What's (Not) Wrong With Low‐Income Marriages

In the United States, low marriage rates and high divorce rates among the poor have led policymakers to target this group for skills‐ and values‐based interventions. The current research evaluated the assumptions underlying these interventions; specifically, the authors examined whether low‐income respondents held less traditional values toward marriage, had unrealistic standards for marriage, and had more problems managing relational problems than higher income respondents. They assessed these issues in a stratified random sample that oversampled low‐income and non‐White populations ( N = 6,012). The results demonstrated that, relative to higher income respondents, low‐income respondents held more traditional values toward marriage, had similar romantic standards for marriage, and experienced similar skills‐based relationship problems. Low‐income groups had higher economic standards for marriage and experienced more problems related to economic and social issues (e.g., money, drinking/drug use) than did higher income respondents. Thus, efforts to save low‐income marriages should directly confront the economic and social realities these couples face.