Health and marriage: The times they are a changin'August 11, 2008EAST LANSING, Mich. - The health of people who never marry is improving, narrowing the gap with their wedded counterparts, according to new research that suggests the practice of encouraging marriage to promote health may be misguided. Hui Liu, assistant professor of sociology at Michigan State University and lead researcher on the project, said sociologists since the 1970s have emphasized that marriage benefits health more so for men than for women. "Married people are still healthier than unmarried people," Liu said, "but the gap between the married and never-married is closing, especially for men."
The findings of Liu and fellow researcher Debra Umberson of the University of Texas at Austin will appear in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. The article is called "The Times They Are a Changin': Marital Status and Health Differentials from 1972 to 2003." The researchers analyzed National Health Interview Survey data from that period and found that while the self-reported health of married people is still better than that of the never-married, the gap has closed considerably. The trend is due almost exclusively to a marked improvement in the self-reported health of never-married men. Liu said that may be partly because never-married men have greater access to social resources and support that historically were found in a spouse. Further, the research shows that the health status of the never-married has improved for all race and gender groups examined: men, women, blacks and whites. (The health of married women also improved, while the health of married men remained stable.) "Politicians and scholars continue to debate the value of marriage for Americans," the researchers write in the study, "with some going so far as to establish social programs and policies to encourage marriage among those socials groups less inclined to marry, particularly the poor and minorities." But the research findings "highlight the complexity of this issue" and suggest that "encouraging marriage in order to promote health may be misguided." In contrast, the self-reported health for the widowed, divorced and separated worsened from 1972 to 2003 relative to their married peers. This held true for both men and women, although the widening gaps between the married and the previously married groups are more pronounced for women than for men. Michigan State University | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Health Current Events and Health News Articles Scientists discover new species of Ebola virus Scientists report the discovery of a new species of Ebola virus, provisionally named Bundibugyo ebolavirus, November 21 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. Oh, what a feeling! People who have lost the ability to interpret emotion after a severe brain injury can regain this vital social skill by being re-educated to read body language, facial expressions and voice tone in others, according to a new study. Screening for colorectal cancer detects unrecognized disease Screening for colorectal cancer detects four out of ten cancers and should be carefully designed to be more effective, according to a study published today on bmj.com. MU study reveals effective anti-tobacco ads should either scare or disgust viewers Now's the perfect time to increase anti-smoking campaigns - Nov. 20 is the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. 11,000 alien species invade Europe For the first time it is now possible to get a comprehensive overview of which alien species are present in Europe, their impacts and consequences for the environment and society. Red, red wine: How it fights Alzheimer's Scientists call it the "French paradox" - a society that, despite consuming food high in cholesterol and saturated fats, has long had low death rates from heart disease. Pollution at home lurks unrecognized, instead attributed to large-scale environmental disasters Although Americans are becoming increasingly aware of toxic chemical exposure from everyday household products like bisphenol A in some baby bottles and lead in some toys, women do not readily connect typical household products with personal chemical exposure and related adverse health effects, according to research from the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Long-term antibiotics reduce COPD exacerbations, raise questions Long-term use of a macrolide antibiotic may reduce the frequency of exacerbations in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by as much as 35 percent, according to a London-based study. Household Exposure to Toxic Chemicals Lurks Unrecognized, Researchers Find Although Americans are becoming increasingly aware of toxic chemical exposure from everyday household products like bisphenol A in some baby bottles and lead in some toys, women do not readily connect typical household products with personal chemical exposure and related adverse health effects. ADHD medications do not cause genetic damage in children In contrast to recent findings, two of the most common medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not appear to cause genetic damage in children who take them as prescribed, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Duke University Medical Center. More Health Current Events and Health News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||