Using data on 400 married couples over age 50, Vicki Freedman found that, relative to household chores, the women found greater happiness and less frustration in performing care-based tasks for their husbands. “What we found was surprising,” said Freedman. “First, that older women report greater happiness levels when providing care to their husbands than when carrying out the same kinds of tasks as chores – and second, that older women are no less happy when caring for their husbands than they are doing other kinds of activities.”

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