so, my recent (And farthest along fort, ever) fell horribly to a tantrum spiral when the goblins annihlated my military (lesson learned: Wrestlers need A.Better armor. and B. Some kind of weapon), and my people, who lived in the statue garden started killing each other.
So, I've decided in the next fortress: NO FREAKING STATUE GARDENS.
Is that okay, or will it be a giant mess?
Statue gardens, especially very tiny ones, let all of your dwarves boost their social skills into the stratosphere. This has the effect of making everyone in the fortress strong, tough, and agile. Unforunately, they'll all be great buddies with one another and possess the emotional fortitude of a five-year old. One death, and the entire fortress goes into a depression from which it never recovers.
I just do away with statue gardens entirely and use other architectural oddities to keep my dwarves happy. Social activities are frowned upon and I also work them so hard that my soldiers usually become the most talkative dwarves in the fortress. Some good distractions from their drudgery are waterfalls, terrariums, zoos, and anything smoothed, engraved, or encrusted.
If getting the attribute boost is still of concern, invest in screwpumps that don't connect to anything. A year of hard labor and every dwarf in your fortress can be a legendary screwpump operator.