Cohabiting is better for men鈥檚 mental health, but marriage is better for women鈥檚 happiness, suggests a new study.
The study of nearly 4,500 men and women in the UK also reveals that men and women who stick with their first enduring relationship enjoy good mental health.
However, where men recover from serial break-ups, women fare much worse. In fact it may be much better for a woman鈥檚 mental health to stay single than to have loved and lost, suggests the study by Michaela Benzeval at Queen Mary, University of London and colleagues.
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鈥淭he lack of protection of the financial and property rights, and hence the security of cohabiting couples when they separate may explain why women who cohabit have poorer mental health than women who marry,鈥� says the team.
鈥淔or women, security is more important,鈥� say Paula Hall, a relationship counsellor at Relate. 鈥淭hey are the ones who have babies and they have very strong nurturing and protective instincts. That may be one reason why marriage is more important to them.
鈥淔or men, security is less of an issue. Feeling trapped is a bigger problem for them. That may be way they fare better if they cohabit rather than marry,鈥� she told the BBC.
Depression and anxiety
Marriage has long been associated with good health benefits 鈥� particularly for men. Previous studies have shown people who wed have longer life expectancy, lower death rates and better psychological wellbeing than those who remain unmarried, says the team.
Benzeval and colleagues examined data from a major survey 鈥� the British Household Panael Survey 鈥� covering 10,000 adults from 1991 to 2000.
The men and women under 65 who were included in Benzeval鈥檚 analysis were interviewed and given a standard questionnaire to assess psychological distress, including depression and anxiety.
鈥淓nduring first partnerships were associated with good mental health,鈥� say the researchers.
The break-up of partnerships was linked to poor mental health in both sexes, although forming new relationships partially reversed this. However, women took longer to recover than men.
Women鈥檚 mental health progressively deteriorated with the more break-ups they experienced.
But this was far from the case in men. 鈥淥ddly, the best mental health was observed in men who had undergone two or more partnership reformations, and this was significantly better than all other men,鈥� note the authors.
Single women who never married or moved in with a partner also showed good mental health, in contrast to single men.
Journal reference: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (vol 58, p 53)