Ever wondered why women who are unmarried and without any kids are the happiest people in the lot?
Well, according to a Behavioral Scientist at the London School of Economics, marriage, and children benefit men more than women and certainly don’t ensure happiness for a woman, he said while speaking at the Hay Festival on one Saturday in 2019.
The expert further noted that unmarried and childless women are more likely to live a life longer than their married and child-bearing counterparts.
“We do have some good longitudinal data following the same people over time, but I am going to do a massive disservice to that science and just say: if you’re a man, you should probably get married; if you’re a woman, don’t bother,” he said.
However, he also added that that single factor doesn’t correlate to the overall happiness in a person’s life as happiness is definitely not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ deal.
He added that men gain more from a marriage than their female counterparts because they ‘calmed down.’
“You take less risks, you earn more money at work, and you live a little longer. She, on the other hand, has to put up with that, and dies sooner than if she never married. The healthiest and happiest population subgroup are women who never married or had children.”
Paul Dolan’s latest book, ‘Happy Ever After’ is one of his best-selling books in which he cites findings from the American Time Use Survey.
The book mainly discusses the level of happiness in single, married, divorced, separated, and widower individuals depending on their situations.
Expert Paul said if a couple is married and you ask them in front of other couples, relatives, or friends about the level of content and happiness in their relationship, they will certainly brag about how happy and satisfied they are.
However, he said, when their spouse leaves the room or is not present, and you ask them if they are happy in their marital life, their answer will be quite, if not exactly the opposite.
“Married people are happier than other population subgroups, but only when their spouse is in the room when they are asked how happy they are. When the spouse is not present: f—ing miserable.”
He continued, “We do have some good longitudinal data following the same people over time, but I am going to do a massive disservice to that academic science and just say: if you are a man, you should probably get married; if you are a woman, don’t bother.”
