How Much Do You Know About Marriage? "Take The Case for Marriage" Quiz

1. Between 1979 and 1987, according to Justice Department statistics, what
proportion of intimate violence against women was committed by husbands?
a. 1 percent
b. About half
c. Less than ten percent
d. One-third.

2. On average, how much more likely is a single woman to die than a married
woman of the same age.
a. 50 percent
b. 0 percent
c. 200 percent
d. 10 percent

3. How many years does a parent's divorce knock off the life expectancy of
their children, according to a study of a gifted, white, middle class sample.
a. Nothing. The apparent effects of marriage are really due to income
b. 6 months.
c. 4 years.
d. 2 years

4. True or False. Husbands make more money than bachelors, but marriage
reduces a women's earnings.

5. True or False.  More married people cheat than couples who live together

6. True or False. Marriage makes men happier, but women more depressed.

7. True or False. Single people are more likely to be "very happy" than
married people.

8. True or false. Single mothers usually develop unusually close
relationships with their children..
.................................................
Answers:

1.  C. 9 percent of violence by intimates was committed by husbands

2.  A.

3.  C.  Non-marriage is one of the largest behavioral health risks people
voluntarily assume.

4.  False.  Husbands make more money than bachelors, and so do wives.
Childless white wives get a marriage wage premium of 4 percent,
and black wives earn ten percent more than comparable single women.

5.  False. Cohabiting men are four times more likely to cheat than husbands,
and cohabiting women are 8 times more likely to cheat than wives.

6.  False. Married men and women are less depressed, less anxious, and
psychologically distressed than singles, divorced or widowed Americans. By
contrast getting divorced lowers both men and women's mental health,
increasing depression, hostility, lowering self-esteem, sense of personal
mastery, and purpose in life.

7. False. Forty percent of married people, compared to about a quarter of
singles or cohabitors say they are "very happy" with life in general.

8,  False. Adult children of divorce describe relationships with both their
mother and father less positively, and, on average, are about 40 percent less
likely than adults from  intact marriages to say they see either parent at
least several times a week.

Scoring:

6 or more out of 7: You are a Marriage Maven

Three to Five: Average Knowledge. Read the book to Find out more

Less than Three: You are a Marriage Pessimist. Cheer up, good things come to
those who wed

Read more about the Case for Marriage - press release, book awards, controversy

Order The Case For Marriage by Linda J Waite and Maggie Gallagher (Doubleday, 2000)

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