More on Marriage
Is it marriage or the quality of marriage that counts?
Contemporary studies…have shown that married people are less likely to get pneumonia, have surgery, develop cancer or have heart attacks. A group of Swedish researchers has found that being married or cohabiting at midlife is associated with a lower risk for dementia. A study of two dozen causes of death in the Netherlands found that in virtually every category, ranging from violent deaths like homicide and car accidents to certain forms of cancer, the unmarried were at far higher risk than the married…
Hollywood’s View of Marriage
But while it’s clear that marriage is profoundly connected to health and well-being, new research is increasingly presenting a more nuanced view of the so-called marriage advantage. Several new studies, for instance, show that the marriage advantage doesn’t extend to those in troubled relationships, which can leave a person far less healthy than if he or she had never married at all. One recent study suggests that a stressful marriage can be as bad for the heart as a regular smoking habit. And despite years of research suggesting that single people have poorer health than those who marry, a major study released last year concluded that single people who have never married have better health than those who married and then divorced.
See previous posts on Becker and Posner. Full New York Times article here.
Great video.
I remember reading somewhere that a disproportionate number of centenarians have never married. I think there’s something to that.
Overall, I’m pleased with the impact of marriage on my life. It’s better to share experiences.
I can, however, imagine how miserable it is with a bad spouse.
The problem with the movie is that it goes on and on for almost the entire movie with verbal exchanges just like this one. Afer a while I found it boring.
I’m not sure, but it may be that Elizabeth and Richard in real life were a lot like that. At least they fought a lot.
They were better in the “Taming of the Shrew.”
I can easily see how marrying the wrong person could make you miserable and the stress adversely affect your health. I wonder if people don’t sometimes get married for the wrong reasons and become resentful when they have to live with their choices?
Devon, I think some people do resent their poor choices. But more than that, I think they get comfortable with being miserable. It’s a badge of honor for some people.
Especially in today’s world of (relatively) easy divorces, it’s a wonder that so many people are in unhappy marriages. I think they stay because of pride, fear of the unknown, and because putting up with the misery keeps their mind off of what they want in life. In my opinion, it’s a form of distraction.
The Personal Journal section of the Wall Street Journal (4/20) has an article on marriage titled… “Honey, Do You Have to…?”
The premise is that marriages often break down not from big problems, but a cascade (or maybe an avalanche) of small irritations.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703757504575194040423167792.html
I heard recently that getting a pet increases life expectancy just as much for single people, as being married does for couples.
As a married man I realize that, after much contemplation, I need to get a dog.
Don Levit