Yeah, yeah. You’re tired of hearing of all the wondrous benefits of marriage (especially if you’ve been through a failed one or two already). And who can blame you? A good marriage seems more and more like some ideal, rather than the reality.

And yet, another study published this week shows the health benefits of a happy marriage — lower blood pressure. Of note is that bad marriages don’t help you — you’ll actually have a higher blood pressure, as well as being single.

Oddly, the researchers did not examine people who were in relationships, long-term or short-term. That seems like a natural question to ask in the context of such research. Is it the bonds of marriage that hold blood pressure lower, or is it simply a positive, supportive relationship with a significant other? They did look at a person’s social support network, but that’s not really analogous to marriage. This seems like a glaring oversight.

Could this be attributed to the fact that the lead researcher is from Brigham Young University, a Christian college focused on things like “family values” and marriage? And the research would be less compelling (and make for less interesting headlines) if they simply found any good, healthy relationship helped both people in the relationship to live more healthy and enjoyable lives?

In the end, the researchers really can’t answer their own question, since they didn’t examine the effect of non-marital romantic relationships.

The data would likely show that regardless of whether a matrimonial vow was taken, people in stable, positive romantic relationships with significant others benefit both physically and mentally — stuff of conventional wisdom.

Reference:

Holt-Lunstad, J., Birmingham, W. & Jones, B.Q. (2008). Is There Something Unique about Marriage? The Relative Impact of Marital Status, Relationship Quality, and Network Social Support on Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Mental Health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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Another Marriage Benefit: Lower Blood Pressure (3/21/2008)

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Mar 2008
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