Stability of a Marriage Depends on Wife’s Happiness

The stability of a marriage depends on the wife's happiness, a new study has found.

According to researchers at the Rutgers University, the more happier a wife is about the marriage, the more content the husband is whether he really is happy with the marriage or not.

"I think it comes down to the fact that when a wife is satisfied with the marriage she tends to do a lot more for her husband, which has a positive effect on his life," said Deborah Carr, a professor in the Department of Sociology School of Arts and Science. "Men tend to be less vocal about their relationships and their level of marital unhappiness might not be translated to their wives."

For the study, researchers used data from 394 couples. The participants were part of a national study that assessed income, health and disability. The couples were married for 39 years on a average.

The participants were asked several questions about their married life such as whether their spouse argues with them, understands them or appreciates them. They were also asked to write down their feelings about the previous 24 hours that they spent with their spouses.

Most of the study participants gave high scores to their marriages, with men being more positive about the quality of their marriage than women.

"For both spouses being in a better-rated marriage was linked to greater life satisfaction and happiness," Carr said in a news release.

The study is important because it describes the factors to a healthy marriage. Past research has shown that happily-married people have lower risk of several chronic diseases such as heart disease and are less likely to die from cancer. University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have found that stressful marriages can increase depression risk.

The study is published in the Journal of Marriage and Family