Caring Hands Pregnancy Center, where my wife, Nancy, and I serve, is in constant contact with people who have poor quality or nonexistent marriages. For that reason, I am posting a series of articles on this blog recounting the reasons for good marriages and the problems that ensue because of their absence.
Studies now show that people with strong marriages tend to be healthier, happier, and live longer. Despite the stereotypes and negative portrayals in the media, the evidence is clear. It is good to be married!
An unhappy marriage can increase the chance of illness by 35% and shorten life by 4 years. Happily married people live longer, healthier lives than divorced or unhappily married couples (J. of Marriage and the Family 41.267-285). Non-married women have a 50% higher mortality rate than married women. Non-married men have a 250% higher mortality rate than married men (J. of Marriage and the Family 52(1990):1061).
Virtually every study of mortality and marital status shows the unmarried of both sexes have higher death rates, whether by accident, disease, or self-inflicted wounds. This is found in every country that maintains accurate health statistics (J. of Marriage and the Family 52(1990):1061)
In the most recent national surveys, married men and women have a lower risk for death from heart attacks compared to other marital status categories and enjoy a better chance of returning to health when they receive a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (Psychological Bulletin 127,4,472-503).
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