Marriage Happiness Is Marriage Beneficial

Marriage Happiness

Is Marriage Beneficial to People's Lives?

Are married people happier than unmarried people? Discuss the research on this, and whether the data show that getting married can increase happiness levels in the short or long-term.

The effect of marriage on an individual's happiness is difficult to study. It is not sufficient simply to compare people who are married to people who are not. If the currently-married people differ from the other people -- in happiness, for example -- we cannot conclude that they are different because they are married; people who are married and people who are not married may differ in all sorts of other ways (such as financial resources or experiences of stigma -- getting stereotyped, excluded, or discriminated against), and it may be those ways, rather than marriage, that accounts for any differences in happiness (DePaulo, 2013). Furthermore, some studies have tried to compare samples that were married with others that were never married, which is problematic as well.

Most of the research tends to agree that there is a period in which married people are clearly happier which is the honeymoon period or the short period just after the couple exchanges vows (Conger, N.d.). However this seems to be the least debatable phenomenon in the relationship while other periods of marriage have mixed research results. Some studies seem to suggest that marriage stabilize happiness in the long-term, others show no correlation between marriage and happiness, and still others suggest that married people are generally less happy which is represented by the high divorce rate.

2. Does marriage impact men and women differently in terms of various measures of well-being (e.g., happiness, economic security, health outcomes)? Discuss some of the research findings on this, and the implications of these findings.

Marriage does have different implications for men and women in regard to different measures of well-being. For example, women who marry later are less likely to get divorced and earn more, on average, than their earlier-marrying counterparts (Matthews, 2013). Furthermore, women who are married seem to earn more than women who are unwed on average; however this trend is more significant with women who have gone further with their education. However, marriage does not seem to have a correlation with men and their earning potential throughout their careers. In general, married people are healthier than those who are not married across a wide array of health outcomes however the existence of an association between marriage and health does not necessarily imply that marriage causes better outcomes because people who marry may already be healthier than those who do not, and this may be the reason for the better health of married adults (Wood, Goesling, & Avellar, 2007).

The implications of these findings are somewhat mixed. On one hand, there does seem to be advantages that can be gained through marriage; especially for females. However, on the other hand, these indicators are compiled through aggregates of large samples. Therefore these findings do not suggest that any individuals should use these findings to try to plan their lives. Correlation does not equal causation and individuals should attempt to make good decisions that are not necessarily based on these findings.

3. The APA page contains the following report on how race and socioeconomic status can impact marital satisfaction: http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2010/10/race-marriage.aspx Discuss some of the findings of this report and their implications.

According to census reports fewer African-American adults are married (44% males and 37% females) compared to Asians (65% males and females), Latinos (56% males and 58% females), and Whites (62% males and 58% females) however studies going beyond demographics suggest that regardless of age or education, married African-Americans report higher levels of global happiness than do non-married African-Americans (Bryant, 2010). Some researchers attempt to explain the lower marriage rates among this racial group by the fact that they are generally less economically stable than other racial groups which can put a strain on marriages and led to higher rates of divorce.