A husband’s agreeable personality and good health can prevent conflict among older couples who have been together a long time, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of Chicago found that such characteristics in wives play less of a role in limiting marital conflict, perhaps because of different expectations among women and men in durable relationships.
‘Wives report more conflict if their husband is in poor health,’ said the study’s lead author, James Iveniuk, PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology.
‘If the wife is in poor health, there doesn’t seem to be any difference in terms of the quality of the marriage for the husband,’ Iveniuk said.
The study reported results from a national survey with data analysed from 953 heterosexual couples who were married or cohabitating in the US.
The study participants ranged in age from 63 to 90 years old and the average length of their relationships was 39 years.
The survey compared the characteristics of the husbands to the characteristics of their wives and vice versa based on interviews with each person in which they were asked to describe themselves.
Iveniuk and co-authors found many gender differences when they examined personality traits including openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and anxiety. (Read: 5 expert tips to keep shaadi ke side-effects at bay!)
They added a new measure called ‘positivity’, an overarching characteristic described as a person’s overall desire to be seen in a positive light.
‘Wives whose husbands show higher levels of positivity reported less conflict. However, the wives’ positivity had no association with their husbands’ reports of conflict,’ Iveniuk said.
Co-author Linda J Waite said the study’s measurement of marital conflict could be summarised as, ‘How much does your spouse bother you?’
The clashes are not primarily about fighting or violence, but rather whether one spouse criticises the other, makes too many demands, or generally gets on the other person’s nerves.
Another finding of the study was that men who describe themselves as neurotic or extraverts tend to have wives who complain more about the quality of the marriage.
Men with self-described neurotic wives may consider worrying to be a more ‘gender-appropriate’ role for women. Husbands reported more criticism and demands from their wives overall, but also higher levels of emotional support.
The study was published by the Journal of Marriage and Family.
Here are various types of sex to make your sex life steamier than ever before!
Quickies
Quickies are the option when a couple doesn’t have much time on their hands, and one of them giving oral sex before leaving for work, petting to climax in the car at a drive-in movie, or using vibrators to have orgasms without a lot of foreplay late at night, can help in the marriage, Huffington Post reported.
Romantic Sex
‘Romantic Sex’, which including a nice candle night dinner, quiet talking, dressing up, perhaps a lovely hotel room, or a romantic dinner for two, is the perfect recipe for a steamy night.
New Couple Sex
‘New Couple Sex’ is where the couple recreates a scene from their dating days, and try to rekindle the romance by doing exactly what they used to at the onset of their courtship. (Read: 8 types of sex to spice up your marriage!)
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