MARITAL-STATUS AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING - A CHANGING RELATIONSHIP

It is well established in the literature that married people have a hi gher level of subjective well-being than the never married, widowed, o r divorced/separated. However, previous research has yielded conflicti ng results on changes in the relationship between marital status and w ell-being. American happiness data in particular provide evidence of a declining relationship, whereas other studies suggest the opposite tr end. The present study analyzes time trends in the relationship betwee n marital status and two outcome measures, suicide rates and self-repo rted distress. The hypothesis that the relationship between marital st atus and these well-being indicators has declined during the last 10-2 0 years is clearly rejected. There is even some evidence that the rela tive position of never married men has become more unfavorable during this period. However, the causal interpretation of these trends is pro blematic.