Published: March 20, 2012
Getting married can have consequences for the health of your heart, years later.
Married adults who undergo heart surgery are more than three times more likely to survive the next three months than single people who have the same surgery, a new study finds.
“That’s a dramatic difference in survival rates for single people, during the most critical post-operative recovery period,” says Ellen Idler, a sociologist at Emory University and lead author of the study. “We found that marriage boosted survival whether the patient was a man or a woman.”
The Journal of Health and Social Behavior is publishing the results, which were co-authored by David Boulifard and Richard Contrada, both from Rutgers University. The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging.
While the most striking difference in outcomes occurred during the first three months, the study showed that the strong protective effect of marriage continues for up to five years following coronary artery bypass surgery. Overall, the hazard of mortality is nearly twice as great for unmarried as it is for married patients about to undergo the surgery.
“The findings underscore the important role of spouses as caregivers during health crises,” Idler says. “And husbands were apparently just as good at caregiving as wives.” [continue reading…]
Published: January 19, 2012
A new study, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family reveals that married couples experience few advantages for psychological well-being, health, or social ties compared to unmarried couples who live together. While both marriage and cohabitation provide benefits over being single, these reduce over time following a honeymoon period.
“Marriage has long been an important social institution, but in recent decades western societies have experienced increases in cohabitation, before or instead of marriage, and increases in children born outside of marriage,” said Dr Kelly Musick, Associate Professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology. “These changes have blurred the boundaries of marriage, leading to questions about what difference marriage makes in comparison to alternatives.”
Previous research has sought to prove a link between marriage and well-being, but many studies compared marriage to being single, or compared marriages and cohabitations at a single point in time. This study compares marriage to cohabitation while using a fixed-effects approach that focuses on what changes when single men and women move into marriage or cohabitation and the extent to which any effects of marriage and cohabitation persist over time. [continue reading…]
Published: February 8, 2011
Romeo and Juliet
Therapist Says It’s Best to Love Someone Who Loves What You Love
When it comes to love, it might not be best for Capulets and Montagues to mingle and marry.
That’s because while opposites can attract, they may not be best for each other, according to Chelsea Madsen, a Kansas State University instructor of family studies and human services and a licensed marriage and family therapist. People are typically attracted to someone who loves what they love, she said. [continue reading…]
Published: December 18, 2010
The Juggle asks the question Is Marriage In Trouble? in middle America is in big trouble, according to new research.
A report, “When Marriage Disappears: The Retreat from Marriage in Middle America,” out recently from the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, explores the so-called “marriage gap” occurring today between highly- and moderately-educated Americans. (This report follows a recent Time magazine/ Pew survey that found that nearly 40% of Americans think marriage is obsolete.The Juggle asks the question Is Marriage In Trouble? Marriage in middle America is in big trouble, according to new research. Curious ? Continue reading
Source : The Wall Street Journal
