According to a recent study, new parents' marital status is the number one predictor of whether or not they will stay together. It doesn't matter how rich or well educated they are, cohabiting parents are at least twice as likely to split up as married parents of similar income or education. The author of this […]

While no study has documented how frequent these clashes have become, therapists agree that the green issue can quickly become poisonous because it is so morally charged. Friends or family members who are not devoted to the environmental cause can become irritated by life choices they view as ostentatiously self-denying or politically correct. Those with […]

A happy marriage can reduce heart disease risk in ways not previously understood. This research showed that couples that were more hostile to each other had more calcification in the arteries that provide blood flow to the heart, even without any physical risk factors for cardiovascular disease. It appears that hostile marriages seem to increase […]

New data collected from nearly 9000 participants between ages 51 and 61 at University of Chicago shows that divorce and widowhood have a long-lasting negative impact on health. The research also indicates that even re-marriage doesn't restore good health. Read More.

Researchers studied the changes among a group of 1400 people from Finland-starting from when they were all aged 50, then again 20 years later. They found that the individuals with the greatest risk for Alzheimer's disease were those who were widowed or divorced at midlife and remained so. The authors suggest that having a partner […]

Researchers from Indiana University analyzed data on 3.8 million people diagnosed with cancer between 1973 and 2004. This study looked at 5 and 10-year survival rates for the following groups: married, widowed, divorced, never-married, and those going through a separation at the time of diagnosis. Married people, more than any other relationship status, have the […]

Couples have many ways of dealing with conflict, many of which are not productive. Here are a few suggestions for handling conflict with the one you love: 1) set aside time with your partner specifically for addressing conflict and emotionally charged issues; 2) Take timeouts when you or your partner need some time to cool […]

In her blog, Tara Parker Pope introduces an idea to "pre-empt marital strife" as she describes some of the research now taking place in marital maintenance. She cites the work of Dr. James V. Cordova who is researching the benefits of annual marriage checkups. Preliminary findings show that these checkups can increase the quality of […]

Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson met, were engaged, and were married within a four month period in 1934, while Prince William and Kate Middleton dated for nine years before becoming engaged. Researchers suggest numerous reasons that couples are putting off marriage include education, finances, and wanting to work out problems before committing. Read more.

Hostile and distressing interactions with a spouse are linked to problems with a partner's physical health. Learning skills such as how to argue in a healthy way, accepting partners for whom they are, not yelling at yellers, limit venting to others about your relational problems and recalling the lessons from happy times can not only […]