High-quality social science research shows that marriage is associated with a number of health benefits. Studies indicate a strong link between marriage and mental health, in particular depressive symptoms. Marriage can both affect and be affected by psychological well-being, through, for example, greater emotional and social support as well as personal connection.

Alternatively, it may be that less-depressed individuals are more likely to marry and remain married. Thus, to discern the true effect of marriage on mental health, research must account for the possibility of a “selection effect.” One method that addresses this selection problem analyzes data collected on the same people over an extended period of time—i.e., longitudinal data. This type of research compares changes in metal health over time of married and unmarried individuals or measures changes in psychological well-being before and after marriage or divorce.

Reviewing a number of such rigorous studies, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concludes:

The current research suggests that marriage—particularly transitions into and out of marriage—affects depressive symptoms for both men and women. In particular, marital entry decreases depressive symptoms, while marital dissolution increases them. Studies suggest that increases in depressive symptoms after divorce are long-lasting and that the prevalence of these symptoms remains elevated years after the marital breakup. In addition, studies that compared the mental health of stably married adults to those who are stably unmarried find that those who remain stably married have fewer depressive symptoms (and smaller increases in these symptoms over time) than do similar adults who remain stably unmarried—even after controlling baseline mental health.

In regard to the selection effect, HHS finds:

Studies based on national data find little evidence that those with fewer depressive symptoms are more likely to marry, suggesting that studies comparing the depressive symptoms of the stably married to the stably unmarried should produce reasonable estimates of the effect of marriage on depressive symptoms.

National trends show that women in general are more likely to experience psychological distress than men. Moreover, according to a team of family scholars led by Professor Brad Wilcox of the University of Virginia, research on the mental health of mothers—all the more important because it affects the well-being of children as well—suggests that “not only are single mothers more likely to be depressed, the consequences of maternal depression for child well-being are greater in single-parent families, probably because single parents have less support and because children in disrupted families have less access to their (nondepressed) other parent.”

For example, the team of scholars cites one study that found that, one year after the births of their children, 29 percent of single mothers who were no longer romantically involved with the fathers reported at least one mental problem, compared to 24 percent of those who were still romantically involved but not living with the fathers, 23 percent of those who were cohabiting but not married, and 16 percent of married mothers. Even when the study accounted for the mothers’ background differences, the mental health disparities remained.

In 2012, as policymakers work to promote Americans’ health, they ought to consider the compelling research evidence on how marriage benefits individuals’ psychological well-being.

Article brought to you by The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation.

For many, the end of the holiday season and the beginning of a new year activates a new (or old) set of resolutions. A healthier lifestyle often tops such lists.

While exercise and a better diet are the most-touted health contributors, marriage, as recent research suggests, can be a significant factor as well.

For example, married individuals tend to report better health. According to the National Health Interview Survey, 89.2 percent of married adults report being in good or very good health, compared to 85.4 percent of never-married adults, 84.4 percent of cohabiting individuals, 83.1 percent of those who are divorced or separated, and 71.9 percent of widows and widowers.

Other health outcomes linked to marriage include higher levels of psychological well-being, reduced alcohol abuse, and better physical health.

A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which reviewed the highest-quality research on the subject since 1990, concludes, “In some areas, the evidence of a positive effect of marriage on specific health outcomes is compelling. In particular, there is strong evidence, based on rigorous research methods, that marriage reduces the prevalence of heavy drinking and marijuana use among young adults.”

Moreover, marriage “is also linked to improvements in mental health for both men and women. In addition, marriage increases the likelihood of having health insurance coverage, particularly for women.”

In addition, the study concludes, “Recent research suggests that marriage may be associated with lower health care costs among older adults, through its effect on the number of doctor visits, the length of hospital stays, and the likelihood of admissions.”

Finally, “there is also substantial evidence that growing up with married parents leads to better long-term physical health, particularly for men.”

The health benefits associated with marriage are well established. There is evidence, however, that suggests that married individuals lead a more sedentary lifestyle, and marriage is associated with modest weight gain. The research on marriage and smoking is more mixed.

In sum, the general research findings on the connection between marriage and health are encouraging. For policymakers grappling with health care issues, that’s one more reason to promote the institution of marriage as a guardian of public health.

Article brought to you by The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation.

Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe.

1. Straight Talk on Twisty Subjects with Matt Lewis – Lisa De Pasquale
2. Google’s ‘Monopoly’ Hex – L. Gordon Crovitz
3. Nuclear Disaster Like Fukushima Unlikely in U.S. – Jack Spencer
4. Understanding freedom for religion – Jennifer A. Marshall
5. White House Messaging Undergoes Structural Change – Michael G. Franc
6. Health-care legislation will take millions off the tax rolls – Brian Blase & Paul Winfree
7. The Increasingly Crackpot Solutions to the Debt Ceiling – John Hudson
8. Patriotic Taxation Or Unpatriotic Redistribution? – Doug Bandow
9. Unplugged from reality – Sven Larson
10. Watch Out for the Gimmicks and Promises – Mike Needham

Article brought to you by The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation.

Government-sanction medicine and the “Fear and Death Administration” (FDA) is killing us. If we are to move forward and live free, we need to start living healthy with or without federal permission.

“The whole history of America has been rewritten, including its medical history – to keep us enslaved to government and big pharma”

“A centralized bureaucracy is something that’s very good at things that are not for the people…”

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Article brought to you by Tenth Amendment Center.

When calling your representative about End the Mandate, H.R. 4995, be sure to urge your congressman to cosponsor Ron Paul’s “Private Option Health Care Act,” H.R. 5444, to lower the cost of health care and empower Americans to make their own decisions.

Via Campaign For Liberty.

The health care law required Health and Human Services to establish the breast cancer task force by last weekend and the Alaska task force by the first week of May. But sources familiar with the situation said the department isn’t even close to having the two panels ready.

The missed deadlines underscore the administrative challenge in implementing a health reform law so broad that it requires cooperation from a wide swath of the federal bureaucracy, drawing in departments that range from Health and Human Services to Treasury and Justice, as well as from state and local agencies.

Read the rest.

To restore the American people’s freedom to choose the health insurance that best meets their individual needs by repealing the mandate that all Americans obtain government-approved health insurance.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “End the Mandate Act of 2010.”

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF INDIVIDUAL AND EMPLOYER MANDATES ENACTED BY PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.

(a) PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.-Effective as of the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, subtitle F of title I of such Act, as amended by title X of such Act, is hereby repealed.

(b) HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2010.-Effective as of the enactment of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, sections 1002 and 1003 of such Act are hereby repealed.

Zoeller emphasized that the constitutional challenge had little to do with the content of the law. “It’s really part of our job description to bring these challenges,” he said. “It’s not something that says whether we are for or against the measure; it’s really to check to see whether the federal government has extended itself, using its authority, where it really doesn’t have it.”

Thirteen states, led by Florida attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum, first filed the suit, which alleges that the health care law violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. Virginia has filed its own suit challenging the law.

Read the rest.

The result of Brown’s flip-flop on healthcare is that he defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in last night’s Massachusetts special election to fill Edward Kennedy’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. This means that Democratic leaders no longer have the votes in the Senate to block a filibuster.

Now it will be almost impossible for the Senate to approve a version of the healthcare bill that’s acceptable to the House of Representatives. And House Democrats are already saying that there’s little chance they’ll approve the version of the bill previously passed by the Senate.

The healthcare bill is dying. It may already be dead. But, as the German philosopher Friederich Nietzsche once wrote, “That which is falling, let it also be pushed.”

Victory is near. Let’s not come up short. Run the race all the way through the finish line. Send another letter to Congress opposing the cancerous healthcare bill.