Materialism may erode marriage

Materialism could be harmful to marriage, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy Thursday. The researchers collected online "relationship assessment" questionnaires from 1,734 U.S. married couples. The questionnaire covered the topics about the couples' marital satisfaction, conflict patterns, marital communication, and marriage stability, and so on. Non-materialistic couples were about 10 to 15 percent better than those materialistics in their marital satisfaction, marriage stability and conflict levels, according to the study. "What we found was a general pattern that materialism seems to be harmful to marriage," said study researcher Jason Carroll, a professor of family life at Brigham Young University. It didn't matter whether the materialistic spouse was the man or the woman, he added. However, materialism is not simply black-or-white: some couples can pursue their fortune and keep their relationship strong at the same time, the researcher suggested. But breaking their materialistic thought would be helpful for most couples, Carroll concluded.