Married People Are Happier

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW34097462 BCX4"> <p><span data-contrast="none">If all there was to go on were sitcoms, movies, and mainstream editorials, we’d have to conclude that marriage is a direct path to misery, the “old ball and chain” that only ties us down, limits our freedom, and cramps our sexual fun. Many people now think of marriage less as “settling down” and more as “settling.” Young people are told, “You’ve got plenty of time, live a little, first,” as if life ends after the wedding. </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">The truth about marriage, however, is that it is, statistically, the single best predictor of long-term happiness. Making this even more important to understand is that for at least the last 20 years now, Americans have been steadily getting</span> <em><span data-contrast="none">less</span></em> <span data-contrast= "none">happy.  </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><a href= "https://unherd.com/thepost/the-best-predictor-of-happiness-in-america-marriage/"> <span data-contrast="none">Writing at</span> <em><span data-contrast= "none">UnHerd</span></em></a><em><span data-contrast= "none">,</span></em> <span data-contrast="none">sociologist Brad Wilcox and the Institute for Family Studies’ David Bass point to</span> <a href= "https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4508123"><span data-contrast="none"> new research from the University of Chicago</span></a> <span data-contrast="none">that</span> <span data-contrast= "none">suggests that</span> <span data-contrast="none">“Americans who are married with children are now leading happier and more prosperous lives, on average, than men and women who are single and childless.” And not just a little bit happier, either.</span> <span data-contrast="none">According to</span> <span data-contrast= "none">Wilcox and Bass</span> <span data-contrast="none">there is</span> <span data-c