William Atkins
Sunday, 12 April 2009 18:58
Science -
Health
Page 2 of 3
According to the University of Denver article “
New research shows children take a toll on marital bliss,” the study was conducted by Brian Doss, Texas A&M, and Howard Markman, Galena Rhoades, and Scott Stanley, all from the University of Denver.
Their paper appears in the
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
In the April 8, 2009 DU article, DU psychologist
Scott Stanley, one of the authors, stated,
“Couples who do not have children also show diminished marital quality over time. However, having a baby accelerates the deterioration, especially seen during periods of adjustment right after the birth of a child."
The study also found that couples who lived together before tying the knot experienced more problems that those who did not live together before marriage.
Of interesting note, couples whose parents fought or were divorced also experienced more problems than couples who did not live together before marriage.
In fact, in the April 10, 2009 Denver Post article “
Study: Marital bliss plummets after birth of first child,” Dr. Stanley said the couples who had the “
biggest jolt at baby time” were couples that were the most romantic before he baby arrived
Dr. Stanley, who is also the co‑director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of
Denver, added,
"Declines are somewhat normal in marriage. For those having children, they are going to be more concentrated around the time that you have children." [Denver Post]
Page three concludes with some good news for some married couples with children.
