A new report has claimed there is a risk of early death for married couples who bottle up their anger rather than having an argument.
The report, carried out by psychologists from the University of Arizona, claims the occasional argument may be the key to living longer.
It claims that if one party keeps in their anger, while another vents, it could make the risk of an early death greater.
In carrying out the research, the university tracked 192 married couples over the course of 32 years, the Times reported.
Each couple was asked a series of questions about marital conflict and how each party would deal with it.
The study found that a greater mismatch in response styles between a husband and wife was found to correlate with an increased risk of early mortality.
The report stated that the lowest risk of early death was among couples who both vented their feelings, with the husband having a 24 per cent risk of death over the 32-year period and the wife 18 per cent.
Kyle Bourassa, who led the study, told The Mail on Sunday: “If spouses’ responses to conflict differ, this could translate into more daily conflict over time.
“One partner may want to have more heated disagreements, whereas another partner might not, leaving both partners dissatisfied.
“This could then result in more daily stress that would damage people’s health over the long term. Couples whose interpersonal styles better match might have less conflict in comparison, and maintain better health as a result.”
The research was published in the Psychosomatic Medicine journal.
