relationships

Having children improves life satisfaction in people who are married, but not for those who are unmarried, researchers in Scotland found. Dr. Luis Angeles of the University of Glasgow said the finding challenges previous research that increasing numbers of children do not make people any happier, and in some cases the more children people have, the less satisfied they are with their lives. Read more...

After decades of struggling with her weight, Kathy Freeman, at nearly 300 pounds, finally made the decision to get weight-loss surgery at Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., last year. Although she had a strong network of support from most of her friends and loved ones, the 50-year-old nurse ended up losing a friend along with the 142 pounds she has dropped since the surgery. Read more...

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- When Sex and the City's Samantha Jones was diagnosed with breast cancer, her boyfriend pledged to stay with her through treatment. Meanwhile, celebrities such as Sheryl Crow, Kylie Minogue, Edie Falco and Christina Applegate, battled the disease single. Since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, leading online dating sites Date.com (http://www.date.com), Read more...

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Most people think it's probably unwise to have an affair with one's boss or someone else with whom you work, but is it unethical? Well, yes and no -- depending on whether you are a man or woman, according to the Ethics Resource Center, which today released initial statistics from its sixth biennial National Business Ethics Survey (NBES). While only 14.9 percent of Americans Read more...

Men should know that in the world of romance, one rule applies: Make the woman happy. Here is a guide to the complete point system. Simple Duties: --You leave the toilet seat up. -5 --You replace the toilet paper roll when it's empty. +10 --You leave the roll empty and resort to tissues. -1 --When the tissues run out you shuffle slowly to the next bathroom. -2 --You go Read more...

A little girl and a little boy were at day care one day. The girl approaches the boy and says, "Hey Tommy, want to play house?" He says, "Sure! What do you want me to do?" The girl replies, "I want you to communicate your feelings." "Communicate my feelings?" said a bewildered Tommy. "I have no idea what that means." The Read more...

The demographers of the world have established the following: Americans get married more often than our counterparts in other wealthy nations, we get divorced more often, and when we're living with someone and the relationship goes south, we're quicker than most to hit the escape hatch. But, why? That's the question that has consumed Andrew Cherlin, a Johns Hopkins University sociologist, Read more...

With more people living alone than ever before, and fewer couples deciding to tie the knot, the institution of marriage needs all the help it can get. Whether it's fears about commitment or simply the cost of getting hitched, weddings aren't as popular as they once were. But now scientists have come up with one unlikely reason why getting married is a good idea -- a study of 2000 people Read more...

She's been your friend for as long as you can remember. You've been through ups and downs, sure, but you had never before faced a major communication problem or conflict. Now, however, you find that your friendship is in jeopardy because of a disagreement, misunderstanding, or worse. When anger simmers, and defenses are up, it can be hard to effectively resolve an issue, and that can sometimes Read more...

NEW YORK -- Sean Hamilton considered stopping his search for that special someone when he lost his job in January. With 90 percent less income and no unemployment coming in, the 34-year-old IT professional couldn't really pay for a dinner date. And how would he explain his financial situation without coming across as a slacker? "To speak plainly, chicks don't dig a broke guy," Read more...