Is Marriage Essential for Good Physical and Mental Health of Women?

Many research studies have shown that marriage is the central relationship for most adults and has wide range of beneficial effects for mental and physical health. We draw the judgment, after looking across many journals and disciplines, that there is persuasive longitudinal evidence for such effects specifically for men, but for women instead of marriage, it's the quality of marriage that has beneficial effects for physical and psychological health. Satisfying marriages seem to enhance both men's and women's health, but stressful marriages may have detrimental effects. Instead stressful marriages also may be less healthy for some people than being single; hence this paper examines an accumulating modern literature on the health benefits of marital relationships and also effects of marital quality on women's health.