DNA Linked to Marital Satisfaction: Relationship Bliss or Blues Depends on Genes

Will your marriage succeed or fail? Whether or not you're headed toward wedded bliss may have more to do with your DNA than anything else. It turns out that a gene involved in the regulation of serotonin can predict how much our emotions affect our relationships. This, in turn, could impact a person's marital satisfaction.

"An enduring mystery is what makes one spouse so attuned to the emotional climate in a marriage, and another so oblivious?" Robert W. Levenson, senior author of the new study, in a news release. "With these new genetic findings, we now understand much more about what determines just how important emotions are for different people."

In order to learn a little bit more about relationships, the scientists examined 156 middle-aged and older couples. They followed these couples from 1989 and had them report in every five years to tell scientists about the state of their relationship. More recently, though, 125 of the volunteers provided DNA samples. The researchers were able to match their genotypes with their levels of marital satisfaction and the emotional tenor of their interactions.

In this case, the researchers discovered a link between relationship fulfillment and a gene variant, or "allele," known as 5-HTTLPR. Every child inherits a copy of this gene variant from each parent. However, the researchers found that study participants with two short 5-HTTLPR alleles were the most unhappy in their marriages when there was a lot of negative emotion, such as anger and contempt. In contrast, the volunteers with one or two long alleles were far less bothered by the emotional tenor in their marriages.

That's not to say that couples with different variations of 5-HTTLPR are incompatible. Instead, it's more likely that those with two short alleles are likelier to thrive in a good relationship and suffer in a bad one.

"Individuals with two short alleles of the gene variant may be like hothouse flowers, blossoming in a marriage when the emotional climate is good and withering when it is bad," said Claudia M. Haase, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Conversely, people with one or two long alleles are less sensitive to the emotional climate. Neither of these genetic variants is inherently good or bad. Each has its advantages and disadvantages."

The findings reveal a little bit more about how crucial DNA is to determining how a person acts and interacts with their environment. In this case, it turns out that relationships aren't just based on the environment; they're also based on your genetics.

The findings are published in the journal Emotion.