Americans’ economic worries may be bleeding into family life in toxic ways. People with insecure jobs often say they’re resigned to that insecurity, according to research by University of Virginia sociologist Allison Pugh. But such people act differently from those in more secure financial situations, she found. They have higher—and more rigid—expectations of their partners, for example.
“The precariousness of work makes couples anxious about commitment, especially when they don’t have a significant financial cushion,” Pugh said. At the same time, people with fewer economic advantages often see marriage as a big deal, a “capstone event,” she said. “To have them then be less likely to be happy in marriage seems like the toughest kind of bait-and-switch.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.