The Vancouver Sun
For better or for worse, happiness is linked to marriage
The notion of "happy wife, happy life," is given credence by recent research led by a Canadian psychology professor -- and the same seems to hold true for the influence of husbands.
A study led by the University of British Columbia's Christiane Hoppmann, published in the American Psychological Association's Developmental Psychology journal, suggests married couples share notable similarities in happiness levels over their years together.
The report was based on an analysis of existing data initially intended for other research. It compared the self-reported mood patterns of 178 married couples in the Seattle area between 1956 and 1991.
The researchers noted much more similarity in the happiness levels among married couples as compared to random pairings of men and women.
"Not only did spouses report similar levels of happiness when they entered the study, but when there were changes in happiness in one spouse, that did have an effect on the other spouse as well," Hoppmann said Friday.
Hoppmann said it's not surprising to find that husbands and wives' moods are closely linked, but added that it is "novel" to see it documented scientifically like this.
The study also involved researchers from the University of Washington and Pennsylvania State University.
Hoppmann said it adds to a growing body of research that shows just how psychologically linked married couples appear to be.
Other studies, for example, have shown that married people tend to experience similar degrees of deteriorating mental abilities as they age together.
"There is a lot in terms of shared lifestyles, shared stressors that create those outcomes," Hoppmann said.
She said this recent study did not determine whether a person who is happy would have more of an effect in lifting the mood of the other, whether a sad spouse would be more likely drag down the happier one, or whether they would meet somewhere in the middle.
"That's the next step we are going to take," she said. "That's the important question."
The analysis was based strictly on marriages between men and women, so it did not consider same-sex marriages or common-law unions.
However, Hoppmann said her "hunch would be" that a correlation of emotions would show up within all kinds of close relationships.
"If people share important experiences, know each other very well and spend a lot of time over a long period of their lives, then chances are, that's going to have an impact on your respective other," she said.
As well, Hoppmann noted that this research involved couples who were married to the same person for multiple decades, something that has become less common among younger generations.
She said other research has shown less correlation among couple's moods in which the members have been in multiple marriages.
A study led by the University of British Columbia's Christiane Hoppmann, published in the American Psychological Association's Developmental Psychology journal, suggests married couples share notable similarities in happiness levels over their years together.
The report was based on an analysis of existing data initially intended for other research. It compared the self-reported mood patterns of 178 married couples in the Seattle area between 1956 and 1991.
The researchers noted much more similarity in the happiness levels among married couples as compared to random pairings of men and women.
"Not only did spouses report similar levels of happiness when they entered the study, but when there were changes in happiness in one spouse, that did have an effect on the other spouse as well," Hoppmann said Friday.
Hoppmann said it's not surprising to find that husbands and wives' moods are closely linked, but added that it is "novel" to see it documented scientifically like this.
The study also involved researchers from the University of Washington and Pennsylvania State University.
Hoppmann said it adds to a growing body of research that shows just how psychologically linked married couples appear to be.
Other studies, for example, have shown that married people tend to experience similar degrees of deteriorating mental abilities as they age together.
"There is a lot in terms of shared lifestyles, shared stressors that create those outcomes," Hoppmann said.
She said this recent study did not determine whether a person who is happy would have more of an effect in lifting the mood of the other, whether a sad spouse would be more likely drag down the happier one, or whether they would meet somewhere in the middle.
"That's the next step we are going to take," she said. "That's the important question."
The analysis was based strictly on marriages between men and women, so it did not consider same-sex marriages or common-law unions.
However, Hoppmann said her "hunch would be" that a correlation of emotions would show up within all kinds of close relationships.
"If people share important experiences, know each other very well and spend a lot of time over a long period of their lives, then chances are, that's going to have an impact on your respective other," she said.
As well, Hoppmann noted that this research involved couples who were married to the same person for multiple decades, something that has become less common among younger generations.
She said other research has shown less correlation among couple's moods in which the members have been in multiple marriages.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/better+worse+happiness+linked+marriage/3893217/story.html#ixzz16VHfEpID
********************************************************
http://dreamlearndobecome.blogspot.com This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment