Poll: Married people are happier

[New Sancai Compilation First Release] While marriage can be hard work, a new survey suggests it can also be a panacea for happiness.

Gallup polls show that married adults are more satisfied with their lives than in any other relationship type.

"No matter how you analyze these data, we find that marriage has a sizable impact on how people evaluate their lives," Jonathan Rothwell, the poll's author and Gallup's chief economist, told CNN. and significant advantages.”

The survey included data from 2009 to 2023. More than 2.5 million American adults were asked how they would evaluate their lives, with 0 being the worst and 10 being the best. Respondents were then asked how happy they thought they would be five years from now.

People must rate their present life as a seven or higher and their future life as an eight or higher to be considered "happy."

Married people were consistently happier over the survey period, ranging from 12 to 24 percent higher depending on the year.

The gap persisted even when the researchers adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, gender and education.

Experts offer a few reasons why marriage may be an integral part of happiness.

“At the very least, the concept of commitment means the experience of connecting with another person. At its best, it means connecting to a consistent, safe and secure home base, someone who will be there when you face any adversity. around you," Boston psychologist Monica O'Neal told.

Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, told CNN that factors such as race, age, gender and education are all important.

"But when it comes to measuring whether you're living a happy life, marriage seems to be more important than these things," he added.

“We are social animals,” Wilcox said. “As Aristotle said, we are wired to be connected.”

Licensed marriage and family therapist Ian Kerner told CNN that marital happiness may stem from people's expectations of marriage.

"In my practice over the past decade, I've noticed a gradual shift from 'romantic marriage' to 'companionship marriage,' meaning that people are increasingly choosing from the outset to be more like best friends than passionate partners. Spouse," Kerner said.

This means, he added, that many people choose partners based on qualities that promote stability and satisfaction.

But Rothwell points out that it's hard to say whether marriage is the real cause of higher levels of happiness. The survey noted that those with qualities that bring more happiness are also likely to be those seeking marriage.

Still, these views should at least lead to greater confidence in marriage.

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)