A complete file about benefits of marriage
Marriage is a great blessing from Allah Almighty and it has many benefits according to many recent studies .let us read…….
Marriage is an affection and mercy
According to a major international study held by University of Otago across 15 countries and 34,493 people, researchers found that getting married is positive for the mental health of both men and women, resulting in reduced risks of the likelihood of most mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
The study led by clinical psychologist Dr Kate Scott from the University of Otago Wellington is based on the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys across developing and developed countries in the past decade. This world first study has been recently published in the UK journal Psychological Medicine.
“We found that compared to never getting married, getting married is good for both men and women in terms of most mental health disorders.” Kate said.
Dr Kate Scott says about the study” One of the more important findings is that in recent years it has been asserted that marriage is better for men than for women in terms of mental health. This study does not agree with that position.”
Also she added : “But what makes this investigation unique and more robust is the sample is so large and across so many countries and the fact that we have data not only on depression, which has been much studied in the past, but also on anxiety and substance use disorders. In addition we were able to look at what happens to mental health in marriage, both in comparison with never getting married, and with ending marriage.”
However the study did find that men are less likely to become depressed in their first marriage than women. The study comments that this may be linked to traditional gender roles in the home. Dr Scott says significant gender role differences in the home can have an effect on mental health problems for married women.
On the downside, the University of Otago, Wellington’s new study shows that ending marriage can increase the risk of mental health problems. Being previously married (i.e. being separated, divorced, and widowed) is associated with increased risk of all mental health disorders in both men and women; particularly with depression in men and substance abuse (drugs and alcohol) in women.
“What our study points to is that the marital relationship offers a lot of mental health benefits for both men and women, and that the distress and disruption associated with ending marriage can make people vulnerable to developing mental disorders”. Said Kate
Glory to Allah who told us 1400 years ago about the many benefits of marriage as He Almighty says: (And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect.){ Sûrat Ar-Rûm - The Romans -verse21}.
Here we have to draw your attention to an important point that all rules of Islam are applicable for all people so that prophet Mohamed peace be upon him make it very clear as he says to Osman ibn Afan(one of the companions) about importance of marriage “O’ Osman I didn’t get an order to monasticism ” [Right series].
But Islam allowed spouses to divorce if the life between both of them became impossible but He Almighty ordered Muslims to resort to divorce in the last phase after many tries between both sides to keep marriage as He Almighty says: (If you fear a breach between them twain (the man and his wife), appoint (two) arbitrators, one from his family and the other from her's; if they both wish for peace, Allah will cause their reconciliation. Indeed Allah is Ever All-Knower, Well-Acquainted with all things.){Sûrat An-Nisâ’- The Women –verse 35} and that because marriage is the original situation but divorce is the exception and that indeed because the many problems resulted from divorce as all recent scientists and researchers say.
Scientists say that marriage is the perfect system
According to recent researches and studies, Psychologists and scientists confirm that marriage is the normal human behavior and any other behavior such as homosexuality, refusal of marriage, adultery, and illegal relations are abnormal behaviors.
Mark Phippen, head of the Cambridge University Counseling Service, says “parental separation is one of the most common triggers for support requests among students.”
Mark Phippen, head of the Cambridge University Counseling Service
'Regardless of whether it's a complete shock or they've seen it coming, the majority is deeply affected. It's something that's quite likely to be carried into the students' current or future relationships. ‘He added about students who are affected by parents’ divorce.
Psychologists say that divorce is a messy business for everyone concerned and there is no best age to announce to your kids that Mum and Dad are splitting up. But those who think that late teenagers are somehow less immune to the emotional impact of divorce than young children are very much mistaken.
Researchers say that in just six years, between 2002 and 2008, the number of divorced women over the age of 45 jumped by a third
Impacts of divorce
Divorce or the death of a spouse severely damages a man or woman's long-term health even if they remarry, researchers say.
Also they confirm that the impact of these life-changing events continues to have a detrimental impact on physical well-being years later.
According to a recent study researchers show that the divorced or widowed have 20 per cent more chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer than married people. They also have 23 per cent more mobility problems including trouble climbing stairs or walking short distances.
But the study reveals that finding another partner does not nurse them back to health.
The study illustrate that those who have remarried still have 12 per cent more chronic conditions and 19 per cent more mobility problems than those who have been continuously married.
It is believed that the health of the divorced or widowed suffers because incomes drop and intense stress and unhappiness develops over issues such as childcare and finances.
Scientists believe that damage caused from this extreme stress to the cardiovascular or immune system, for example, remains even years later when the person is happy again.
Researchers at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, studied 8,652 people aged 51 to 61. Three-quarters were currently married with 55 per cent continuously married and 20 per cent remarried.
Another 22 per cent had been previously married and of these, 69 per cent had separated or divorced and 31 per cent widowed. Less than 4 per cent of all those studied had never been married.
The average age at marriage among those who had divorced or been widowed was 21. They had spent on average 25 years married and 9.5 years in a divorced, separated or widowed state.
Researchers examined people's health in terms of the number of chronic conditions they suffered such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, cancer or a stroke and their levels of mobility.
They had been assessed for depressive symptoms and were asked to rate their own health as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor.
The study found that remarried and previously married people both showed 'significantly worse' health than the continuously married in all aspects studied. People who never married had 12 per cent more mobility problems and 13 per cent more depressive symptoms than those with a spouse.
Professor Linda Waite, a sociologist at the University of Chicago who co-authored the study, said the loss of a spouse or going through divorce can cause enormous stress for months or years which damage the circulatory system.
Professor Linda Waite also said: 'Stress affects your immune system and leads to increased inflammation. We're now thinking that inflammation is at the route of cardiovascular disease and certain kinds of cancer.
Dr waite draw attention of people to the importance of marriage by saying “What I argue, and in my view, the research evidence supports, is that marriage itself changes people's choices and when their choices change, their behavior changes, which results in greater health.”.
Here we have to mention that statistics triggers a warning as it illustrate that more than 42 per cent of British marriages end in divorce.
Hence we have to understand why marriage is the original situation but divorce is the exception.
Marriage yield healthy people
Married people are healthier than other adults, though husbands have a tendency to pack on some extra pounds, says the American National Center for Health Statistics according to a survey of more than 125,000 people.
Health statistician Charlotte Schoenborn said that there are two major theories:
One is that marriage may be protective of health. For example married couples may have advantages in terms of economic resources, social and psychological support and encouragement of healthful lifestyles.
A second possibility is marital selection, "the theory that healthy people get married and stay married, whereas less healthy people either do not marry or are more likely to become separated, divorced or widowed."
The center reported that among adults 18 and over, 11.9 percent said they were in only fair or poor health.
Some 10.5 percent of married people reported being in poor or fair health, while all other groups were higher. At 19.6 percent, the widowed were the most likely to be in these categories.
"In general, married adults were the least likely to experience health problems and the least likely to engage in risky health behaviors, with the notable exception of being overweight," Schoenborn wrote.
The report was based on a survey of 127,545 people in 1999-2002 conducted by the center, a part of the federal Centers for Disease ******* and Prevention.
In addition to reporting better health overall, the study found that married people said they had less low back pain, fewer headaches and less psychological stress. They also were less likely to drink and smoke and were more physically active than people in general.
However, they're not immune to weight problems. Currently more than half of all adults are overweight or obese — 56.7 percent — the center said.
“People are waiting longer to marry now, and living with a domestic partner outside of marriage has become more common” Schoenborn noted.
"For most negative health indicators, adults living with a partner had higher rates than married adults: they were more likely to be in fair or poor health, to have some type of limitation of activity for health reasons and to have experienced low back pain and headaches ... and serious psychological distress," Schoenborn reported.
The report found that married people were least likely to light up a smoke, at 18.8 percent, compared with 22.9 percent for all adults. The most likely to smoke were those living with an unmarried partner, 38.4 percent, and divorced and separated people, 34.7 percent.
Some 4.7 percent of adults reported they had become heavier drinkers than previously, with the lowest rate among marrieds at 3.7 percent. Again, those living with an unmarried partner had the largest share reporting more drinking, 8.2 percent, followed by the divorced and separated, 6.4 percent.
Also a recent study was held by Professor Dario Maestripieri in Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago confirm that marriage is good of the health of people.
"These results suggest that single and unpaired individuals are more responsive to psychological stress than married individuals, a finding consistent with a growing body of evidence showing that marriage and social support can buffer against stress," said Maestripieri
Dario Maestripieri has a Ph.D. in Psychobiology from the University of Rome (1992) and is currently a Professor of Comparative Human Development, Evolutionary Biology, and Neurobiology at the University of Chicago.
The team of researchers from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University studied 500 masters' degree students at the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business. About 40 percent of the men and 53 percent of the women were married or in relationships. The group included 348 men with a mean age of 29 and 153 women with a mean age of 27.
The students were asked to play a series of computer games that tested economic behaviors, and saliva samples were taken before and after to measure hormone levels and changes.
Each student was told that the test was a course requirement, and it would impact their future career placement. That made the test a potentially stressful experience that could affect levels of cortisol, known as the stress hormone.
The researchers found cortisol concentrations increased in all participants, but that females experienced a higher average increase than males. The exercise also decreased testosterone in male subjects, but not in females, a stress effect previously observed in humans and animals.
But a piece of personal information collected before the test provided another interesting difference within the subjects. "We found that unpaired individuals of both sexes had higher cortisol levels than married individuals," Maestripieri said.
"Although marriage can be pretty stressful, it should make it easier for people to handle other stressors in their lives," Maestripieri said. "What we found is that marriage has a dampening effect on cortisol responses to psychological stress, and that is very new." Added Maestripieri.
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