Relationships are already a challenge for some, and now it seems that your DNA plays a huge role in determining if you'll have a happy relationship or marriage.
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, found a gene involved in the regulation of serotonin can predict how much our emotions affect our relationships. According to
Daily News:
The team found a link between relationship fulfillment and a gene
variant, or allele, known as 5-HTTLPR. All humans inherit a copy of this
gene variant from each parent, they said.
Study participants
with two short 5-HTTLPR alleles were found to be most unhappy in their
marriages when there was a lot of negative emotion, such as anger and
contempt, and most happy when there was positive emotion, such as humor
and affection. By contrast, those with one or two long alleles were far
less bothered by the emotional tenor of their marriages. The study
involved 100 married subjects, with researchers studying their
genotytpes and observing the subjects with their partners over a period
of 13 years.
"We are always trying to understand the recipe for a
good relationship, and emotion keeps coming up as an important
ingredient," said Levenson.
However, researchers note that it doesn't mean that couples with different variations of 5-HTTLPR are incompatible - it's just that those with two short alleles are more likely to thrive in a good relationship and suffer in a bad one.
"Individuals with two short alleles of the gene variant may be like hothouse flowers, blossoming in a marriage when the emotional climate is good and withering when it is bad," said researcher Claudia M. Haase. "Conversely, people with one or two long alleles are less sensitive to the emotional climate."