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Imagine knowing that you are having a poor relationship with your partner but marrying them anyway?
Hard to believe, however a recent research study which polled 716 Singaporean couples found that thirty nine per cent were unhappy in their relationship, and only fourteen per cent described themselves as very happy.
But no worries they were getting married anyway!
Obviously the search for soulmate should continue for the majority.
Have they bought into all the studies about the positive effects of marriage that show increased wealth, lower stress levels etc but missed the last three words..for happy couples!
The most recent research on the positive effects comes from Ohio State University.
"Marriage is good for both men and women," says Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor and director of the psychiatry department at Ohio State University.
Positive marital relations translated into lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The lower the cortisol, the faster compounds are delivered to a wound to kick-start the healing process. A correlated study of older married couples -- married an average of 42 years -- found that lower cortisol levels helped reduce the risk of infectious diseases and perhaps cancer.
Arguments between husbands and wives weakened their immune systems, making them more susceptible to illness, the study found. In revisiting these couples 10 years later, the researchers found that elevated hormone levels from the earlier studies had been the best predictors of divorce -- 19 percent of the couples had split, all of whom had higher levels for three of four stress hormones monitored: epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine, adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at
March 18, 2005 09:54 AM