The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

Relationships and Health 409

is then examined. In laboratory studies, men

and women engage in some sort of marital

interaction (usually, a discussion of a con-

flict) that is videotaped, recorded, and ana-

lyzed. The relation of specific interaction

patterns to health is examined. I review both

kinds of studies.

Evidence

Survey Studies. It is clear that the ben-

efits of marriage depend on its quality. One

study showed that happily married men were

less depressed than unmarried men but there

was no difference between the two groups

for women (St. John & Montgomery, 2009).

However, unhappily married men and women

were more depressed than their unmarried

counterparts, as shown in Figure 11.7. Other

research has confirmed that the benefits of

marriage depend on the quality (Frech &

Williams, 2007). Some studies indicate that

the quality of the marital relationship is more

strongly related to women’s than men’s psy-

chological well-being (Walker & Luszcz,

2009). Marital quality is more strongly related

to women’s than men’s physical health in stud-

ies that span periodontal disease, rheumatoid

arthritis, blood pressure, and cardiac problems

(Kiecolt-Glaser & Newton, 2001). In terms of

psychological distress, relationship satisfaction

among cohabiting and married couples has

been more strongly associated with reduced

distress for women than men (Whisman &

Uebelacker, 2006). In a longitudinal study of

newlywed couples, marital dissatisfaction pre-

dicted an increase in depression 18 months

later for women but not men (Fincham et al.,

1997). Conflict has been associated with psy-

chological distress among lesbian couples

(Otis, Riggle, & Rostosky, 2006).

However, other studies find similar

effects on women’s and men’s health. Two

Effect of Marital Quality on Health

I have been discussing the effects of marital

status—whether one is single, married, wid-

owed, or divorced—on health. Does marital

status alone determine our health? Surely,

all marriages are not the same or provide

the same health benefits. Is a distressed mar-

riage better for health than no marriage at

all? Research suggests that the answer is no.

For example, a study of the elderly showed

that married people were less distressed than

unmarried people, but married people who

were not happy with the way their spouse

treated them were more distressed than

unmarried people (Hagedoorn et al., 2006).

Thus it is important to consider the qual-

ity of the relationship when evaluating the

health implications of marriage.

Many of the explanations of why

marriage benefits men’s health more than

women’s pertain to the quality of the marital

relationship. For example, a primary explana-

tion for sex differences in the effects of mar-

riage and widowhood on health has to do

with marriage providing relatively more social

support to men. This explanation suggests the

quality of the marital relationship is different

for women and men. Perhaps marriage ben-

efits men’s health more than women’s health

because the relationship is more satisfying

to men. In fact, we know men are more satis-

fied in marriage than women are. To under-

stand thoroughly the effects of marriage on

health, we need to examine the quality of the

relationship.

Two types of studies examine the nature

of marital relationships. In survey studies,

women and men complete various mari-

tal satisfaction or marital strain inventories.

The relation of these self-report measures of

marital quality to women’s and men’s health

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