Some researchers in Brigham Young University are researching on gaming and marital satisfaction. The findings are showing that online gaming lowers the marital satisfaction.
A total of 349 couples were surveyed in the research, with at least one of the partners playing online role playing games, like World of Warcraft, which has more than 12 million subscribers in the world. More than 65 percent of spouses said they fight with their husband or wife about gaming, and 75 percent of respondents said that their spouse's habit has negatively affected their marriage.
Neil Lundberg, one of the primary authors of the research said, "It's common knowledge that many couples experience challenges around gaming. Particularly when husbands are heavy gamers, it clearly has a negative impact on their marriages."
The problems in their marriages include the reduced time spent together, worsened adjustment skills, and lack of serious conversations. The researchers learned that it was not the time of playing games causing less marital satisfaction, but the argument over playing games or disrupted bedtime.
The person who is in charge of this survey says the problem maybe even worse. Some interested spouses would say things like 'I would love for my husband to take this survey, but there's no way he'll get off the computer long enough to take it. ... You don't want to take a survey on marital satisfaction when you're on the verge of divorce."
However, researchers explained "not all video games are bad. "Some are fun leisure pursuits that when played together may strengthen your relationships with others. With any type of gaming, consider the content of the game. Consider what you are doing in the game, how much time it is taking, how it is affecting you, your schooling, work, sleep, body and especially how it is affecting your spouse and marital relationship," said graduate student Michelle Ahlstrom.
Lundberg said."This study really does verify that gaming has an effect on marital satisfaction," The new Brigham Young University study shows that a majority of spouses, 75%, wishes that they can put more energy into their marriages rather than shooting zombies or slashing at pixelated creatures with their game controllers.
