Marriage = Game Over

We've talked about the changes in marriage trends as people are getting married less often, and later on in life. In the research that's been done many individuals source reasons such as fear of divorce, desire to be financially stable, and fear of losing "freedom."

Freedom can be defined by anything from boys/girls weekends, to having awesome sex, to sadness and despair in its wake. People are legitimately believing this - you may be believing this. But I ask you then - if it's terrible, why are people still getting married? Better yet, why are they staying married?

The benefits of marriage are a widely popular study in the field of family sciences, and that's because as the culture, definitions and parameters surrounding marriage change, it's important that we reevaluate to make sure they're still the same, and so far so good. Now, before jumping in to the benefits, let's talk about means and norms. These things are going to be true for most couples, there are some who these don't hold true for, for a multitude of reasons. There always exceptions to rules.

Linda J. Waite from the University of Chicago is a sociologist who studies families. Her emphasis is strongly in the field of couples and marriage and she's pretty well known in the field for her extensive work. In several studies she has found that married people are not only happier, on average, than single, divorced, or widowed individuals, but healthier.

In the case of men the level of risk-taking behaviors (drug use, binge drinking, etc.) drops dramatically. Because individuals have someone to support them in healthy living, the health benefits increase significantly. Married individuals also have twice the sex of single people, and statistically similar amounts to cohabiting individuals. And most importantly, while men and women both experience up-swings in happiness once they're married, the difference for men is much greater - than even those who are living with their partner.

Both genders experience these benefits, but by and large men experience a much greater jump in all categories than women. There's much speculation about why this could be, but it's just that - speculation. So does marriage equal game over? To me, it looks like it's game on.