After 17 years of following the lives of 192 couples, the
researchers at the
University
Of Michigan School Of Public Health
and its psychology department made public their findings. Surprisingly, their
study found that couples who express their discontent and release their anger
live longer than those couples who suppress their anger, and choose to say
nothing to their partner. The researchers took into account factors like age,
smoking, weight, heart risks, when making the survey.
According to one of the authors, Ernest Harburg, the couples
fall into four categories: couples in which both spouses expressed their anger,
couples in which one spouse communicates its discontent while the other one
suppresses it, and couples in which both spouses suppressed their anger.
"Comparison between couples in which both people suppress their anger, and
the three other types of couples, are very intriguing," said Harburg,
professor of the University
Of Michigan School Of Public Health
and the psychology department.
Moreover, bottling up one’s anger can cause heart disease
and high blood pressure. "This keeps a constant turbulence in your body
that influences any other medical maladies you have," Harburg said.
Professor Harburg also emphasizes the importance of reconciliation and problem
solving.
The survey also found that more than one in ten individuals
from both sexes wished they had married someone else, and that half of husbands
considered their marriage “loveless”.
Researchers advise spouses to speak up their problems and
not hide their anger, protest if they are offended, and don’t feel sorry having
released their rage.
The study is due to appear in the January edition of the
Journal of Family Communication, and covers the period between 1971-1988, and
it was carried out in a small middle class town in Michigan. Professor Harburg mentioned that
this study represents the “preliminary” part of their research, and that they
are now collecting 30-year follow-up data.
