main components of the journey

knowledge, facts, underlying research

clarifying how we want to be in our relationships

supporting each other in initiating and sustaining changes

happiness & marriage

this graph averages figures from two US national surveys

it shows percentages of single, married and divorced people who rate themselves as “very happy” single married divorced

18.5

25.5

35

41.5

18.515.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

single married divorced

men womenVeroff J et al The inner American

New York: Basic Books, 1981

% saying they are “very happy”

marital state & mental disorder

this graph is of rather dated US statistics

it shows the ratio of never married, divorced, & widowed people with mental disorder compared with the married

3.1

1.7

5.1

2.82.5

1.4

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

men women

Gove WR The relationship between sexroles, marital status, & mental illness

Social Forces 1972;51:34-44

increased risk when unmarried

nevermarried

divorced widowed

adult relationships can heal high quality relationships in adulthood

can heal the negative effects on mood of earlier poor quality parenting

conversely poor quality adult relation-ships can damage mood despite high quality parenting during childhood

there is a danger too that poor parenting is a bit more likely to be associated with poor adult relationships because of damage to interpersonal competence

Hickie I et al Perceived dysfunctional intimate relationships: a specific associationwith non-melancholic depressive subtype J Affect Disord 1990;19:99-107Palosaari UK et al Parental divorce, self-esteem & depression: an intimate relation-ship as a protective factor in young adulthood J Affect Disord 1995;35:91-6

marital satisfaction & the life cycle

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

satisfaction

marriedwithoutchildren

child-bearing

pre-schoolchildren,oldest 5

schoolchildren,

oldest 5-12

teenagers,oldest12-16

first childgone to

last leaving

emptynest to

retirement

empty nestto death of1st spouse

Argyle M The psychology of happiness London: Routledge, 1987

Rollins-Feldman

Locke-Wallace

Blood-Wolfe

British study