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Science & Medicine

STRESSED OUT

By Karen Kaplan
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They say money can’t buy happiness. But financial strain can certainly help undo a relationship.

Seventy percent of Americans said they had so much debt it contributed to distress in their home lives.

Money is the No. 1 source of disagreement in the early years of marriage.

In a survey of 1,001 people, more than half considered money a sensitive topic in their households; 40% admitted they lied to their spouses about how much they spent on something.

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The odds of violent behavior are nearly six times higher for people who lose jobs.

The financial strain of job loss reduces overall satisfaction in a relationship.

Job loss can cause depression or other symptoms of poor mental health and affect a spouse’s mental health.

Women are more likely to get distressed when husbands lose jobs than vice versa.

Workplace stress can contribute to domestic violence.

After annual household income tops $50,000, there is no correlation between money and happiness.

-- Karen Kaplan

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Sources: 2004 book “The Two- Income Trap”; 2003 study in Psychological Reports; 2005 survey in Money; 1993 study in Hospital and Community Psychiatry; 1996 study in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; 1988 study in Archives of General Psychiatry; 2004 study in Journal of Family Psychology; 1997 study in Journal of Applied Psychology; 2008 study in Psychological Services
Science & Medicine
Karen Kaplan

Karen Kaplan covers science and medical research for the Los Angeles Times. She has been a member of the science team since 2005, including 13 years as an editor. Her first decade at The Times was spent covering technology in the Business section as both a reporter and editor. She grew up in San Diego and is a graduate of MIT and Columbia University.

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