just like the Olympics

Marriage and having kids is like the Olympics: just as hard, just as great. We ran a story today with the headline: Unhappily wed? Put off getting that divorce Study finds that waiting, working it out can pay off . Here's a quote:

"Study results contradict what seems to be common sense, says David Blankenhorn of the Institute for American Values, a think tank on the family. The institute helped sponsor the research team, based at the University of Chicago. Findings will be presented today in Arlington, Va., at the ''Smart Marriage'' conference, sponsored by the Coalition for Marriage, Families and Couples Education.

'In popular discussion, in scholarly literature, the assumption has always been that if a marriage is unhappy, if you get a divorce, it is likely you will be happier than if you stayed married,' Blankenhorn says. 'This is the first time this has been tested empirically, and there is no evidence to support this assumption.'

About 19% of the divorced had happily remarried within five years.

The most troubled marriages reported the biggest turn-arounds. Of the most discontented, about 80% were happy five years later, says Linda Waite, a University of Chicago sociologist who headed the research team. "

See the story for more.