Couples who share the household chores are happier
Canadian academics have found that couples who share the domestic chores around the house are most likely to feel contented in their relationship. The new findings are the result of a study in 2006 by the British Economic and Social Research Council. They show that the traditional model of the man going out to work and the woman staying at home to look after domestic chores and the children does not necessarily result in a happy relationship.
The data was taken from a number of surveys where 50,000 individuals replied to questionnaires about how they conducted their lives. The results showed that marriages where man goes to work and his wife stays at home resulted in him becoming stressed about finances and her generally feeling unfulfilled. The research suggested that women who did not work were worried about being left stranded by the death if their husband or as a result of a divorce. The same problems occurred when it was the husband who stayed at home whilst his wife went out to work. In this situation the study found that the woman was becoming stressed and the husband more unhealthy.
The best partnerships were found to be those in which both husband and wife shared the housework and both went out to work. The research also suggested that these couples either had no children or children who were old enough not to need constant care. Rod Beaugot, the project’s lead researcher said that it was the ’shared roles model’ that was most likely to avoid burn-out for one or both partners.
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