To see what issues couples most and least often reported as topics of marital disagreement, survey data were analyzed for 113 African-American and 131 Euro-American couples reporting in the first and third years of marriage. Friedman tests showed that in both the first and third years of marriage, money was most often reported as a topic of marital disagreement; tensions about leisure, each spouse's family of origin, and children were reported significantly less often; and tensions about religion were reported least often. Findings were very similar for African Americans and Euro-Americans, and for husbands and wives. Overall, findings show considerable stability in the relative frequency with which specific topics reportedly evoke tension early in marriage.
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