Terres, Scott Jon2018-10-262018-10-262011-12https://hdl.handle.net/11274/10607At a time when much if not all of the world is feeling the financial pinch of an economic recession, the attitudes that people and couples specifically, hold toward money could be the difference between weathering a financial storm or facing the specter of mounting debt and monetary uncertainty. Little scholarly research exists that can adequately measure money attitudes in individuals and couples and next to nothing exists in the reviewed literature that pertains specifically to same-sex couples in this area. This study utilized a 34 item survey, without modification, created by Edward J. O'Brien III, PhD., during his dissertation research with the intent learning more about the general money attitudes held by individuals or couples. Specifically, the study focused on the money attitudes in self-identified same-sex couples in a committed relationship for a minimum of 5 years in comparison to heterosexual married couples who had also been together for a minimum of 5 years. In order to be included i the research, both members of the couple had to complete the survey. Those results were then used to examine the money attitudes in same-sex couples vs. heterosexual couples based on the subscales of (1) flexibility, (2) evil, (3) responsibility,(4) self-esteem, (5) opportunity, (6) well-being and (7) confidence, the established constructs put forth in the O'Brien Attitude Toward Money Scale. Additionally, participants were asked to complete 6 voluntary demographic questions that were not included in the original study. The data was collected using SurveyMonkey.com and the statistical test used was the ANOVA. A total of 20 same-sex couples and 21 heterosexual couples returned usable data that figured into the statistics. The researcher found that there is no statistically significant difference in the scores between the two groups in overall score on the O'Brien ATM nor was there any statistically significant difference in the constructs of the O'Brien ATM.en-USPsychologyHeterosexualMoney attitudesSame-sex couplesDissertation