According to LiveScience.com, a new study suggests that children reduce marriage satisfaction for their parents.

After an eight-year study, results have found that out of 218 couples, 90 percent experienced a decrease in marital satisfaction after the first child was born. “Couples who do not have children also show diminished marital quality over time,” says Scott Stanley, research professor of psychology at University of Denver. “However, having a baby accelerates the deterioration, especially seen during periods of adjustment right after the birth of a child.”

The study also says that couples who cohabitate before marriage face more problems after the first child is born as opposed to those who lived separately before marriage, as well as those whose parents fought or divorced. Conversely, other couples reported their marriages were stronger after the birth of their first child. The study says the marriages that were negatively impacted the least were of couples that had been married longer or had higher incomes.

However, Stanley points out that “there are different types of happiness in life and that while some luster may be lost for a time during this period of life, there is a whole dimension of family happiness and contentment based on the family that couples are building. This type of happiness can be powerful and positive but it has not been the focus of research.”

The new research, funded by a grant to the University of Denver from the National Institutes of Health, is detailed in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

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