Married People Are Happier… Than Who?

An interesting study out of Michigan State University looked at the question “Are married people happier?”.   They found that married people were not necessarily happier than they were when they were single, but compared to single people of the same age, tended to stay happier over time.  That is, the researchers found that married people are, on the whole happier than they would have been if they had stayed single.

Although they did not study unmarried, cohabitating couples, that would be a great follow up.  Does the security and social acceptance of a marriage play a role in maintaining higher levels of satisfaction, or is it just the fact that people are in committed long-term relationships that keeps those levels from declining as time passes?

The Huffington Post has a Q&A with the study’s authors here.

If you have friends tying the knot soon, find the perfect card at Homoquotables.com.