The Ambiguous Link between Marriage and Health: A Dynamic Reanalysis of Loss and Gain Effects

The positive link between marriage and health has frequently been analyzed and typically been interpreted in terms of health protection. Recently, the benefits of marriage have been criticized by sociologists who emphasize the strength of single persons in societies where being single is fully institutionalized. This paper reviews the evidence and addresses a number of unresolved issues in the literature, using recent annual panel data over a 16-year period from Switzerland. The findings cast doubts about the theory of health protection. The impact of “loss” (divorce) is about three times stronger than the impact of “gain” (marriage entry), and the effects of gain are often very small. Moreover, after marriage entry and after marriage exit, there is adjustment rather than accumulation. Especially after divorce, we find substantial recovery over the years. Finally, the results are highly sensitive to the outcome studied. Effects are strongest for life satisfaction, weak for mental health, and almost absent for two concrete health measures. We speculate that marriage is primarily linked to a more positive evaluation of one's life rather than to better health.