Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Tuesday December 04 2018, @08:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the selection-bias? dept.

Hang in There. As Couples Age, Humor Replaces Bickering:

Honeymoon long over? Hang in there. A new University of California, Berkeley, study shows those prickly disagreements that can mark the early and middle years of marriage mellow with age as conflicts give way to humor and acceptance.

Researchers analyzed videotaped conversations between 87 middle-aged and older husbands and wives who had been married for 15 to 35 years, and tracked their emotional interactions over the course of 13 years. They found that as couples aged, they showed more humor and tenderness towards another.

Overall, the findings, just published in the journal Emotion, showed an increase in such positive behaviors as humor and affection and a decrease in negative behaviors such as defensiveness and criticism. The results challenge long-held theories that emotions flatten or deteriorate in old age and point instead to an emotionally positive trajectory for long-term married couples.

Journal Reference:
Alice Verstaen, Claudia M. Haase, Sandy J. Lwi, Robert W. Levenson. Age-related changes in emotional behavior: Evidence from a 13-year longitudinal study of long-term married couples.. Emotion, 2018; DOI: 10.1037/emo0000551

A sense of humor is key.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Tuesday December 04 2018, @10:58PM (1 child)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday December 04 2018, @10:58PM (#769833) Journal

    Age 40 is about when most men have a mid life crisis. This is because the realization suddenly hits them that they are not going to live forever. Many of the dreams they had in their 20s and 30s of what they would do 'someday' are not going to get done. Ever.

    So they look for a new partner half their age. A flashy new car. Etc.

    I think it has been nice to grow old with some dignity and skip that. But I also pray a lot. In my view, I am just passing through this clown circus of a world we live in.

    --
    To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Interesting=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   4  
  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Gaaark on Wednesday December 05 2018, @12:44AM

    by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday December 05 2018, @12:44AM (#769877) Journal

    I look at it as "Do I want to be able to hold my head up in life?"
    Also, am I a good role model for my kids?

    Am I comfortable with 'me'?

    And I am.

    My wife and I watched a movie on Netflix a few nights ago: Leisure Seeker, I believe it was called. It's about this old couple. He has senility or Alzheimer's setting in deep an she has cancer. They decide to go on an RV travel adventure.


    At one point, he starts talking to his wife like she's some other woman: THAT'S how she finds out he had an affair on her.

    My wife will never have that problem.

    I DON'T pray, I just walk the walk like I WAS religious because that's how I want to live my life.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---