Research has shown that marriage is associated with better health and longevity, primarily in men, but some health benefits accrue to women also. Married men tend to live 2.5 years longer than single men, while married women gain 1.8 years of life. Marriage is correlated with better physical, mental, and emotional health. Of course, the results will vary by relationship quality and as mentioned above, gender.
One caveat: married people had better health before getting married. This could be that unhealthy people are less desirable marriage partners. It could be that people with unhealthy habits are less desirable marriage partners. It could even be that unhealthy people lack the stamina to seek out marriage partners. Nonetheless, there is nothing to suggest that most of the health benefits of marriage are due to selection bias alone. The health benefits of marriage dissipates once you get divorced, although some positive effects are thought to linger in the short term.
Harvard Health recognizes the health benefits of marriage and provides some examples:
But there is fascinating — and compelling — research suggesting that married people enjoy better health than single people. For example, as compared with those who are single, those who are married tend to
- live longer
- have fewer strokes and heart attacks
- have a lower chance of becoming depressed
- be less likely to have advanced cancer at the time of diagnosis and more likely to survive cancer for a longer period of time
- survive a major operation more often.
A recent study of 25,000 people in England found that among people having a heart attack, those who were married were 14% more likely to survive and they were able to leave the hospital two days sooner than single people having a heart attack.
There has been a lot of discussion about why marriage boosts men’s health more than women’s health. The consensus, although not particularly scientifically, is wives badger their husbands to live healthier lives and seek medical attention when they need it. My wife has nagged me to exercise more for about as long as we’ve been married. She is not alone in that regard. My wife won’t tolerate excess alcohol consumption, smoking or other unhealthy habits. She is the food police, demanding healthy foods and healthy meals. She is also the vitamin police. I get asked almost daily if I’ve taken my Vitamin D3, which my lab tests consistently show I’m borderline low.
Oddly enough, how people meet influences marriage stability. According to a study of 923 married couples, those who met online have less stable marriages. There could be some bias in the sample. Those who reported having met online (about half of the sample) were younger than those who met offline. Thirty years ago, almost nobody met their spouse online (about 2%), whereas today it is approaching half (39%). The following was reported in Newsweek:
Online dating disrupted the traditional dating scene, including allowing people to meet despite not being local, and friends and family not meeting the partner and having opinions on them until the relationship has been established, researchers suggested.
There are other possible explanations for less stable online marriages that friends and family lost veto power (or didn’t introduce the couple). The transactions cost of meeting potential mates in person is relatively high. You must actively get out and try to meet people at church, school, clubs, and social gatherings. It takes time, money, and effort. The number of potential partners to choose from is much lower. When you finally click with someone there may be a tendency to give up and settle. By contrast, a few minutes a day spent online scrolling through potential mates on Match.com can put you in front of dozens, hundreds even screening thousands of potential mates. The choices are infinite depending on how far out geographically you cast your net. When selecting potential romantic interests online there is the tendency to assume the perfect person is out there if you just search long enough. The tyranny of too many choices can lead to both indecision and buyer’s remorse. It is easy to wonder if you could have done better if only you had clicked on more profiles.
Read more at:
Forbes: Marriage Benefits Men’s Life Expectancy More Than Women’s
Newsweek: One type of dating leads to “less stable and satisfying” marriages