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The Effects of Marital and Nonmarital Union Transition on Health
Author(s) -
Wu Zheng,
Hart Randy
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00420.x
Subject(s) - cohabitation , demographic economics , mental health , physical health , marital status , psychology , economics , political science , demography , sociology , population , psychiatry , law
This study examines the effects of marital and nonmarital union transition on health. Utilizing Canadian longitudinal data, we find that exiting both marriage and cohabitation seems to have similar effects: Dissolving either union tends to be associated with a decrease in physical health, mental health, or both. With possible selection effects eliminated and protection effects held constant, we find that remaining in either type of union generally is associated with poorer health. We speculate that decreased union quality may account for this inverse relationship, and that protection effects may explain much of the reported health gains associated with union life.