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Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Marriage AND Babies Make Women Happier

The Daily Mail reports that "Marriage and babies really DO make women happier, says top researcher who's spent 20 years studying relationships." 

    The article notes that "[s]tudies suggest that around a third of all adult women suffer some sort of mental health problem, compared to a fifth of men," with 41 percent of women in the 18 to 25 age group suffering a mental health issue. And the number of women suffering from depression has increased 10% just since 2017. Part of the reason for this is that fewer women are getting married and having children.

Some 40 percent of married mothers - both heterosexual and lesbian women - aged under 55 reported that they were 'very happy' with their lives, compared with 22 percent of single, childfree women and 25 percent of married childfree women, according to 2022 General Social Survey. Only 13 percent of divorced women say they've reached this level of happiness.

After discussing the mental health, physical health, and financial benefits of marriage and children--and how these facts upset feminists--the author concludes:

    Marriage is not a cure-it-all magic wand, but the data tell us that the average American woman who is married with children is markedly less lonely and living a more meaningful and joyful life. 

    So, to millions of young women who are at the start of adulthood: Do not let your fears of failing in love and family, or a slavish devotion to career, hold you back. 

    Do not allow popular misconceptions to keep you from enjoying the benefits of marriage and motherhood.

    Prioritize relationships in your twenties, cultivate friendships with other marriage-minded young adults, be open to a relationship that could lead to marriage, and embrace marriage and parenthood when the time comes. 

2 comments:

  1. I'm not sure that worked for my parents - they had to deal with me.

    ReplyDelete