PROVO — A new study by a Brigham Young University professor suggests that the way couples view money may have just as much impact on their marriage as the way they spend it.

Jason Carroll, an assistant professor of family life, conducted the research with a pair of then-student research assistants, Lukas Dean (now at Texas Tech) and Chongming Yang (now at Duke University). The study looked at 600 couples from across the nation from various ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds.

Their research found that couples in which at least one spouse is highly materialistic are 40 percent more likely to have financial problems that can put a strain on their marriage, regardless of income level.

"To me, it was an interesting topic, particularly for young families that are just starting out and trying to establish what they want for their quality of life," said Carroll, whose primary area of research is marriage.

Carroll said the conclusion that materialism can put a strain on a marriage is "common sense," but said the truly interesting finding was that materialism could decrease marriage satisfaction even in higher-income couples.

"Even for couples with higher income levels, if materialism gets high enough, it sets a low threshold, and as soon as the finances become stretched, it creates a problem for that couple," Carroll said.

Carroll pointed out that two couples with similar finances — but with different outlooks on materialism — could react to the same situation in different ways.

A couple that places a premium on having the best will experience financial stress when they can't afford it, which in turn could decrease their satisfaction with their marriage. For the couple that doesn't place importance on those items, not being able to afford them causes less or no stress.

"Financial problems are as much a result of how we think about money as how we spend it," Carroll said.

Tammy Heaton, a licensed marriage counselor based in Orem, said the study's findings made sense.

"I think with a lot of couples, one of the things that gets in their way are expectations," she said. "Money is just one of the issues in which expectations can play out, but it can create major problems."

Heaton said she has also seen the expectations spouses hold prior to getting married lead to problems in other areas, including family violence, pornography and roles within the marriage. The key to overcoming unfulfilled expectations, Heaton said, is flexibility.

"If you're flexible with your expectations, you can accommodate your spouse and adapt to the situation," she said.

The research topic was originally proposed by Dean when he was a student at BYU. Dean, now pursuing a doctorate in financial counseling at Texas Tech, told Carroll he was surprised that in all his training and all the literature, the focus was always on money management and never on perceptions of money.