It looks like the key to happiness is getting married.
At least, that’s what a new study has determined. The study, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, found that married people are much happier than singles. The study surveyed over 10,000 people in the United States about their level of happiness, analyzing various factors including relationship status, age, gender, political ideology and more.
For the report, Sam Peltzman, the study’s lead author, scaled the survey answers to a range of -100 to 100, with -100 representing responses of people who were “not too happy,” 0 representing responses of those who were “pretty happy” and 100 representing people who claim to be “very happy.”
According to his data, married people have consistently scored 30 points higher on the happiness scale than their non-married counterparts over the last 50 years.
Peltzman said that the findings are consistent with previous research on the relationship between marriage and happiness. They believe that marriage provides a number of benefits that can lead to increased happiness, including financial security, social support and a sense of purpose.
“No subsequent population categorization will yield so large a difference in happiness across so many people,” Peltzman wrote.
He also added that “low happiness characterizes all types of non-married,” referring to widowed, divorced, separated and never married respondents.
The study’s findings are good news for those who are considering getting married. However, it’s important to note that marriage is not a guarantee of happiness. The study found that there was a significant variation in happiness levels among married people. Some married people were very happy, while others were only moderately happy or even unhappy.
