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New research has found that there is another predictor of divorce. It is called the Happiness Gap. The Happiness Gap is a disparity between the levels of happiness in two marriage partners. For instance, the wife might be very happy in the relationship, but the husband is only somewhat happy. Or possibly vise versa. The study found that you cannot be happier than your partner. If you are happier than your partner, it will increase the likelihood of you divorcing.
It is also interesting to note that divorce is more common when the husband is feeling better about the relationship than his wife. Whenever the husband is feeling happier about his life than the wife is feeling about her life then it is more likely that the unhappy wife will consider divorce.
There are some factors that increase the Happiness Gap and some factors that decrease the gap. These traits widen the gap and create a higher potential of a break-up of the relationship.
• When the wife is lumbered with most of the housework.
• When the husband and wife have different social backgrounds.
• Higher average income.
On the other hand, the following traits help close the Happiness Gap.
• Couples are matched in social backgrounds (same social friends, same social experiences, came from the same types of social backgrounds and groups).
• Couples have a common religion
• Couples share the chores
• If the woman is a housewife, a student or is retired
When couples are in the same tier of happiness their marriages ware much more likely to last and succeed. The couples with a wider gap of happiness between them are more likely to split. The reason for this is that if the gap becomes too big then the relationship is no longer mutually beneficial. My advice to avoid this is to pay attention! Tune into your partner and try to understand their level of satisfaction and happiness. Figure out, "Are they happy?" If one partner is not paying attention to the other, then the gap starts to widen and the relationship erodes.
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