Marriage is Good For You, Guys: A Selection from Nicholas A. Christakis & James H. Fowler’s Connected (2009)
“Modern research confirms that marriage is indeed good for you, but the benefits for men and women are different. If we could randomly select ten thousand men to be married to ten thousand women, and if we could then follow these couples for years to see who died when, statistical analysis suggests that what we would find is this: being married adds seven years to a man’s life and two years to a woman’s life . . . .
In terms of practical support, the most obvious way that husbands and wives help each other is via the economies of scale derived from a joint household—it costs less to live together than to live apart. Having a spouse is also like having an all-purpose assistant who can at least theoretically meet all kinds of needs. Spouses are reservoirs of information and sources of advice, and hence they influence each other’s behavior. They have opinions about everything from whether we should wear our jeans or our seat belts, whether we should eat out or order in, whether we should save more money or blow it all. . . .
In terms of gender roles, the main way marriage is helpful to the health of men is by providing them with social support and connection, via their wives, to the broader social world. Equally important, married men abandon what have been called ‘stupid bachelor tricks.’ When they get married, men assume adult roles: they get rid of the motorcycle in the garage, stop using illegal drugs, eat regular meals, get a job, come home at a reasonable hour, and start taking their responsibilities more seriously—all of which helps to prolong their lives. This process of social control, with wives modifying their husbands’ health behaviors, appears to be crucial to how men’s health improves with marriage. Conversely, the main way that marriage improves the health and longevity of women is much simpler: married women are richer.”—Nicholas A. Christakis & James H. Fowler, Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives — How Your Friends’ Friends’ Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do (2009)
