Marriage Is Healthy

Being married “lengthens life, substantially boosts physical and emotional health and raises income” for both women and men, states a researcher in The New York Times. A study by University of Chicago professor Linda J. Waite counters a report published in 1972 indicating that married women suffer more psychological stress. Dr. Waite found that “marriage changes people’s behavior in ways that make them better off,” such as drinking less alcohol. Marriage also appears to reduce depression. In fact, “single men as a group were depressed at the outset of the study and became more depressed if they stayed single.” However, Dr. William J. Doherty, of the University of Minnesota, notes that the data represent averages and do not mean that everyone is better off married or that people who marry the wrong person will be happy and healthy.