Married Couples who Split Chores have Happier Unions

Equally dividing who does what in a marriage can help prevent fights and ultimately determine whether a couple stays together, according to a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois.

For the study, researchers looked at 220 heterosexual newlywed couples and discovered that wives who believed in equal sharing of housework were a lot happier if their husbands felt the same way.

Researchers found the results particularly interesting as an equal divide between who did what was essentially more important than holding similar beliefs and behavior.

"These results were interesting because usually marital satisfaction is studied in only one spouse. Here we were able to see what happens when there's a discrepancy in spouses' attitudes on this issue," said study co-author Brian Ogolsky, a professor of human development and family studies, via WebMD.

"If a woman believes that household chores should be divided equally, what happens if they adopt a traditional approach to the matter? The most satisfied couples have similar expectations and follow through on them."

However, Ogolsky noted that how a couple goes about dividing the household tasks is determined on an individual basis through each partnership.

"Newlyweds need to thoughtfully plan how they can make their expectations about sharing chores work out in real life, especially if the new spouses strongly value gender equality in household labor. This issue will only matter more after children start arriving," Ogolsky said.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Sex Roles.