The Vast Majority of British Couples Are Happy

Here's what every British wedding should
look like. From the BBC.

Continuing this week's Valentine's theme, this story from United Press International says that almost all British couples are happy, but married couples are even happier. In fact, around 90% of married women and around 93% of married men are happy in their relationship, compared to around 88% cohabiting women and 92% cohabiting men.

This information comes from Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex. Researchers surveyed couples (both members individually) on a 1-to-7 happiness scale, with 1 meaning extremely unhappy and 7 meaning perfect. The survey also found that the happiest couples have been together less than five years, have no children, have an employed man, and both members hold a college degree.

It would be interesting to view similar data--possibly including gay couples--for other countries to see if Britain is unique in this regard. I found this article, which I can't view fully, but which seems to suggest that other countries have similar marriage happiness correlations, especially developed nations. That's good news if you're not British!

Diminished Spending May Help Build Romance

Try not to eat them all at once. From NewsFuze.

Today is Valentine's Day, a day when we give chocolates and roses to each other to commemorate one or more Christian priests/bishops/missionaries who may or may not have performed wedding ceremonies/built a basilica/died anonymously. But before you spend too much on gifts, consider this article from The Sacramento Bee. Apparently a lot of couples find that NOT spending money keeps their relationship strong.

The University of Virginia's National Marriage Project found that around 52% of married Americans (in a "Very Happy Marriage") believe that the Great Recession has deepened their commitment to marriage. Not only that, but around 38% of couples who had been considering divorce have recommitted to marriage because of the lack of money. These results come from a survey of 1,167 married Americans 18 to 45 years old.

So those of you who forgot to buy a Valentine's Day gift, don't worry:  your absent-mindedness will only strengthen your relationship. (That's how this works, right? I hope?) For an especially romantic evening, you can read the actual study, "The Great Recession and Marriage," in PDF format.