This study examines relationships between economic distress and family satisfaction and the effects of social integration on these relationships. The sample includes 1,561 married respondents between the ages of 18 and 65 who were interviewed as part of the 1983 and 1986 General Social Surveys. Results indicate that the income components of economic distress are related to family satisfaction while the employment components are not. Economic distress is negatively related to social integration; social integration is positively related to family satisfaction. One aspect of social integration, satisfaction with friends, partially mediates the relationship between economic strain and family satisfaction. Patterns of relationships are similar across sex and occupational subgroups.
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