--- description: Being thankful can help relieve stress and protect relationships title: The Importance of Gratitude in Marriage image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde2d090570edec03/69887f0abc6cfc5e7a3dbe16/couple-holding-hands-outdoors.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Importance of Gratitude in Marriage by [TheBrainFlux](/author/the-brain-flux/) ## TheBrainFlux Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 4, 2016 1:00 PM CUT  Getty Images by [TheBrainFlux](/author/the-brain-flux/) ## TheBrainFlux Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 4, 2016 1:00 PM CUT Gratitude continues to shine as a behavior that contributes to our happiness and well-being. Yet, it seems we often forget to be thankful on a regular basis. Despite it being an amazingly simple act to perform. Gratitude has been found to be a [key predictor](http://thebrainflux.com/2-traits-that-predict-happiness/ "undefined") in happiness. Not to mention the many other health benefits that science has found recently. Research from the University of Georgia now shows how gratitude affects marriage. **_TheBrainFlux:_**[_111 Discoveries From Brain and Psychology Research in 2015_](http://thebrainflux.com/111-discoveries-from-brain-and-psychology-research-in-2015/ "undefined") **Wedding Bliss?** Marriage can be wonderful. That doesn’t mean it’s always rainbows and butterflies, though. Like any relationship it takes work. Fights are going to happen. It’s impossible to see eye to eye on everything. How you handle yourself and your behavior can go a long way in influencing marital outcomes. These are the types of things that the research touches on. The [study](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pere.12094/abstract "undefined") – published in the journal _Personal Relationships_ – finds that gratitude not only plays a role in marriage happiness, but it can also help alleviate symptoms of negative situations. Ted Futris was a co-author on the study. He’s also an associate professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. He had this to say about the research: --- > “” --- Their results show that spousal expression of gratitude was the most significant and consistent predictor of marital quality. **When the Going Gets Tough** An interesting and useful part of the research was finding how it protects couples against divorce. Not only that, but it also protects a woman’s marital commitment from the effects of poor communication during conflict. Ted elaborates on this interaction: --- > “” --- The “demand/withdrawal” that Ted is talking about is a common behavior in couple conflict. It occurs when one partner demands, nags, or criticizes. The other person then responds by either withdrawing or avoiding confrontation. This is a problem and can lead to a breakdown in communication and a lower quality of marriage. **_TheBrainFlux:_**[_39 Brain Benefits of Exercise_](http://thebrainflux.com/brain-benefits-of-exercise/ "undefined") **Ray of Hope** Conflict is not only tough, but it can be an emotional mess. Gratitude can not only break the nasty cycle that can occur with stressful situations, but can have a protective effect as well. Gratitude is a wonderful and simple strategy for marriage. Especially if you’re not great at communicating in a conflict. So how can you accomplish this? In the study, here’s how they measured gratitude. It was the degree of how much a person felt appreciated by their spouse, valued by their spouse, and acknowledged when they did something nice for their spouse. So to practice gratitude, find ways to do those 3 things. Show your partner that you appreciate them. Show them that you value them. And when they do something nice for you, simply tell them that you noticed and are aware of their kind act. **_TheBrainFlux:_**[_How Men and Women React to Marital Problems_](http://thebrainflux.com/how-men-and-women-react-to-marital-problems/ "undefined") **Understanding Conflict** While the study itself focused on fights concerning financial matters, the lessons learned can apply to other areas as well. If you want to know more about reaching The Importance of Gratitude in Marriage , you should learn about [underlying concerns](http://thebrainflux.com/2-reasons-why-couples-really-fight/ "undefined") and what a partner [really wants](http://thebrainflux.com/6-ways-to-stop-fighting-as-a-couple/ "undefined") in a conflict. As a final bit of wisdom, Ted has a few last words: --- > “” --- _This_ [_article_](http://thebrainflux.com/how-gratitude-affects-marriage/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_TheBrainFlux_](http://thebrainflux.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4236231/gratitude-marriage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4236231/gratitude-marriage/"},"headline":"The Importance of Gratitude in Marriage","datePublished":"2016-03-04T13:00:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:21:08.683Z","description":"Being thankful can help relieve stress and protect relationships","url":"https://time.com/4236231/gratitude-marriage/","keywords":["Psychology","Marriage","relationships","gratitude","Thanksgiving"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde2d090570edec03/69887f0abc6cfc5e7a3dbe16/couple-holding-hands-outdoors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TheBrainFlux","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-brain-flux/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde2d090570edec03/69887f0abc6cfc5e7a3dbe16/couple-holding-hands-outdoors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"couple-holding-hands-outdoors","caption":"couple-holding-hands-outdoors","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4236231/gratitude-marriage/","name":"The Importance of Gratitude in Marriage"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Wide, Wacky World Of Weddings","description":"A look at some of the flashiest, most expensive and weirdest weddings out there.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WgK2gN3E/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-20T16:33:03.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WgK2gN3E.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4236231/gratitude-marriage/","duration":"PT2M9S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4236231/gratitude-marriage/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```