When It Comes to Marriage, a New Study Shows One Partner's Feelings Matter a Lot More Than the Other's — Guess Which One It Is

What's good for the goose...

A new study from Rutgers University confirmed what married men have known to be true for eons: If a wife is happy with her marriage, her husband will feel better about life.

The reverse relationship — a satisfied husband making his wife happy — didn't seem to be true.

“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 Rutgers sociology professor. ”Men tend to be less vocal about their relationships and their level of marital unhappiness might not be translated to their wives.”

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According to the university, researchers looked at 394 couples, with an average marriage length of 39 years, who were part of a 2009 national income, health and disability study.

Couples' happiness and satisfaction were measured with a combination of detailed diaries and ranking tests, and in all of the couples, at least one of the spouses was 60 or older.

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

Interestingly, the study found that women tended to get sad when their husbands fell ill, but when their wives got sick, men didn't care nearly as much.

(H/T: Science Daily)

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