Unhappy Marriages Detrimental To Self-esteem And Health

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Unhappy Marriages Detrimental To Self-esteem And Health

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=36653

Long-term, low-quality marriages have significant effects on overall

well-being, according to a recent study by Penn State researchers.

Hawkins, graduate student, and Alan Booth, distinguished

professor of sociology, human development and family studies, and

demography, said that people who remain unhappily married suffer from

lower levels of self-esteem, overall health, overall happiness, and

life satisfaction along with elevated levels of psychological

distress, in contrast to those in long-term happy marriages.

Booth states, " Unhappily married people may have greater odds of

improving their well-being by dissolving their low-quality unions as

there is no evidence that they are better off in any aspect of

overall well-being than those who divorce. "

Until now, the impact of remaining in an unhappy marriage for a

number of years has received little attention. Social scientists have

consistently found that married individuals have better psychological

and physical well-being than those who are single or divorced.

Similarly, research has demonstrated the detrimental impact of

divorce on the well-being of individuals. However, Hawkins and Booth

expected that in long-term, low-quality marriages, the negative

impact of marital unhappiness would outweigh the potential benefits

that marriage would otherwise confer.

People in unhappy marriages were tracked over a 12-year period in a

national study of married individuals who are representative of the

U.S. population. During the 12-year study, 1,150 participants were

interviewed at four separate time points.

To assess individual's marital happiness, specific aspects of

marriage such as agreement, faithfulness, overall happiness, helping

around the house, and whether the marriage was getting better or

worse were measured. In order to be classified as unhappily married,

individuals had to consistently score below the average marital

happiness of everyone in the study.

" Given the findings of this study, unhappily married individuals do

not reap benefits related to overall happiness, life satisfaction,

self-esteem, and health, typically associated with marriage, " the

researchers said. " The social and emotional support available to

individuals from marriage is not being obtained by those who are

unhappily married. "

In fact, despite the negative consequences of divorce that lower

people's psychological well-being, there is some evidence that

remaining unhappily married is more detrimental than divorcing.

Individuals who divorce and remain unmarried have greater life

satisfaction and higher levels of self-esteem and overall health than

unhappily married individuals, according to the study. Hawkins and

Booth published their findings in the paper, " Unhappily Ever After:

Effects of Long-Term, Low Quality Marriages on Well-Being, " which

appeared in a recent (September) issue of the journal, Social Forces.

Penn State

www.science.psu.edu