Marriage: Path to Happiness

[SocPsy]

I found the list on the BBC News website. Does the path to happiness require marriage? Are married people happy?  Are singles really unhappy?

PATH TO HAPPINESS
1. Genetic propensity to happiness
2. Marriage
3. Make friends and value them
4. Desire less
5. Do someone a good turn
6. Have faith (religious or not)
7. Stop comparing your looks with others
8. Earn more money
9. Grow old gracefully
10. Don't worry if you're not a genius
See BBC News article: "Nigeria tops happiness survey"
2 October, 2003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3157570.stm

Having a wife as a confidante might help to explain why married men are able to deal with stress better and are therefore less likely to suffer from heart attacks or strokes.
See BBC News article: "Single men risk earlier death"
15 February, 2002
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1820483.stm

[Sir Percy]

My guess is that the Beeb sees far too many pathway choices to happiness - very proletarian - and have started to simplify by getting rid of no 2.

[SIAM]

4. Desire less
...
8. Earn more money

How much 'more'? This seems to be a contradiction unless they mean 'earn enough money so that it's not a constant worry'.

[devia]

Studies are pretty clear that married people live longer, but I think that's a stat that doesn't take in the whole picture.

Oviously the 300 pound chain smoking alcholic is much less likely to find a spouse in the first place. What comes first? An unhealthy lifestyle or not finding the spouse?

I have two freinds that I can point at;  one being a gambling addict, the other a pothead as being single and wishing they were married. There are good reasons why they are single.

Basically the list is just plain common sense.

Desire less means not getting yourself into debt and the stress that comes from it. It doesn't matter what you earn people will find a way to spend it and more if thats what they are inclined to do.

Earn more money, translates into the fact that people who do not have stress over putting the next meal on the table/the roof over the head have less stress in life.

[Psyle]

It's what marriage represents and not the actual task of getting married. If you have a partner you trust and love and plan a life together you'll likely have very similar results as people are married. When they compare people living together to those that are married they don't take into account the nature of the relationship. If they're just enjoy themselves they're likely different than 2 people who are planning a life together but just not married.

I personally don't like marriage because of how ppl approach it. If married they'll put up with something more than before marriage. I don't want that. People often let themselvs go because they no longer have to ATTRACT a mate.. they HAVE ONE. Everyone likes to approach a marriage as if it means more of a commitment than a normal relationship. I don't know... if there is such a thing as a divorse what real value can a marriage hold other than a legally binding long term relationship?

And lets not even get into how people radically change once married becuse they feel it totally changes the dynamic of the relationship..