• Marriage
  • Benefits for Children and Youth
  • Benefits for Communities
  • Benefits For Men
  • Benefits For Women
  • Why Wait?
• Pregnancy
  • Are You Ready To Be A Teen Parent?
  • Pregnancy Myths/Facts
• STDs
  • Girls v. Boys
  • Am I At Risk?
  • Chlamydia
  • Genital Herpes
  • Gonorrhea
  • HIV/AIDS
  • HPV
  • Trichomoniasis
  • Syphilis

Marriage

Marriage is the unique bond between two people in which the total person is shared with the other.  Good communication, romance, faithfulness, commitment, and honesty are all important components of a strong marriage.  Studies have shown that strong, healthy marriages have many benefits.

Benefits of Healthy Marriage for Adults:

“One of the most consistent findings is that men and women do markedly better in all measures of specific and general well-being when they are married compared to any of their unmarried counterparts. Married couples are healthier, physical and mentally, and they live longer, enjoy a more fulfilled life, and take better care of themselves (and each other)…One of social science’s best-kept secrets is that marriage is much more than a legal agreement between two people. Marriage makes a difference in the lives of men and women.” (Stanton, Glen T. Why Marriage Matters: Reasons to Believe in Marriage in Postmodern Society. Colorado Springs: Pinon Press: 1997)

“…married couples have substantial benefits over unmarried in labor force productivity, physical and mental health, general happiness, and longevity.” (Popenoe, D. and Dafoe, B.W. Should We Live Together? A Comprehensive Review of Recent Research. The National Marriage Project, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 1999)

“The evidence from four decades of research is surprisingly clear: a good marriage is both men’s and women’s best bet for living a long and healthy life”. (Waite, Linda J. and Gallagher, Maggie. The Case for Marriage. New York; Doubleday. 2000)

The health benefits of marriage are so strong that a married man with heart disease can be expected to live, on average, 1400 days longer (nearly four years) than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. This longer life expectancy is even greater for a married man who has cancer or is 20 pounds overweight compared to his healthy, but unmarried, counterpart.” (Waite, Linda J. Does Marriage Matter? Presidential Address to the American Population Association of America, April 8, 1995)