Daniel S. Hubler

The ‘ring by spring’ (RBS) phenomenon entails pressures for college seniors on Christian campuses to become engaged by the spring semester of their senior year. These marital pressures often run counter to national trends in the USA as the median age at first marriage continues to climb. The social clock theory suggests that society places a normative timetable on major events such as marriage. But the social clock may not happen the same way for all people, and influences on Christian campus may represent deviations from most normative social clocks. This study investigated RBS awareness, experiences, pressures, and perceptions, along with assessing for differences in gender and religiosity across multiple universities, both Christian and not, across two different states. Results show wide awareness and experience with RBS at many universities along with some notable differences by gender and religiosity. Implications are provided for researchers and practitioners based on study findings.

Numerous studies have focused on the intergenerational transmission of poverty, financial stress, and family functioning. Other research has shown how financial stressors can predict various family processes, including parent–child interactions, family conflict, and couple communication, and relationship outcomes, including marital stability and satisfaction. This study shows continued evidence that financial stress from the male and female partner's family of origin may predict marital dissatisfaction using dyadic data techniques. Also, an exploration of indirect paths also found that the presence of current financial stress partially mediates these associations.