Study establishes link between marital bliss and genes

Researchers have found a major clue in genes that establishes a link between marital bliss and a specific form of the gene, says a study.

A gene involved in the regulation of serotonin can predict to what extent our emotions affect our relationships, according to a new study that may be the first to link genetics, emotions, and marital satisfaction. The study was conducted at University of California Berkeley.

"An enduring mystery is, what makes one spouse so attuned to the emotional climate in a marriage, and another so oblivious?" said UC Berkeley psychologist Robert W. Levenson, senior author of the study published online in the journal Emotion, reports Science Daily.

"With these new genetic findings, we now understand much more about what determines just how important emotions are for different people."

"We are always trying to understand the recipe for a good relationship, and emotion keeps coming up as an important ingredient," said Levenson, who heads a study group that has tracked over 150 married couples for more than 20 years.