12 December,2011 10:29 AM IST | | Agencies
Generosity and a fulfilling sex life are the key aspects of a happy married life, a new study has suggested.
The study revealed that couples with above-average generosity in their marriages reported that they were five times more likely to be 'very happy' in their relationship.
A fulfilling sex life ranked as the single biggest indicator of whether married couples were happy, but high levels of generosity also contributed to good times in the bedroom, the Daily Mail reported.
This implies that generosity could be a key to sexual satisfaction and general happiness.
Experts point out that generosity can be as simple as couple making coffee, giving flowers or physical attention.
But whatever one of the spouses is giving, the other has to actually need it.
"(It's) signaling to your spouse that you know them, and are trying to do things for them that are consistent with your understanding of them," Bradford Wilcox, one of the study's researchers, told MSNBC.
Wilcox also insisted if, for example, your spouse loves almond mochas, and you get her black coffee instead, it does not count so much toward generosity.
However, sex was still a more consistent factor, indicating a happy marriage.
Men and women who had a good sex lives were 10 to 13 times more likely to say they were 'very happy' in their marriages than those who reported mediocre sex.
According to the research, the five key elements, which accounted for a marriage happy comprised sexual satisfaction, sense of commitment, generosity and a positive attitude toward the couple's children.
The study looked at 1,400 straight couples with children between the ages of 18 and 46.
