BENEFITS OF HAPPY MARRIAGE

 Nina Chen, Ph.D.
Human Development Specialist

  Is marriage only good for men but bad for women? Actually, marriage gives both men and women great benefits.  According to Linda Waite, University of Chicago sociologist and Maggie Galagher, an associate with the Institute for American Values, married couples have greater happiness, health, and wealth than people who divorce or never marry. 

Studies show that married couples have better health such as lower incidence of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. They recover more quickly after serious illness than do single adults.  They have less depression and domestic violence and more happiness than cohabitating adults.  Married couples report to have more satisfying sex lives than single adults, have more money, and spend less to live separately than single adults.

Obviously, there are many good things in life to have a happy marriage. But, in this country, one out of two marriages ends in divorce.  Why is the divorce rate so high in this country? According to John Gottman, a psychologist at the University of Washington, most marriages fail when men and women turn away from one another, slowly growing apart, or when they kill their love with criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling and the failure to repair the hurt caused by these harsh styles.

Conflict is inevitable even for happy couples. The key is that happy couples have better skills to deal with conflict and argument about their differences.  Making a good marriage, couples need to compromise and listen to each other without giving criticism.  These qualities can help lead to intimacy and a deep feeling of friendship and a happy marriage.

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