At some point during any relationship, especially throughout the course of a marriage, questions related to the level of happiness of both individuals are likely to arise. While every marriage goes through ups and downs, spouses who appear best equipped to weather the marital tides are those who keep the lines of communication open.
It’s seems fairly obvious that communication is a crucial element to the success of any relationship, especially a marriage. Yet, according to research, many spouses don’t communicate effectively and a lack of communication can lead to feelings of resentment, mistrust and even contempt which ultimately serve to drive a wedge between spouses.
The results of a relationship study of more than 3,500 married couples were recently released. For the study, researchers from the University of Virginia asked couples to provide answers to two questions both during the newlywed phase of their marriage and six years later.
First, individuals were asked how much happier or worse off they would be without a spouse. These individuals were then asked to answer the same question related to their spouse’s level of happiness.
Not surprisingly, individuals who miscalculated a spouse’s level of happiness were more likely to divorce. The results of this study serve as an important reminder about the importance of keeping an open and honest dialog in a marriage. Spouses who don’t communicate effectively or who aren’t honest in their communications with a spouse are more likely to have or develop misconceptions about a relationship which can ultimately result in conflict, mistrust and even divorce.
Source: Daily Mail, “Is your marriage heading for a lifetime of happiness or divorce? TRACEY COX reveals the two simple tests that will tell you,” Tracey Cox, Feb. 26, 2015
