Love kills negative emotions to make you strong

London, May 10 (IANS) Love does not just make you fall for her, it also helps boost your personality even if you are no more hit by cupid!

German psychologists have discovered that a romantic relationship can have a positive effect on personality development in young adults.

To prove this, scientists focused on neuroticism - one of the five characteristics considered to be the basic dimensions of human personality which can be used to characterise every human being.

"Neurotic people are rather anxious, insecure and easily annoyed. They have a tendency towards depression, often show low self-esteem and tend to be generally dissatisfied with their lives," said Christine Finn from University of Jena in Germany.

"However, we were able to show that they become more stable in a love relationship, and that their personality stabilises," the psychologist added.

The scientists accompanied 245 couples in the age group 18 to 30 years for nine months and interviewed them individually every three months.

Using a questionnaire, the scientists analysed the degrees of neuroticism as well as relationship satisfaction.

Moreover, the study participants had to evaluate fictitious everyday life situations and their possible significance for their own partnership.

The scientists found that negative emotions gradually decreased over time when being in a romantic relationship.

"Love helps us to tackle life with more confidence instead of seeing things pessimistically straight away," Finn emphasised.

The scientists were able to observe this effect in men as well as women.

"Young adults entering a relationship can only win," researchers noted in the study published in the Journal of Personality.