Marriage and Health: A Three-Generation Study of Mexican Americans

The relationships between health and marital status and marital satisfaction were investigated with data from a three-generation study of Mexican Americans. Overall, few consistent differences in physical health symptoms and self-rated health were found by marital status once effects of sex, age, income, and education were held constant. The few significant differences found were generally in the middle and young generations. Women were found to report poorer health than men in all generations. When married people were examined separately, it was found that marital satisfaction was not related to the health of the older generation but was in the middle and young generation (controlling for other variables). The associations were stronger for the younger generation. It was concluded that marriage and good marriage appear to have more protective influences on younger Mexican Americans, though the possibility was acknowledged that generational differences may reflect selection effects.