For surprisingly, the piece of paper, and not just the personal relationship, matters a great deal. As one scholar sums up the relevant research: "Regardless of methodology, the studies yielded similar results: cohabitors engage in more violence than spouses." cortisol, resulting in less anxiety and stress and, consequently, better moods Contrary to popular lore, for men, having a wife beats shacking up by a wide margin: 50 percent of husbands say sex with their partner is extremely satisfying physically, compared with 39 percent of cohabiting men. I have been married and at 35 decided I never would marry again. By contrast, getting divorced lowers both men's and women's mental health, increasing depression and hostility, and lowering one's self-esteem and sense of personal mastery and purpose in life. Sorry to hear that!! according to an article in the Journal of Health and YOU WILL EARN MORE MONEY. Marriage is a transformative act, changing the way two people look at each other, at the future, and at their roles in society. With statements that exist such as ‘Men don’t cry’ or ‘Men don’t talk about feelings,’ having a partner provides a safe space to be able to verbalize emotions, feelings and needs that may often go ignored or suppressed on a regular basis.”. Cohabiting men are four times more likely to cheat than husbands, and cohabiting women are eight times more likely to cheat than wives. Hi Polly, thanks for sharing your experience. And this is not just a statistical illusion: careful researchers who have tracked individuals as they move toward marriage find that it is not just that happy, healthy people marry; instead, getting married gives individuals a powerful mental health boost. Despite the common joke that marriage is stress-inducing, studies YOU'LL TAME HIS CHEATIN' HEART (HERS, TOO). When Linda Waite and a colleague, for example, analyzed mortality differentials in a very large, nationally representative sample, they found an astonishingly large "marriage gap" in longevity: nine out of ten married guys who are alive at 48 will make it to age 65, compared with just six in ten comparable single guys (controlling for race, education, and income). 1. Another large study, of 100,000 Norwegians, found that, with both men and women, "the married have the highest level of subjective well-being, followed by the widowed." When Americans debate the value of marriage, most attention focuses on the potential harm to children of divorce or illegitimacy, and for good reason. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Whether you’ve watched romantic movies, listened to sappy love songs or just witnessed devoted couples in everyday life, it may still surprise you to find out that entering into a lifetime partnership with someone has a plethora of emotional benefits. mothers receive more A 1994 Justice Department report, based on the National Crime Victimization Survey, found that single and divorced women were four to five times more likely to be victims of violence in any given year than wives; bachelors were four times more likely to be violent-crime victims than husbands. Even childless married couples benefit from splitting up the work. The National for all those involved. depression and more support from their partners than their single counterparts, felt ecstatic in their everyday lives. While watching bridal TV shows or arriving home to stacks of RSVPs from friends and family is fun, there are many emotional benefits to being married. Wives are also much less likely to commit suicide than single, divorced, or widowed women. Having heart disease, for example, reduces a man's life expectancy by just under six years, while being unmarried chops almost ten years off a man's life. Research consistently shows that couples in a committed marriage even live longer than those who are single, cohabiting or divorced—but why? You can also follow Shane Co. on social media (@shanecompany) or visit our website to quench your thirst for everything bridal. . The emotional support that is possible in a marriage provides each partner with the feeling of being ‘heard.’ "Particularly for men, being in a stable relationship allows men to break outside of gender expectations and roles. It’s no surprise that marriage promotes intimacy, but what