Waite and Gallagher identified individuals who said they were unhappy in their marriages, and five years later followed up with those who had stayed together. What did they find?

The found that marriages who stayed together were slightly less violent than separated ones, and that one third of the spouses felt just as unhappy as before.

On the other hand, the research also showed that divorce didn't substantially improve self-esteem, self-improvement or general happiness. The only notable difference is divorced spouses were more likely to reccur to alcohol abuse.