What Does Marriage Have to Do with Being Happy?

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Most of the research suggests married people are happier than singles, but does marriage really make people happier? Or are happier people just more likely to get married?

A new review of the literature published by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that there really is a causal relationship between marriage and happiness, and the happiest, according to authors John F. Helliwell and Shawn Grover, are those who marry their best friend.

Helliwell and Grover used the Gallup World Poll and a few nationwide surveys in the U.K. to analyze the link between well-being and marriage. They found that married people are still more satisfied with their lives than singles, even if premarital well-being is controlled for.

Even forthose in their 40s and 50s, when happiness tends to bottom-out before picking back up later in life, marriage seems to have a positive effect. Especially  you’re like me, and finally find your best friend at age 49!

The authors wrote: “We find that the married have a less deep U-shape in life satisfaction across age groups than do the unmarried, indicating that marriage may help ease the causes of the mid-life dip in life satisfaction, and that the benefits of marriage are unlikely to be short-lived.”

They conclude that couples who are best friends explain the apparent causal relationship between marriage and happiness. For people who say their partner is their best friend, the well-being effects of marriage are doubled, even when controlling for factors like age, gender, income, health, and life satisfaction before marriage.

BTW, increased happiness also seems to occur for those who are not married, but only living together.

The key to any great relationship is not a search for a husband, wife or your soul mate, but a thorough search for your best friend.

Laura Lee Carter, MA Counseling Psychology, the writer behind the popular online magazine Midlife Crisis Queen,has been helping others turn midlife difficulties into opportunities for personal change since 2007. Besides working as a psychotherapist, Laura Lee has authored a number of books and e-books on midlife transformation.  Don’t miss her new book: Find Your Reason to Be Here: The Search for Meaning in Midlife.Follow her on Twitter: @midlifequeen.