A 2003 study provided insight into the complex relationship between marital status and happiness. Researchers found that people get a small boost in life satisfaction from marriage. This research found that the happiness boost that we get is only one tenth of one point on an 11-point scale. Researchers suggest that it is probably due to our initial reactions to marriage and that we then return to prior levels of happiness. The study took place over 15 years and involved over 24,000 individuals living in Germany. Researchers also found that most people who get married and stayed married had been more satisfied with their lives than their non-married peers even before their marriages occurred.
The results highlight how the process of adaptation plays a role in mental health and life satisfaction. Even when we initially react strongly to life events, evidence suggests that we eventually return to our normal levels of happiness. People who have won huge amounts of money and those who have experienced debilitating injuries do not differ significantly in life satisfaction from the average person.
Richard E. Lucas, Ph.D. and his colleagues found that most people in their study were no more satisfied with life after marriage than they were prior to marriage. As might be expected, widows and widowers were less satisfied with life after the death of their spouse than they were prior to marriage. Even they showed signs of adaptation and most eventually returned to a level of life satisfaction close to their initial levels.
The authors also found that the most satisfied people reacted least positively to marriage and most negatively to divorce and widowhood. An APA press release quotes the authors as stating that "An event such as marriage or divorce does not have the same implications for all individuals. A person who is very satisfied with life probably has a rich social network and has less to gain from the companionship of marriage. On the other hand, the person who is lonely and, therefore, somewhat dissatisfied, can gain much by marrying. Similarly, the person who is very satisfied with his or her life because their marriage is wonderful has more to lose if their spouse dies."
Reference: Reexaming Adaptation and the Set Point Model of Happiness: Reactions to Changes in Marital Status, Richard E. Lucas, Andrew E. Clark, Yannis Georgellis, and Ed Diener; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 84, No. 3.
Last edited 2/08/06
