Wednesday, August 05, 2009

In sickness and in health

The NY Times reports:
New research shows that when married people become single again, whether by divorce or a spouse’s death, they experience much more than an emotional loss. Often they suffer a decline in physical health from which they never fully recover, even if they remarry. ...

None of this suggests that spouses should stay in a bad marriage for the sake of health. Marital troubles can lead to physical ones, too.
Then what use is this report?

There are a lot of studies showing that marriage is correlated with good health. But does divorce cause bad health, or does bad health cause divorce?

If divorce causes bad health, as these researchers are claiming, then health is indeed a reason to stay married. But maybe this study is just a reflection of people dumping their sick spouses.

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