Marry a Friend, Have Happier Life
With divorce at an all-time high, some good news about marriage has arrived! This new study, conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, shows that marriage (especially to your best friend) can make your life happier. In our Atlanta family law practice, we think that’s something to celebrate!
Conducted mostly using data from the United Kingdom, the study says that people who are married are “more satisfied” with their lives than their single counterparts. The researchers says that the happiness is magnified especially during the “mid-life dip” when some couples are known to begin to struggle with issues such as career satisfaction, relationships and health.
The study also explores “friendship as a mechanism” and how marriage to someone who started out as a friend could experience benefits of marriage “twice as large” than those who married someone that they met and began a romantic relationship with to start with.
A Gallup World Poll was also used to “show that although the overall well-being effects of marriage appear to vary across cultural contexts, marriage eases the middle-age dip in life evaluations for all regions except Sub-Saharan Africa.” No explanation was given for why this region didn’t share the same results as their global counterparts.
Bottom line? Marry your best friend and reap the benefits!
