As Leo Tolstoy put it, “all happy families are alike”. How exactly they are alike has been tested in an Internet-based study, involving 2,201 people referred by couples’ counselors.
Researchers were examining seven key “relationship competencies” that had previously been found important in promoting happiness in relationships.
Those seven are:
- communication
- conflict resolution,
- sex or romance,
- stress management,
- life skills,
- knowledge of partners
- self-management.
According to the results of the study, published by The Time, the winner was effective communication. Those who talk and listen to each other are most satisfied by their relationships. The next two critical factors were knowledge of partner (everything from knowing their food preferences to aspirations and fears) and life skills (successfully holding a job, managing money, and other practical stuff). Other factors, including sex, romance, as well as self- and stress-management does not seem to play a critical role in the family satisfaction. Just the cherry on the pie.