The "three-year glitch" has replaced the "seven-year itch" as the tipping point where couples start to take each other for granted, according to a new survey.
Weight gain, stinginess, toe-nail clippings on the bathroom floor and snoring are a few of the passion-killers that have led to a swifter decline in relationships in the fast-paced 21st century, said the study commissioned by Warner Brothers to promote the release of comedy film "Hall Pass" in UK cinemas.
The survey of 2,000 British adults in steady relationships pinpointed the 36-month mark as the time when relationship stress levels peak and points to a new trend of "pink passes" and "solo" holidays away from partners and spouses that many Britons resort to in order to keep romance alive.
"Longer working hours combined with money worries are clearly taking their toll on modern relationships and we are seeing an increasing trend for solo holidays and weekends away from marriages and relationships in order to revive the romantic spark," said pollster Judi James who oversaw the survey.
The poll compared feedback from those in short-term relationships (defined as less than three years) and people who were married or in longer-term partnerships.
The findings showed that 67 percent of all of those surveyed said that small irritations which are seemingly harmless and often endearing during the first flushes of love often expand into major irritations around 36 months.
More than half of the Brits surveyed (52 percent) who were in younger relationships said they enjoyed sexual relations at least three times a week, compared to just 16 percent of those in relationships older than three years.
This suggests that as we get older together, romance gives way to day to day practicalities, supported by the fact that 55 percent of busy people in longer-term relationships admit that they now have to "schedule" their romantic time.
The report also said that those in the first flush of love can look forward to an average of three compliments a week from their partners - a figure which falls to an average of a single weekly compliment at the three-year high tide mark.
The prognosis gets worse the longer we stay in relationships, three in 10 of those surveyed that have been in a relationship for five years or more said that they never receive any compliments from their partners.(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
根据一项新调查,“三年之痒”已经取代“七年之痒”成为情侣间关系的转折点,这时候情侣们会开始不那么重视对方。
华纳兄弟公司委托开展的这一调查称,在快节奏的21世纪,体重增加、吝啬、在浴室地板上剪脚指甲、打鼾都是激情杀手,导致感情关系加速恶化。这一调查是为宣传在英国影院上映的喜剧电影《偷情许可令》而进行的。
这项对处在稳定感情关系中的2000名英国成人的调查发现,到36个月时两人的感情压力水平会达到顶峰,并会出现“粉红通行证”和“单人”假期的新浪潮,许多英国人会借此远离伴侣和配偶,以保持恋情的活力。
主持这项调查的调查员朱迪•詹姆斯说:“工作时间加长和经济上的烦恼显然对现代感情关系造成了伤害,我们发现人们开始流行过单人假期和周末,通过婚姻和感情关系以外的空间来重燃爱情的火花。”
根据收集到的反馈,该调查将处于短期感情关系(少于三年)中的情侣和处于长期感情关系中的情侣或夫妇作了比较。
调查结果显示,67%的被调查者说,到第36个月左右,一些看似无害的让人不快的小事经常会被放大成让人很恼火的矛盾,而这些小摩擦在恋情初期经常会让爱意更浓。
在被调查者中,处于短期感情关系中的英国人有超过一半(52%)说他们一周至少做爱三次,而处于三年以上的感情关系中的英国人只有16%这么做。
这意味着,随着我们一起变老,爱情逐渐让位于日常的柴米油盐。事实上,处于长期感情关系中、而且生活忙碌的被调查者有55%承认他们现在必须给浪漫时光“做一下日程安排”。
此外,调查报告称,恋情初期的情侣每周平均能听到伴侣三次赞美,而在“三年之痒”的关口,这一数字降到了平均每周一次。
而且,恋情持续时间越长,前景就越糟。处于五年以上的感情关系中的被调查者里面,有十分之三说他们的伴侣从不赞美自己。 |