Rich men with extreme politics have the happiest marriages

It’s more difficult to pinpoint why Americans with extreme political views are happier than moderates. “It’s possible that the people with more extreme political views are more likely to have a spouse who agrees with them,” Cohen said.

Of all the factors analyzed by Cohen, however, the one with the greatest effect on Americans’ marital happiness was economic status.

The General Social Survey asks participants whether they identify as members of the upper, middle, working, or lower class. In the wake of the Great Recession, which wiped out millions of middle-class jobs and trillions of dollars of wealth, the number of people who self-identify as “lower class” and “working class” has noticeably increased.