According to a study, those who have the impression that they can set the tone in their relationship are more satisfied.
It doesn't really matter who is actually wearing the pants.
Halle - The feeling of being able to make important decisions within the relationship makes people happier in a partnership.
This is the result of a study by the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of Bamberg, which is published in the "Journal of Social and Personal Relationships".
"The feeling of being able to determine decisions about marriage, for example, has a decisive influence on the quality of the relationship experienced," said Robert Körner from the Institute for Psychology at MLU, according to a university announcement.
For the study, 181 heterosexual couples were interviewed who had been living together for at least a month.
Subjective sense of power is decisive
The happiest with their relationship were those in which both partners reported high levels of personal power.
"Obviously, the subjectively experienced power and the feeling of being able to act freely are particularly important for the quality of the relationship," explained Körner.
A balance of power prevails in very few relationships.
Men still have more positional power, but according to the study, this has no influence on the quality of the relationship experienced by both partners.
Participants were between 18 and 71 years old and had been in a relationship for an average of eight years.
The questions asked included admiration for the partner, trust, satisfaction with sex, feelings of oppression and restriction, as well as commitment and willingness to invest in the relationship.
dpa
