Financial Stress as an Antecedent of Financial Snooping Attitudes

Times of financial stress are riddled with uncertainty about the future. When faced with financial stress, some couples may attempt to re-establish a sense of control by engaging in financial snooping: looking at their partner’s financial information without their knowledge. In a series of studies, we examine financial stress and anxiety as predictors of financial snooping attitudes. In an initial study (N = 197), individuals who reported greater financial stress and financial anxiety reported more positive attitudes toward financial snooping. This link remained even when controlling for objective financial stressors (income amount and income volatility), relational predictors (attachment, trust), and demographic variables. In two experimental studies (N = 176; 288) participants were randomly assigned to either a momentary high financial stress condition or a low financial stress condition. The condition did not affect financial snooping attitudes, though correlational links between measured financial stress and positive snooping attitudes were replicated along with identifying several additional correlates of financial snooping attitudes (less trust, more anxious attachment, more income volatility, less financial harmony, less shared financial values, more trait suspicion, more general intrusive attitudes all predicted more positive snooping attitudes).