Divorce could be in women's genes
Press Trust Of India
London, February 26, 2012
Press Trust Of India
London, February 26, 2012
Women, please note -- men may not be always at fault in a divorce. The
chances of a successful marriage also depends on a female's genetic
make-up, so says a new study.
This is after researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden claim to have, for the first time, identified afemale 'divorce gene' that can predict a rocky marriage
and identify women who may struggle to commit to their partner.
Women who inherit the variation of a common gene are less likely to
get married in the first place as they find it harder to bond with other
people, the Daily Mail reported.
But if they do marry, they are 50% more likely to report a troubled
relationship filled with marital strife. Perhaps unsurprisingly,
partners of women with the gene are also more likely to report being
unhappy, says the study.
According to the researchers, the gene affects how women process the
'cuddle hormone' oxytocin, which is known to promote feelings of love
and maternal affection.
Women produce oxytocin naturally, particularly during childbirth and
while breastfeeding. It helps them bond with their baby. But if women
cannot process oxytocin properly, they may not be able to bond normally
with other people -- including their partners, friends and children,
they say.
'We've found evidence that oxytocin can be involved in the regulation
of human pair-bonding by showing that variation in the oxytocin
receptor gene is linked to how strongly women bond to a partner," lead
researcher Hasse Walum said.
In fact, the researchers have based their findings on an analysis of
the DNA of more than 1,800 women and their partners. Each couple had
been together for more than five years, and were either married or
living together.
Women who were identified as carrying the variation of the oxytocin
receptor gene, described as the A-allele, were 50% more likely to report
'marital crisis or threat of divorce. Men married to these women were
also far less satisfied in their relationships, the study found.
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