Researchers at Michigan State University have found that individuals who are married tend to be happier during life than unmarried people. The study is published in the Journal of Research in Personality. According to the researchers, marriage seems to protect against normal declines in happiness during adulthood.
Stevie C.Y. Yap, a researcher in MSU’s Department of Psychology, explained: “Our study suggests that people on average are happier than they would have been if they didn’t get married.”
In order to determine whether personality helps individuals adapt to major life events, such as marriage, having a baby, or losing a job, Yap, Ivana Anusic and Richard Lucas examined data on thousands of individuals who participated in a long-running, national British survey.
The researchers found that personality does not help individuals deal with major life events.
Yap said:
“Past research has suggested that personality is important in how people react to important life events. But we found that there were no consistent effects of personality in how people react and adapt to these major events.”
The team found that happiness among unmarried individuals gradually declined as they aged, whereas happiness levels among married people generally stayed stable throughout life.
Written By Grace Rattue