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Having and Holding Better than Getting and Spending

  • Religion Today Religious persecution, missions, Christianity around the world
  • Updated Oct 17, 2011

A recent study in the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy shows a distinct relationship between materialism and marital health, WORLD News Service reports. According to the study, married couples that strongly value material things tend to have less marital stability, satisfaction and communication skills than those who don't, regardless of how much money they actually make. Researchers measured materialism by asking subjects how strongly they agreed with statements like "I like to own things to impress people" and "Money can buy happiness," then discussed aspects associated with healthy relationships. Twenty percent of couples admitted both partners tended to be materialistic; these couples had the worst relationships. On the other hand, 14 percent of couples said both partners had low levels of materialism, and these couples scored 10 to 15 percent higher on all measures of marital satisfaction and quality.