04 Jan Health decline, relationships and happiness
BYU study: Health decline makes happier couples
Associated Press – January 3, 2009 1:25 PM ET
PROVO, Utah (AP) – A Brigham Young University study says that couples who have one member experiencing a decline in health report a happier marriage afterward.
The study is published in November’s Research on Aging medical journal.
BYU researcher Jeremy Yorgason says the reason why happiness goes up was outside the scope of his research, but men under 55 reported an increase in marital interaction when they or their spouse suffered a disability.
However, the change isn’t a big one. On a scale of 1 to 30, most people in a couple in which one member is disabled rated their happiness a single point higher. Women under 55 reported no change in happiness when their husbands became disabled.
All other groups reported they were happier.
More information at: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldextra.com