Marital Relationships

A stable and satisfying marriage can provide an important source of emotional and instrumental support throughout adulthood, and is associated with increased economic well-being, mental health, and physical health. Some of these apparent benefits of marriage may result from improved health behaviors among married people, care and monitoring provided by a spouse, or by selection of the healthiest, happiest, and most economically secure men and women into stable marriages in the first place. Although the exact nature of processes producing these positive outcomes is not well understood, marriage is associated with important benefits for older Americans.