Researchers have recently published the results of a study that followed the marriages of around 1,600 people over a 20-year period to uncover the effects of marital happiness on physical health.
According to co-author Cody Hollist, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, there is a recognised link between health and the happiness of marriage, but it is not clear whether a happy marriage creates good health, or whether a bad marriage leads to poor health.
“There is no way to tease out what caused what,” he said. “But it is clear that marital quality and health run in tandem.”
The study looked at couples in two age groups, 18 – 39 years and 40 – 55, and found:
- Evidence of a strong link between good health and marital happiness, regardless of the age of the couples
- The younger age group tended to have better health at the start, but more marriage problems and reduced happiness than the older group.
- The younger group had a greater connection between increased marital happiness and improved health.
- The older group demonstrated a significant link between a reduction in marital problems and improved health.
“We wanted to compare the health trajectory with the happiness trajectory,” Hollist said. “As health worsens, do their marriages stay stable? What we found is that there’s a relationship between health and happiness for both age groups. If their health is good, their happiness is up.”
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