London: Wives who try to control their husband’s social lives may be risking their happy married life.
US scientists have found that men who do not have enough spare time to spend with their own friends can feel less attracted to their partner, the Daily Mail reported.
Wives who have steadily cut ties with their husband’s old friends in favour of having dinner parties with other couples could erode men’s feelings of masculinity and lead to conflict within the relationship, said the scientists.
The authors said reducing his contact with his friends to the point that all your socialising is done together could be dangerous.
“There is a bit of a gate-keeper aspect that probably troubles some men,” said Professor Benjamin Cornwell, of Cornell University.
“The key issue is whether it reduces his contact with his friends while it increases hers – for example she alters his social schedule to the point that his contact with his friends increasingly occurs in the context of couple’s dinners.
“A man’s ability to play a round of golf or to have a few drinks with a friend who has only a passing acquaintance to his wife or girlfriend is crucial to preserving some independence in everyday life.
“If he has to bring his wife along every time they meet, or his wife starts monopolising that friend, that’s when problems may arise,” he added.
The researchers analysed data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a 2005 survey of 3,000 people in Chicago, who were aged 57 to 85.
They found the risk of erectile dysfunction was almost doubled in the group whose wives had the most contact with the couple’s shared friends, even allowing for related health conditions in this age group such as diabetes, heart problems and obesity.
ANI
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