A recent study found that same-sex couples generally feel more satisfied in their marriages than heterosexual couples do.

The study, Marital Strain and Psychological Distress in Same‐Sex and Different‐Sex Couples, focused on a sample of 756 midlife U.S. men and women in 378 gay, lesbian, and heterosexual marriages and asked them to keep daily diary entries on stress related to their marriage and partner.

It found that women in heterosexual marriages reported the highest level of “psychological distress,” according to The New York Times. Men in same-sex marriages reported the lowest. Men in heterosexual marriages and women in same-sex marriages fell in the middle, reporting similar levels of distress.

According to the lead author of the study, Michael Garcia, earlier research had concluded that “women in general were likely to report the most relationship distress.” The new study shows that’s only the case in for women married to men.

Heterosexual marriages “are more subject to tension, miscommunication and resentment than same-sex relationships,” the Times wrote, suggesting that the disparity is caused by typical gender roles and expectations.

Sharing domestic tasks is one important factor in marital stability, and when the labor isn’t equally allocated between partners, it can cause strife. As the Times points out, several studies have found that the happiest and most sexually satisfied couples were those who divide housework and child care the most equally. Couples where the wife does the bulk of chores report the highest levels of marital strain.

Same-sex marriages are less likely to adhere to strict gender norms to share labor, while heterosexual couples tend to see some chores as “feminine” or “masculine.” This may be why same-sex couples are more likely to equally split shared domestic tasks.

Get the best of what's queer. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.