We have good news for all the women that feel pressured to rush toward the altar and motherhood: Studies show that you might be happier and live longer just the way you are!
The Guardian reports that Paul Dolan, professor of behavioral science, said that while “married people are happier than other population subgroups”, it only applies to “when their spouse is in the room when they’re asked how happy they are”.
The professor added that when the spouse is not present in the room, many married people admitted to feeling miserable. Dolan, who teaches at the London School of Economics, added that the healthiest and happiest population subgroup, according to research, are women who never married or had children.
His comments come after the release of his book Happy Ever After: Escaping the Myths of the Perfect Life which reflects on data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) that questioned different types of people. It included single people, married people, separated, divorced, and widowed, and compared their happiness levels.
Interestingly enough, though, the opposite was true for men. Married men seemed to get more of a benefit from marriage than women, and, as Dolan explained, they “calmed down” after tying the knot.
He said that men take fewer risks, earn more money at work, and live a bit longer when married. Women, on the other hand, have to put up with that, and lose their life sooner than if they were never married.
According to The Guardian, Dolan also said that middle-aged women who were married also saw an uptick in potential mental and physical ailments.
In order to champion the results, he said that when people see a single woman of 40 who has never had children, often say “That’s a shame, maybe one day she’ll meet the right guy and that’ll change”. However, what they don’t realize is that maybe she’ll meet the wrong guy and that’ll change. Maybe she will meet a guy who will make her less happy and healthy, and she will lose her life sooner.
