Research says your happiness makes your partner happy but only if you are married, according to a news release from the University of Warwick.

Researcher Nick Powdthavee said that a married man or woman is significantly more satisfied with his or her life when a partner is also satisfied with life.

But he found almost no evidence of the same affect among couples who aren't married.

A survey of 9,704 married British people showed a positive and significant effect of spouse's life satisfaction on the individual's own life satisfaction.

Powdthavee found if a person's spouse was 30 percent happier, it could offset the loss of a job. The effect was the same as not having to spend two months in the hospital, the researcher said.

However, the life-satisfaction scores of couples who were not married were not as tied together.