We may have suspected it already, but now the science backs it up: unmarried and childless women are the happiest subgroup in the population. And they are more likely to live longer than their married and child-rearing peers, according to a leading expert in happiness.
Speaking at the Hay festival on Saturday, Paul Dolan, a professor of behavioural science at the London School of Economics, said the latest evidence showed that the traditional markers used to measure success did not correlate with happiness – particularly marriage and raising children.
“We do have some good longitudinal data following the same people over time, but I am going to do a massive disservice to that science and just say: if you’re a man, you should probably get married; if you’re a woman, don’t bother.”
Men benefited from marriage because they “calmed down”, he said. “You take less risks, you earn more money at work, and you live a little longer. She, on the other hand, has to put up with that, and dies sooner than if she never married. The healthiest and happiest population subgroup are women who never married or had children,” he said.
Dolan’s latest book, Happy Ever After, cites evidence from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), which compared levels of pleasure and misery in unmarried, married, divorced, separated and widowed individuals.
Other studies have measured some financial and health benefits in being married for both men and women on average, which Dolan said could be attributed to higher incomes and emotional support, allowing married people to take risks and seek medical help.
However, Dolan said men showed more health benefits from tying the knot, as they took fewer risks. Women’s health was mostly unaffected by marriage, with middle-aged married women even being at higher risk of physical and mental conditions than their single counterparts.
Despite the benefits of a single, childless lifestyle for women, Dolan said that the existing narrative that marriage and children were signs of success meant that the stigma could lead some single women to feel unhappy.
“You see a single woman of 40, who has never had children – ‘Bless, that’s a shame, isn’t it? Maybe one day you’ll meet the right guy and that’ll change.’ No, maybe she’ll meet the wrong guy and that’ll change. Maybe she’ll meet a guy who makes her less happy and healthy, and die sooner.”
Latest Stories
-
Cocoa price surge linked to production decline -COCOBOD CEO
5 mins -
Atarah Praise returns on May 19 at Adenta Barrier
5 mins -
World Robotics Championship: 18 pre-tertiary students poised to win medals for Ghana at global competition
10 mins -
Drowned widow was scammed out of $1.5m on dating app hoax, left note about secret ‘double life’
33 mins -
ECG workers threaten to disconnect power from Ashanti Regional Minister’s home
37 mins -
Brain tumour shatters 20-year-old’s dream of becoming a doctor
45 mins -
ICDP Ghana introduces portable ultrasound machines in rural communities
54 mins -
Seven killed in sleep after Ethiopia building collapses
57 mins -
Fitch affirms ETI at B-; Outlook stable
2 hours -
Pictures: Bawumia meets Pope Francis
2 hours -
Former Bibiani GoldStars midfielder Frank Adjei Jr continues fine form in Swedish League
2 hours -
J.B. Dankwah Adu’s murder: Court orders Daniel Asiedu to open his defence
2 hours -
Marrakech 2024: Five para-athletes to represent Ghana in WPA Grand Prix in Morocco
3 hours -
U.S Senate approves bill to ban TikTok
3 hours -
T-Pain involved in hit-and-run, warns culprit he’ll find them
3 hours