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Marital Happiness, Marital Status, Health, and Longevity

Author

Listed:
  • Elizabeth M. Lawrence

    (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

  • Richard G. Rogers

    (University of Colorado Boulder)

  • Anna Zajacova

    (University of Western Ontario)

  • Tim Wadsworth

    (University of Colorado Boulder)

Abstract

Married individuals are healthier and live longer than those who are never married, divorced, or widowed. But not all marriages are equal: unhappy marriages provide fewer benefits than happy ones. This study examined health and longevity across a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, combining measures of marital status and marital happiness to compare those who were “very happy” in marriage to those who were “pretty happy” in marriage, “not too happy” in marriage, never married, divorced or separated, or widowed. We employed the General Social Survey–National Death Index to illuminate the associations among marital status, marital happiness, general happiness, and self-rated health and mortality risk. Compared to individuals who were “very happily” married, those who were “not too happy” in marriage were over twice as likely to report worse health and almost 40% more likely to die over the follow-up period, net of socioeconomic, geographic, and religiosity factors. Those not too happy in marriage also had equal or worse health and mortality risk compared to those who were never married, divorced or separated, or widowed. Results further indicate that general happiness underlies much of the relationship between marital happiness and better health and longevity. The literature on the health and longevity benefits of marriage is well established, but our results suggest that individuals in unhappy marriages may be a vulnerable population. We conclude that subjective well-being and relationship quality contribute to the health benefits of marriage.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth M. Lawrence & Richard G. Rogers & Anna Zajacova & Tim Wadsworth, 2019. "Marital Happiness, Marital Status, Health, and Longevity," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(5), pages 1539-1561, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:20:y:2019:i:5:d:10.1007_s10902-018-0009-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-018-0009-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Dieudonne Mignamissi & Yselle Flora Malah Kuete, 2020. "What Makes Africans Happy?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(4), pages 2741-2754.
    3. Ming-Chang Tsai, 2021. "Kin, Friend and Community Social Capital: Effects on Well-Being and Prospective Life Conditions in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 489-510, April.
    4. Ranby, Krista W. & Roberts, Sydneyjane & Wooldridge, Jennalee S. & Ulrich, Gillian R., 2023. "Differences between complete and incomplete couples in physical health research: Implications for methods and generalizability," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    5. Kim, Jinho & Kwon, Keun Young, 2024. "Marital dissatisfaction and functional performance in older adults: Heterogeneity in the association by educational level," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    6. Du, Shichao, 2023. "(Un)Health from parental intervention: Does the marriage formation pathway influence married people's health?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    7. Seojin Stacey Lee & Yerin Shim & Jongan Choi & Incheol Choi, 2023. "Paradoxical Impacts of Social Relationship on Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 745-767, February.
    8. Cannas Aghedu, Fabio & Blais, Martin & Philibert, Mathieu & Côté, Isabel & Samoilenko, Mariia & Chamberland, Line, 2022. "Social resource patterns and health outcomes among Canadian LGBTQ2+ adults: A latent class analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    9. Sherman, Arie & Barokas, Guy, 2023. "The effect of name letter on market prices: Field experiments on seller behavior," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    10. Rafael Ravina-Ripoll & María-José Foncubierta-Rodríguez & Eduardo Ahumada-Tello & Luis Bayardo Tobar-Pesantez, 2021. "Does Entrepreneurship Make You Happier? A Comparative Analysis between Entrepreneurs and Wage Earners," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-19, September.
    11. Simla Güzel & Ayhan Görmüş, 2023. "Prediction of satisfaction indicators increasing the level of happiness: evidence from the Turkish life satisfaction survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 3805-3824, August.
    12. Anthony R. Bardo & Jason L. Cummings, 2023. "Life, Longevity, and the Pursuit of Happiness: The Role of Disability in Shaping Racial and Sex Disparities in Living a Long and Happy Life," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-26, August.
    13. Barokas, Guy & Ling, Hila Hindy & Sherman, Arie & Shavit, Tal, 2024. "To change or not to change? – Status quo bias and happiness," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 656-671.

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