14 DAY TRIAL // New studies are showing that constant fighting and bickering within a couple can lead to enduring physical and mental effects. Day-to-day conflicts can severely affect the health of one or both partners in the long term, investigators say.
Thus far, the most relevant studies on the issue have only been conducted on the immediate impact conflicts have on a couple. The researches were also conducted in the controlled confines of scientific laboratories, which means that they had little applicability in the real world.
The new study was conducted by psychologist Dr. Angela M. Hicks, who holds an appointment with the Department of Psychology at the Westminster College, in the United Kingdom.
She and her team published their results in a recent issue of the scientific journal Personal Relationships. The work was focused on analyzing the effects of fighting the day after conflict occurred, which is a new twist for such investigations,
One of the things experts were keen on keeping under observation was that different types of emotional attachment they were dealing with. No two members of the same couple are equally involved, and the team wanted to use this difference as way of getting a better view into the couple dynamics.
“We are interested in understanding links between romantic relationships and long term emotional and physical well-being. Our findings provide a powerful demonstration of how daily interpersonal dealings affect mood and physiology across time,” Hicks explains.
“We already know from prior research that people in stable, happy marriages experience better overall health than do those in more conflicted relationships,” the team leader goes on to say. She conducted the work with University of Utah colleague Lisa M. Diamond.
“We can now further conclude from our current research that individuals who are in insecure relationships are more vulnerable to longer-term health risks from conflict than are others,” she adds.
Together, the researchers kept track of 39 pairs of people, who were living in cohabiting relationships. The end goal was to determine the intimate relationships were influencing long-term health and, if so, to what extent was the phenomenon being felt.
After fighting, couples had a tough time sleeping. Those who were most anxious in general were a lot more likely to lose large amounts of sleep over the arguments, PsychCentral reports.