HAPPILY MARRIED COUPLES ARE HEALTHIER.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Research shows that married people have better mental and physical health than their unmarried peers and are less likely to develop chronic conditions than their widowed or divorced counterparts. An assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Missouri, Columbia, says that people who have happy marriages also are more likely to rate their health as better as they age, and that aging adults whose physical health is declining especially could benefit from improving their marriages.

Christine Proulx examined the long-term relationship between self-rated health and marital quality. She found that, in all stages of marriage, positive or negative relationships affect an individual's health. Spouses should be aware that how they treat each other and how happy they are in their marriages affect both partners' health, and they should concentrate more on their personal relationships when thinking holistically about their health.

"We often think...