Life Extension Advice: Men - Get Married, Women - Stay Single
The supposed benefits of marriage are a very hotly debated topic in the sociology and epidemiology. It is very clear that children benefit from having two cohabiting, preferably married, parents, although there is no evidence that the children living with heterosexual parents have any advantages over children living with cohabiting gay couples. (Step fathers and live-in boyfriends appear to be especially hard on kids, so it can be better for divorced moms not to hook up with another man.)
It is also very clear that men live longer when they are married, because they tend to take fewer health risks, probably because they are adjusting to the expectations of fathers and providers, and because they have somebody taking care of them and nagging at them. One study found that married men who drank and smoked lived longer than single men who didn't drink or smoke.
Linda Waite, author of The Case for Marriage, is the principal sociologist outside of the Christian Right arguing that marriage confers health benefits on women as well as men. Certainly married women are more affluent and have better access to health care. This may explain why just cohabiting is good for men's health, but only marriage confers any benefit to women's health - men get the nagging by shacking up, but women only get the health insurance and inheritance through marriage. Similarly this study found that women are happiest staying with their first love while men are happiest with serial monogamy. This study in Psychosomatic Medicine found that women with more social ties live longer than those with fewer social ties, and that marriage is one of those social ties; i.e. having an old husband is as good for you as having friends from the bingo club. Your bingo partners usually won't shag you though - married people, both male and female, get more, better and safer sex.
But other benefits of marriage to women are harder to find. The more common findings are ones like this British study from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health which finds that "single women have fewer mental health issues than their married counterparts. This study from Health Psychology found that women only get a health benefit from marriage when they have a happy marriage.
One of the problems with the research is that underlying personality and health factors may be driving both marriage and health. In other words, people with chronic physical or mental illnesses are less likely to get married, get education, and hold employment.
Anyway, while the battle continues, the human rights case for gay marriage, the legalization of polygamy and the creation of child-rearing and cohabitation contracts is clear. Also check out the Alternatives to Marriage Project (AtMP) which "advocates for equality and fairness for unmarried people, including people who choose not to marry, cannot marry, or live together before marriage."
It is also very clear that men live longer when they are married, because they tend to take fewer health risks, probably because they are adjusting to the expectations of fathers and providers, and because they have somebody taking care of them and nagging at them. One study found that married men who drank and smoked lived longer than single men who didn't drink or smoke.
Linda Waite, author of The Case for Marriage, is the principal sociologist outside of the Christian Right arguing that marriage confers health benefits on women as well as men. Certainly married women are more affluent and have better access to health care. This may explain why just cohabiting is good for men's health, but only marriage confers any benefit to women's health - men get the nagging by shacking up, but women only get the health insurance and inheritance through marriage. Similarly this study found that women are happiest staying with their first love while men are happiest with serial monogamy. This study in Psychosomatic Medicine found that women with more social ties live longer than those with fewer social ties, and that marriage is one of those social ties; i.e. having an old husband is as good for you as having friends from the bingo club. Your bingo partners usually won't shag you though - married people, both male and female, get more, better and safer sex.
But other benefits of marriage to women are harder to find. The more common findings are ones like this British study from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health which finds that "single women have fewer mental health issues than their married counterparts. This study from Health Psychology found that women only get a health benefit from marriage when they have a happy marriage.
One of the problems with the research is that underlying personality and health factors may be driving both marriage and health. In other words, people with chronic physical or mental illnesses are less likely to get married, get education, and hold employment.
Anyway, while the battle continues, the human rights case for gay marriage, the legalization of polygamy and the creation of child-rearing and cohabitation contracts is clear. Also check out the Alternatives to Marriage Project (AtMP) which "advocates for equality and fairness for unmarried people, including people who choose not to marry, cannot marry, or live together before marriage."
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