We’ve all heard divorce rates such as the one that states that 50% of all marriages end in divorce. While this may not actually be the case (there is some indication that, for instance, 70% of marriages that began in the 1990s reached their 15th anniversary, up from roughly 65% of those that began in the 1970s and 1980s, and couples who wed in the 2000s are divorcing at even lower rates, according to the New York Times in 2014), you may be wondering if your relationship is in danger of “going through the Big D.” And now that same sex couples are increasingly joining traditional couples in the sacred bonds, are we going to see the numbers increase?

Predicting divorce may be part of the key to an antidote for divorce. Research has actually been done in this area by Dr. John Gottman. Dr. Gottman found that for couples who would eventually divorce, when they talked about an area of disagreement, there was slightly more negativity than positivity, as compared to those couples who would stay together — 1.25 times more negative than positive, in fact. But for the couples who were in stable, happy relationships — couples who reported liking one another — they had a ratio of positive to negative interactions of 5:1 (positivity was expressed five times more than negativity) when discussing an area of disagreement. When relationships were happy, the ratio was 20:1 of positive to negative expressions when simply conversing.

So, take a look at your relationship and think about how often your interactions are positive, how often they are negative. It may sound like common sense, but this is common sense backed up by research: knowing how to nurture good interactions in your relationship is one key to staying together.