Marriage makes women happier and healthier, Harvard scholars say

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Marriage in decline in America?

Do conditions in America still favor marital stability? Brad Wilcox of the National Marriage Project weighs in.

For many, marriage to someone you love and are committed to is an exciting and integral aspect of life. However, the practice of marriage in the U.S. has experienced a drastic decline, with such unions falling by more than half when compared to a century ago.

A new study, however, finds that marriage has strong benefits for women who stay in the relationship for the long term, including overall health, happiness and prosperity. 

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A new study finds that  marriage makes women happier, healthy and hopeful.  (iStock)

In a new study published in the Global Epidemiology journal, a team of Harvard researchers looked into the health and happiness implications associated with being married versus unmarried, and the impact of divorce, on women.

The study covered a 25-year span of "data from a large sample" of American female nurses and looked at how their lives were impacted by taking varying marital pathways.

The researchers found that the women that became married and stayed married over the course of the study showed a 35% decrease in risk of all-cause mortality, lower risks of cardiovascular diseases, and "greater psychological wellbeing on multiple indicators including greater positive affect, purpose in life, hope and optimism."

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Women who marry, and stay married, are less depressed and less lonely, according to a new study.  (iStock)

In contrast, in instances of women who were married then became divorced/separated reported "substantially" lower levels of social integration, depression and loneliness. The study also suggested that marital dissolution was possibly related to a 19% increased risk of "all-cause mortality, greater risks of cardiovascular diseases and smoking."

"I think we are meant to live in companionship, and since we live in an individualistic culture, we don’t live interdependently," said Emma Green, a recently engaged college student and The King's College undergrad, to The College Fix. "Marriage is still the one thing you are supposed to live in an interdependent relationship, and I think that is good for people."

The researchers noted that the study was controlled "for the nurses’ well-being and health in 1989, before any of them had gotten married, as well as for a host of other relevant factors, such as age, race and socioeconomic status."

While the study centered around women, the long term benefits of marriage were not exclusive to them.

Ying Chen, a research associate with the Human Flourishing Program at the Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social Science, explained to the The College Fix that "The participants of the cohort that we examined were all female nurses. Therefore, we were not able to examine the associations among males in this study."

The study's authors note that men enjoy many benefits from marriage as well.  (iStock)

However, Chen mentioned that existing literature on the matter suggests that "some of the positive associations between marriage, health and wellbeing are likely stronger in men than women."

In the discussion the study stated that, according to theory, "the presence of a spouse/partner provides a source of social support, helping one to cope with stress and offering a buffer against negative emotions in the face of challenging circumstances."

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"Commitment to a marital relationship also provides a form of social control that encourages individuals' engagement in healthier lifestyles," said the study, going on to further explain how the social support offered by marriage is arguably different from any other type of relationship.

Due to the intense bond created in marriage, the event of marital dissolution brings about "the loss of this major and distinctive source of social support, leading to increased loneliness, mental distress and engagement in unfavorable coping strategies."