Protect your relationship from external stressors (DW#635)
The stress of life often has a negative impact on our relationships. This is why relationships are more likely to struggle when there is financial hardship, job insecurity, poverty, immigration or sickness in the family.
A research study from the University of Georgia done a few years ago suggests that gratitude in the midst of life’s challenges can protect marriages from the negative effects of such life challenges.
The researchers in this study were particularly interested to find out whether perceiving gratitude from one’s spouse could protect couples from the damage that challenges external to the relationship, specifically economic ones, can wreak on a marriage.
The results showed that spousal gratitude was the most important predictor of marital quality, regardless of the couple’s levels of financial strain, or other external stressors on the marriage.
Interestingly, although conflict did increase during times of stress, this conflict was not associated with worse marital outcomes for couples that consistently expressed gratitude to each other.
Allen Barton, the lead researcher of the study believes that gratitude might have a "Teflon-like" effect on a marriage. "Gratitude can really help create an environment where negative events such as a financial hiccup or a work stress simply bounce off and don’t have the same negative effect", he said.
So it appears that gratitude in the family can help protect the family from experiencing the negative outcomes associated with increased life stressors.
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