Marital happiness depends on genes
The genetic foundations of a happy marriage have been found
As reported in the press release of the university (Married bliss or blues? Scientists link DNA to marital satisfaction), the results of the study are published online in the journal of the American Psychological Association Emotion (Haase et al., The 5-HTTLPR Polymorphism in the Serotonin Transporter Gene Moderates the Association Between Emotional Behavior and Changes in Marital Satisfaction Over Time).
The group, led by psychologist Robert W. Levenson, has worked with 156 middle-aged and older couples for more than 20 years, starting in 1989. Every five years, each of the spouses told psychologists about their feelings about the emotional side of marriage. In addition, the spouses were offered to communicate with each other in laboratory conditions, which allowed researchers to assess their real relationship based on facial expressions, "body language", tone of voice and topic of conversation.
125 participants of the study submitted samples of their DNA, which allowed the authors to compare their genetic profile with the stated level of satisfaction with marriage and the emotional tone of conversations with their spouse during laboratory testing.
It was found that people who inherited a shortened version of the serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR from each of their parents (about 17 percent of participants) had a strict correlation between the emotional tone of communication with their spouse and the declared degree of satisfaction with marriage. As it turned out, for such people, good, warm relations with their spouse are of paramount importance, with the predominance of a negative emotional background, they feel very unhappy in marriage and vice versa, with the prevalence of positive emotions, they are extremely happy.
As for the participants who inherited one or two "long" alleles of the 5-HTTLPR gene, for them the emotional tone of communication with their spouse either did not affect the degree of satisfaction with marriage at all, or it affected to a very small extent.
"Individuals with two "short" alleles are like houseplants blooming in marriage in a favorable emotional climate and wilting in the opposite case," explained Levenson's co–author Claudia M. Haase. "At the same time, people with one or two "long" alleles are much less sensitive to the emotional climate of marital relations."
As Levenson noted in this regard, "the results of the study show that not only in early childhood, but also throughout life, we are maximally influenced by our genes."
The 5-HTTLPR gene, which plays a key role in the serotonergic neurotransmitter system of the brain involved in mood regulation, is known as the "happiness gene", since the level of serotonin transmission depends on its variability. The "short" variant of the gene causes a reduced level of serotonin transfer and increases the risk of depression, while the "long" variant, on the contrary, increases the level of transport of the "hormone of joy" and contributes to greater life satisfaction.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru09.10.2013