Unconditional Cash Transfers and Romantic Relationship Outcomes

What is it about?

Economic hardship puts strain on intimate bonds. As a result, couples living with low incomes in the United States experience greater relational distress relative to couples with more financial resources. One potential approach to improve low-income couples’ relationships might be addressing and ameliorating couples’ financial difficulties. This study tested this possibility using secondary data from the Baby’s First Years project, a randomized controlled trial of ongoing unconditional cash transfers to mothers. We examined the impact of receiving $333/month (relative to $20/month in a control group) on mothers’ relationship quality and relationship stability.

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Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash

Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings show that altering financial circumstances (via unconditional cash transfers) only had a positive impact on relationship quality for a subset of mothers (those living in a more affordable area that lacked other financial supports). For most mothers, perhaps this additional monthly income was insufficient to mitigate the various stressors many were likely navigating (e.g., expenses of raising young children, housing instability, financial volatility, and underemployment). Combining unconditional cash transfers with other supports that reduce systemic inequities is an important future direction for this work. Ultimately, to comprehensively understand the impact of unconditional cash transfers, we need to consider the broader contexts in which families are embedded.