{"id":131801,"date":"2023-08-03T10:25:42","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T14:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=131801"},"modified":"2023-08-03T10:25:42","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T14:25:42","slug":"single-and-childless-adults-are-less-happy-than-married-couples-scholars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/single-and-childless-adults-are-less-happy-than-married-couples-scholars\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Single and childless\u2019 adults are less happy than married couples: scholars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Marital status is and has been a very important marker for happiness,\u2019 researcher wrote<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Married couples are happier than \u201csingle and childless\u201d adults, according to research from the University of Chicago and commentary from a University of Virginia sociologist.<\/p>\n

A new paper<\/a> from University of Chicago economist Sam Peltzman found that \u201cthe married population is over 30 points happier than the unmarried, and that number has hardly changed since the 1970s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMarital status is and has been a very important marker for happiness,\u201d Peltzman wrote. He based his academic paper on data from the General Social Survey.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing married is the most important differentiator with a 30-percentage point happy-unhappy gap over the unmarried,\u201d he concluded. \u201cConservatives are distinctly happier than liberals as are people who trust others or the Federal government,\u201d he also found.<\/p>\n

The findings show the importance of promoting matrimony, according to Bradford Wilcox, a UVA sociologist and a director of the National Marriage Project at the public university.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmericans who are married with children are now leading happier and more prosperous lives, on average, than men and women who are single and childless,\u201d Wilcox wrote with David Bass at Unherd<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo fix what ails America, we need to renew marriage and familial ties, especially in poor and working-class communities where the fabric of family life is weakest,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

The pair then suggested several policies, such as fixing the tax code, that would incentivize marriage.<\/p>\n

They wrote:<\/p>\n

A big step forward would be to eliminate marriage penalties that keep too many parents from exchanging vows. The blame lies at the federal level, where policymakers have established tax and safety-net benefits over the last six decades that too frequently punish marriage, especially for the working class and poor. Programmes like Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit, for instance, often penalise couples with kids if they marry. The Government must stop making marriage a bad financial bet for lower-income families.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s well past time we acknowledged that helping American men and women build meaningful and satisfying lives for themselves and their children requires a renewed emphasis on the importance of marriage,\u201d Wilcox and Bass wrote. \u201cThis should not be dependent on where they sit across the class divide.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> Notre Dame researcher says schools should encourage marriage<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGE: IVASH Studio\/Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n

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