Everybody knows that financial strain can be difficult on a marriage, and can in some cases even be a fast track to divorce.

A recent study conducted at the University of Virginia looked at how the longest economic recession since Great Depression has affected marriages. Among other things, the study found that the recession has had the dual effect of strengthening some marriages and weakening others.

Couples between the ages of 18 and 45 were included in the survey. Of the 1,197 couples surveyed, around 29 percent said the economic recession had put financial strain on their marriage.

Over one-third of the couples surveyed said they worried often or nearly all the time about finances.

Around 12 percent reported struggling to make mortgage payments or actually experienced a home foreclosure, and another 29 percent said they experienced unemployment or reduced pay or hours because of the recession.

Of the couples who had experienced a minimum of two types of financial struggles, 20 percent reported being at high risk for divorce. On the other hand, of those who reported being relatively unaffected by the recession, only 7% reported being at a high risk of divorce.

Around a third of the surveyed couples said they held more strongly onto their marriages because of the recession. Around 38 percent of the couples who were survey reported that they had considered divorce prior to the recession, but postponed their decision. This latter point corroborates other studies showing a decrease in divorce rates since the beginning of the recession.

It is supposed that part of the reason come couples have put off divorce is because of their inability to afford lawyers and maintain two households after the divorce.

Fifty-two percent of the couples who reported that the recession strengthened their marital commitments also reported being in a "very happy marriage." On the other hand, only 25 percent of those who reported their marriages were not strengthened by the recession reported being in such a marriage.

As might be expected, the study also found that couples without a college degree were more likely to report economic difficulties. But only 4 percent more of the couples with college degrees reported having "very happy marriages" compared to couples without college degrees.

The name of the study is "Survey of Marital Generosity" and was conducted on behalf of the University of Virginia's Marriage Project.

Source: The Washington Post, "Study shows recession has weighed heavily on American marriages," Annys Shin, 7 Feb 2011.