How the way a man rows with his wife shows which illness he’ll get in old age
IT’S no great surprise that bickering with your other half can have an impact on your health.
But just how serious depends on what type of row you have, scientists have found.
Research shows that the way husbands and wives argue can be linked to specific health problems later in life.
Scientists say they can determine some husbands’ medical complaints for 20 years following a 15-minute argument.
The link between emotions and health outcomes was most pronounced for men, but some of the key correlations were also found in their wives. The study, which tracked the lives of 156 heterosexual couples since 1989, revealed outbursts of anger can predict heart problems later in life.
And shutting down emotionally, or ‘stonewalling’, during arguments increases the risk of ailments such as a bad back or stiff muscles.
Lead author Claudia Haase, of the University of California, Berkeley, said: ‘We looked at marital conflict conversations that lasted just 15 minutes and could predict the development of health problems over 20 years for husbands based on the emotional behaviours that they showed during these 15 minutes.’
Conflict happens in every marriage, and as Fawlty Towers viewers saw with warring couple Basil and Sybil, rows can come in a variety of styles. Professor Haase added: ‘Our study shows that these different emotional behaviours can predict the development of different health problems in the long run.’
As part of the study, researchers filmed the couples, who are now in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, every five years when they discussed their lives and areas of disagreement and enjoyment.
Behavioural experts rated these interactions based on the participants’ facial expression, body language and tone of voice. They looked for indicators such as lips pressed together, knitted brows, voices raised and lowered and tight jaws. To identify ‘stonewalling’ they looked at facial stiffness, rigid neck muscles, and little or no eye contact.
The spouses also completed health questionnaires and the data was linked to symptoms measured every five years. Those who flew off the handle were found to be at
‘Emotions predict health problems’
greater risk of developing chest pain, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. And those who ‘stonewalled’ by barely speaking or avoiding eye contact tended to develop backaches, stiff necks or joints and general muscle tension.
Senior author Robert Levenson said: ‘For years, we’ve known that negative emotions are associated with negative health outcomes, but this study dug deeper to find that specific emotions are linked to specific health problems.
‘This is one of the many ways that our emotions provide a window for glimpsing important qualities of our future lives.’