If you are thinking about dodging your in-laws this holiday season, you might want to think again because it could hurt your marriage, research suggests.
A husband or wife’s satisfaction with their in-laws is a dominant factor in how happy they are in their marriage, University of Denver associate professor Mary Claire Morr Serewicz found after spending six years researching family issues.
In fact, Morr Serewicz found in-law relations can represent 43 percent of a couple’s satisfaction in their marriage.
In her most recent research, published in the Journal of Family Communication (2008, issue 4), she proposes a triangular theory to point out the priority in-laws have in making marriage satisfying. The theory basically states that a couple isn’t alone in a marriage — the in-laws are part of the relationship, too. — Research summary.
“I think people can downplay in-law relationships,” Morr Serewicz said in a statement. “But the quality of their satisfaction with their in-laws is directly connected to their marital satisfaction.”
And gossiping with your mother-in-law doesn’t necessarily bring everyone closer.
“When family members criticize or gossip about another family member, it might make the new child-in-law feel included in the family, but it also makes the person wonder what is said when they aren’t in the room,” Morr Serewicz said. “It almost always has a negative impact on the relationship.”
I guess Meathead needed Archie Bunker after all.