so accustomed to think of doomsday as something in the future that we fail to recognize it when it arrives. IV.
DOES MARRIAGE BENEFIT SPOUSES?
The benefits of marriage to spouses was a principal interest of only a very few articles I reviewed, although a number of books have dealt with the subject. Those that focus on the negative usually see marriage as detrimental women. For example, Jessie Bernard argues that while marriage benefits men, it is less beneficial to women. See also Janet M. Steil. Gove claims that marriage is psychologically advantageous for men but not for women. Simon on the other hand argues that the emotional benefits of marriage apply equally to men and women. Most of the studies I encountered took the position that marriage significantly benefits both men and women. Linda Waite & Maggie Gallagher argue vigorously for that position. (See also Sprey’s critical review of the book.) Sastry points out that in a series of studies marriage is consistently the strongest predictor of well-being in the U.S., although in India it is a less important predictor than are education and income. Mastekaasa’s investigations (1994) confirm the commonly received opinion in the literature that a higher level of well-being exists among currently married persons than among the non-married (divorced, separated, widowed and never married). Frequently, according to Mastekaasa, the divorced and separated are found to be the lowest in perceived quality of life. Although the studies reviewed by Mastekaasa deal mainly with the Western world, he finds some support for the thesis in practically all countries. The purported benefits cited for marriage are manifold. Waite & Gallagher claim that it benefits men and women physically, mentally and spiritually, is accompanied by less abuse of alcohol and drugs, and married people are more likely than the unmarried to declare themselves to be happy. In the matter of depression vs. perceiving oneself to be happy, Kurdek found the married to be in the best position, while those who cohabited fared better than single persons. Amato (1999) reports that married men and women,
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