Does Martial Status Affect Happiness - 1039 Words

Running head: DOES MARTIAL STATUS AFFECT HAPPINESS 1 Are Married Couples Happier than Unmarried Individuals? Linda A. Jones Norfolk State University DOES MARTIAL STATUS AFFECT HAPPINESS 2 Abstract One of the aspects of happiness and well-being is forming a close bond with others. As human beings we must have a sense of belonging and we need form tight knit bonds with others in order to be psychologically healthy. One of those close†¦show more content†¦Studies that focused on an individual’s physical well-being, found that married individuals have the lowest morbidity and mortality rates than individuals who were not married. Similar to findings on physical well-being, findings based on studies of psychological well-being discovered that married individuals experience better mental health than unmarried persons. Studies that used avowed happiness to assess an individual’s subjective well-being discovered that married people were happier than never-married, separated, divorced, and widowed persons (Bradburn 1969). Bradburn (1969) found that a large percentage of married people reported that they were very happy than those who were never-married, separate d, divorced, and widowed. After the married individual’s report, the second highest happiness report came from individuals who never-married. They reported that they were very happy than separated, divorced, and widowed persons. In concurrence with Bradburn (1969), Gove, Hughes, and Style (1983) found that married persons were happier than all classes of unmarried persons. The next happiness group was never-married persons who reported the next highest level of happiness, followed by widowed and divorced