Women are twice as likely to Be Happy if they are married, with kids.
The feministas have been badmouthing marriage for my entire life, but most of the married couples I know are happy, long-time married folks. Most of the unhappy women are single or divorced, and while the feministas keep beating the single-woman-drum like a Trump supporter at a Pride Parade, the data continues to suggest something different.
The General Social Survey, the academic gold standard in social science measurements, tells us that among women age 18 to 55 in the United States, 40 percent of those who are married and have children report being “very happy.” Only 25 percent of married childless women report being very happy, while just 22 percent of unmarried childless women do. Unmarried mothers? Only 17 percent report being “very happy.”
Married women are the happiest women, or more likely to be satisfied, perhaps because they have more and better sex (also a statistical fact), or maybe it’s a lot of little things. The Institute for Family Studies wanted to figure it out, so they did their own research.
Married women are less likely to feel lonely, have richer social connections, and “report significantly higher levels of touch than unmarried women.”
Fifty-one percent of married mothers received satisfying levels of physical affection while only 17 percent of unmarried childless women did. Fifty-eight percent of married mothers report “most days I get a hug and a kiss” while only 18 percent of spouseless and childless women indicate this is true.
Twenge’s team contends, “Thus, one factor that explains why married women are happier than their unmarried peers is that they have more regular opportunities for kissing, hugging, and snuggling.”
Did you hug or kiss your wife or mom today? Hug your daughter or sister, while you’re at it. She won’t give you kooties, we promise. Go ahead, we’ll wait.
And finally,
A final characteristic driving greater happiness in married moms is finding bigger meaning and purpose in life. WWS survey data shows married women with children are “most likely to report a clear purpose in life” believing that “what I do in life is valuable and worthwhile.” Thirty-three percent of married moms indicate this, while only 20 percent of unmarried childless women do. Add to this, the fact that 49 percent of married mothers say their “life feels meaningful all or most of the time” while only 32 percent of unmarried women without kids do.
It’s certainly not for everyone, and being single and childless does not deny you the possibility of meaning, drive, purpose, or happiness, but the survey results are hard to ignore. Women need someone to listen to them (that’s listen, not just hear). Not all, but most feel more content in a secure relationship with emotional security. Fiscal and personal security are also important, but plenty of poor married women enjoy life considerably more than their wealthy single counterparts.
For the Darwinists, it’s biology. Natural selection suggests that long-term mating relationships (given the nature of human babies and children) are best for the species. Our bodies are coded for that, and when we find it, we are rewarded with feelings that reinforce it. If that’s where your head is trapped, science and chemicals and evolution favor two-parent families – whose children tend to have the best outcomes.
And yes, there are unhappy marriages – we are still human and make mistakes, and life throws a lot of curveballs your way. But when it comes to true happiness, it is the culture, not marriage, that is broken.
