Scientific research continues to find benefits in marriage….and now we’re seeing just how wide ranging the advantages are.
Researchers are finding that marriage has a much greater impact in our lives than many have assumed. This is especially true in the area of adult health and well-being.
Sociologist Linda Waite and researcher Maggie Gallagher wrote, “The evidence from four decades of research is surprisingly clear: a good marriage is both men’s and women’s best bet for living a long and healthy life.”1 Men and women who are in their first marriages, on average, enjoy significantly higher levels of physical and mental health than those who are either single, divorced or living together. Adding, The research on this is very strong.
The research finds that Married people are happier than those who are unmarried of the same age, not only in the United States, but in at least seventeen other countries where similar inquiries have been made.
And there seems to be good reasons for that happiness. People who are married not only have higher incomes and enjoy greater emotional support, they tend to be healthier.
One study found that 70 percent of chronic problem drinkers were either divorced or separated, and only 15 percent were married. Single men are more than three times as likely to die of cirrhosis of the liver.
And Unmarried people spend twice as much time as patients in hospitals as their married peers and have lower activity levels.