Valentine's Day gifts can bring problems - Your Life - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Jan, 2002

"Gifts can send a very strong message, and one that is easily misinterpreted," cautions Robert Billingham, associate professor of human development, Indiana University, Bloomington. "This is especially true if the giver presents a nice gift believing it will lead to sexual intimacy. This is something done too often by men, usually with disastrous results."

Billingham, who has more than 20 years of teaching and research experience in interpersonal relations, marriage and family, and romantic relationships, says Valentine's Day should be "a reflection of a relationship between two people, but it has become overmarketed to the point where, if a gift doesn't match expectations, it can really create stress in a relationship. One of the biggest mistakes made, usually by men, is to overspend the relationship. If the couple are newly together, giving expensive jewelry as a Valentine's Day gift may actually scare the other person away."