Welcome back! Our last blog (Marriage: God’s plan - Part 1) discussed that marriage’s primary purpose in the Bible is a tool for spreading the gospel and related this relationship to Christ and His bride the church. This time let us discuss the research that backs the great value marriage conveys to its participants and society.
Teleios recently reviewed published studies in the medical literature which evaluated the benefits and disadvantages of legally binding, heterosexual marriage (https://teleiosresearch.com/benefit-of-marriage/). We went back as far as 1966!
The analysis showed overwhelming benefits of traditional marriage on general wellbeing and specific parameters that might affect wellbeing, including:
- Physical and mental health
- Sexual satisfaction
- Family income
- Children’s outcomes
Of the 42 articles evaluated, only 3 did not describe any marriage benefits. Even more, the stronger the relationship commitment, the greater trend of enhanced wellbeing. Never married, widowed, and divorced individuals suffered the lowest wellbeing.
Interestingly, individuals in a committed relationship, even unmarried, generally had improved elements of wellbeing compared to those uncommitted. But marriage relationships, which typically demonstrate the strongest legal and outward social commitment to a relationship, generally had the highest wellbeing of all relationships. Further, some evidence in diseased and depressed individuals indicated that the better the quality of the marriage relationship, the better the wellbeing-related outcome (Figure 1).
A Gallup polling found similar findings (Table 1).
How do we explain these results? We speculate on several reasons:
- A committed partner helping with income, household tasks, and raising children can lessen the burden compared to a single parent.
- Socialization with a marriage partner provides a potential source of personal enrichment, encouragement, and empathy.
- The more committed the relationship, the greater confidence spouses can have in each other thus conserving time, money and emotion required to correct problems in their relationship.
- Marriage partners can help maintain good health by encouraging each other to keep medical appointments, take medicines and develop a healthy lifestyle.
- Marriage commitment may facilitate sexual satisfaction by building confidence that no competing love interest is diverting the attention of the spouse.
Why would a committed marital relationship have a positive impact on children and the community? Again, several potential explanations are:
- A couple can help each other by providing time and income to better raise children and serve the community.
- Satisfied couples who are not dealing with internal problems can more easily look outwards to helping their children and community.
- Committed couples who agree together on how to raise their children can provide a more consistent, productive, secure, and supportive home environment.
Our review suggested that traditional marriage generally provides numerous benefits to the relationship partners through enhanced measures of mental and physical wellbeing, and benefits to their children compared to other heterosexual partnership arrangements or single status.
Wow, traditional marriage is a precious institution that is so beneficial for the partners and society. God is so wise!
Read similar topics:
https://teleiosresearch.com/bible-marriage/
https://teleiosresearch.com/dating-habits-of-young-christians/
https://teleiosresearch.com/effect-early-sexual-activity-mental-health/
Join us next time as we begin an exciting series about the Christian life.
William C. Stewart, MD
Email - info@teleiosresearch.com
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