Marital Instability May Cause Some Serious Health Issues

Marriage And Beyond

oi-Staff

By Super

Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 14:53

A new survey says, that, after separation, re-marriages don't help a lot to heal the scars that the previous marriage must have left behind. Getting married and remaining married can contribute to your well-being, but remarriage may never heal those burning separation scars, says the new study.

After examining the link between marriage and health, the researchers observed that divorce or widowhood could take its toll on the health of middle-aged and older people. They found that remarriage appeared to lessen the impact caused by a broken marriage, and those who chose to stay single after the wedlock displayed consistently worse health than those who tied the knot again.

On this, one of the researchers corroborates: "We argue that losing a marriage through divorce or widowhood is extremely stressful and that a high-stress period takes a toll on health."

The experts, after looking at data from the Health and Retirement Study, found that marital instability, caused by factors like divorce or spousal loss, often left detrimental impact on health affecting all four areas.

Stress-management specialist Debbie Mandel said: "Multiple divorces create multiple prolonged stressful conditions and undermine personal empowerment." He adds: "Far worse than never marrying. A good marriage is like making deposits in your health savings account for midlife and the golden years."

The study will be published in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.