MARRIAGE makes couples meaner spirited, an academic study suggests.
Both men and women were found to become more sexist after tying the knot.
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Men become bitter out of fear of being kept on a tight leash by their new wives, researchers say.
And women get jealous and judgmental of other women out of concern one will try to steal their husband, they think.
Researcher Professor Nickola Overall said the effect tended to last for about five years before tailing off.
She added: “Marriage may increase sexism by heightening men’s dependence on women, who possibly gain more interpersonal power.
“Women’s increased investment and dependence could amplify the need to protect the relationship, increasing hostile attitudes toward other women.”
The findings are from a study involving 1,615 people by psychologists at Essex University and the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
They tracked couples over 14 years and found that sexist attitudes declined during the course of the relationship — but spiked after marriage.
Auckland’s Prof Overall said husbands’ sexism included thinking women used sex as a tool to control them or believing they were not as good as men in business.
In the study, men’s average sexism score on a scale of one to six fell from about four to three across six years before the wedding but returned to nearly four after the big day.
Women followed the same trend, falling from about three to two, before rising again when they tied the knot.
After the initial bump, sexism fell steadily as couples settled into married life.
Prof Overall added: “Sexism showed small declines across the years prior to marriage.
“Immediately post marriage, however, it significantly increased before returning to pre-marriage levels around five years after marriage.”
She said it was the first study of its kind and more research was needed to explain the reasons.
