Publications
Partners
- Research published in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal claims that stress may make you see your partner in a more negative light.
- Researchers surveyed 79 newlyweds to determine how stressful life events could impact their relationships.
- Their findings showed that stress made people more aware of their partner's negative attributes and behaviours.
Everything your partner does lately seems to be annoying you, and you just cannot understand why? Well, a new study may have the answer.
Research published in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal claims that stress may make you see your partner in a more negative light, even if they are not doing anything to annoy you.
While a recent study has shown that small amounts of stress could be good for you, it's no secret that stress can also negatively impact your life, including your relationships.
READ MORE | A little stress now and then is actually good for your brain, say scientists
In this study, researchers wanted to test how stress in other parts of people's lives can affect their relationships with their partners.
According to mindbodygreen, the team surveyed 79 newly married heterosexual couples about stressful events in their lives. Every night for 10 days, the individuals recorded their behaviour as well as that of their partner.
Co-author Dr Lisa Neff says they decided upon newlyweds for the study because they're typically still in the "honeymoon phase" of their relationship, making them more likely to see their partner in a positive light.
Their findings showed that stress made people more aware of their partner's negative attributes and behaviours.
"We found that individuals who reported experiencing more stressful life events outside of their relationship, such as problems at work, were especially likely to notice if their partner behaved in an inconsiderate manner," Dr Neff said in a press statement published by mindbodygreen. She added that these stressful situations could negatively impact relationships in the long run.
"If stress focuses individuals' attention toward their partner's more inconsiderate behaviours, this is likely to take a toll on the relationship."
But it doesn't just come down to having one bad day. It's usually stress that is accumulated over time, which leads people to be more affected by the things their partners say or do.
READ MORE | When texts suddenly stop: Why people ghost on social media
In future studies, Dr Neff says researchers should look at how stress affects couples beyond the newlywed phase as well. "But the fact that we found these effects in a sample of newlyweds speaks to how impactful the effects of stress can be."
So if you've been feeling particularly annoyed by your partner lately, perhaps take into consideration the amount of stress you have been under in other parts of your life and how that may be affecting the way you interact in your relationship.
