyadic structural equation models to explore longitudinal predictors of retirement plans. Results Results indicated mean differences in retirement plans between husbands and wives, and also across time that might have been influenced by surrounding economics. Wife poor health, number of children, both spouses working, and financial assets were linked with the likelihood of reporting certainty in retirement plans. Greater retirement uncertainty was predicted by lower marital quality, higher financial adjustments, lower education, and ethnic diversity. Conclusion Husband and wife reports of retirement plans are not always congruent, and plans in retirement can be affected by large scale changes in the U.S. economy.

Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, an actor-partner interdependence model explored change in the frequency of disagreements and marital outcomes among 796 paired couples, early in marriage. Disagreements about money, time spent together, and the sexual relationship increased over 5 years. Money disagreements predicted disagreements about time and sex for husbands. Spillover findings showed disagreements about money and sex were related negatively to marital satisfaction. Disagreements in all three areas predicted marital instability for husbands, although only disagreements about money and time predicted marital instability for wives. Crossover findings showed husbands’ disagreements about money to be related negatively to wives’ marital satisfaction. Implications of the current findings are discussed.

Using data from interviews with 28 older couples in which 1 spouse was diagnosed with diabetes and osteoarthritis, we examined illness perceptions and coping activities as they relate to illness management and relationship resilience. Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts revealed categories of data related to perceptions, coping, and cross category comparisons. Findings suggest that couples experience both negative and positive perceptions of their illnesses, indicating a balance between the reality of their illness challenges and an optimistic outlook of the future. Coping activities included a variety of tasks and were performed by individuals, by both spouses in a shared effort, and by individuals and shared couple efforts. Findings highlight the complexity of individual and shared couple illness perception and couple efforts in managing multiple-chronic illnesses.