subject: Are We Tying The Knot Looser? [print this page] Thirty percent of American adults who are married or living with a partner admit to some form of financial infidelity. In addition to hiding purchases and splurging on expensive items, 7% have kept work bonuses or lottery winnings secret. According to a 2012 report by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 4% have secret savings or retirement accounts and 4% have secretly withdrawn a significant amount of money from a joint account. Of the more than 1,000 adults polled, 27% said they fight about money more than anything else. Unfortunately, no relationship comes with a "money back" guarantee.
Contrary to the findings of previous research, parents are happier than their childless counterparts. According to an analysis of 120,000 adults presented to a 2012 meeting of the Population Association of America, later-in-life parents are happier after childbirth. The analysis also found the amount of happiness after childbirth decreases with each subsequent child. A second analysis of 130,000 adults worldwide presented to the same meeting found happiness is highest through the first year of the child's life. Although parental happiness levels drop, they don't drop below pre-child levels. Well, no one ever said being a parent was "child's play".
An extramarital affair increases men's risk of a fatal heart attack. That's according to a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Researchers examined medical literature related to cheating, as well as physical and mental health factors and how they related to monogamous and non-monogamous men. Although men supposedly live longer if they consistently have sex into old age, "sudden coital death" occurs most frequently when men have sex with a woman who isn't their long-time partner. This is attributed to the added stress of keeping the affair secret. This information shouldn't be kept secret - at least not from husbands.
Seventy-nine percent of marital separations end in divorce. Another report presented at the Population Association of America's 2012 annual meeting said separation is more common than immediate divorce, with most separations lasting 1 year or less. The likelihood of a separation increases with increased time in a marriage. For women the likelihood also increases by having children under age 5. Of the 7,272 study participants, 51% percent of those who married stay married. Among the rest, 60% had a trial separation. However, no couples reunited after a separation of more than 3 years. They had past "the point of no return".
