Work

Has the Future of Marriage Arrived? A Contemporary Examination of Gender, Marriage, and Psychological Well-Being

Year: 2003

Type: article

Abstract: A long tradition of research and theory on gender, marriage, and mental health suggests that marital status is more important to men's psychological well-being than women's while marital quality is more important to women's well-being than men's. These beliefs rest largely on a theoretical and empirical foundation established in the 1970s, but, despite changes in gender and family roles, they have rarely been questioned. The present analysis of three waves of a nationally representative survey indicates that, with few exceptions, the effects of marital status, marital transitions, and marital quality on psychological well-being are similar for men and women. Further, for men and women, occupying an unsatisfying marriage undermines psychological well-being to a similar extent--and, in some cases, to a greater extent--than exiting marriage or being continually unmarried.

Source: Journal of Health and Social Behavior

DOI: 10.2307/1519794

Author: Kristi Williams

Institution: The Ohio State University

Language: English

Topic: Family Dynamics and Relationships

Subfield: Demography

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging