Married moms more likely to identify as ‘very happy,’ study finds

Marriage and motherhood boost a woman’s happiness, according to a recent report from The Institute for Family Studies (IFS).

“Despite the challenges associated with family life for women – including more stress and less time for oneself – there is no question that marriage and motherhood are linked to greater female flourishing on many other fronts,” the authors report.

The study reports twice as many married women report they’re “very happy” (19%) compared to single women (10%).

The August study, which follows several recent reports linking happiness to marriage and family, is based on a YouGov survey interviewing more than 3,000 women, ages 25 to 55. 

A 2022 survey from the University of Chicago similarly found twice as many married men and women (34%) as single people (17%) reported being “very happy.” In 2023, Sam Peltzman of the University of Chicago published a paper affirming marriage as a key happiness indicator. 

“Being married is the most important differentiator with a 30-percentage point happy-unhappy gap over the unmarried,” he wrote. 

However, many have argued for decades that married mothers are among the least happy and most lonely, reinforcing the common belief that single-life is happy and care-free. 

IFS’s latest study focuses on women’s happiness in particular. 

When asked if life is “enjoyable,” 47% of married mothers and 43% of married women without children answered yes. In contrast, 34% of single women and 40% of unmarried mothers affirmed this description. 

Single women also say they’re more lonely than married women or mothers. Of married mothers, 11% reported feeling lonely most of the time, while 23% of unmarried mothers categorized themselves as lonely. Meanwhile, 9% of married women without children said they were lonely, while 20% of unmarried, childless women confirmed feeling lonely. 

IFS’s study also examined physical touch as a key contributor to emotional well-being for women. 

“Evidence suggests that touch continues to play an important role in bonding, emotional regulation, and well-being across the life course,” the authors write. 

Unsurprisingly, married women report higher levels of physical touch: 47% of married mothers and 49% of married women without children affirmed high levels of physical touch, versus 23% of unmarried mothers and 13% of single women. 

Finally, researchers studied the relation of happiness to purpose and meaning in an individual’s life, finding motherhood to correlate highly with a sense of value. 

In response to the statement “what I do in life is valuable and worthwhile,” 33% of married mothers and 30% of single mothers affirmed it, compared to 24% of married women without children and 20% of single women. 

Despite the correlation between marriage, family and happiness, research shows Americans are delaying marriage later, with a record 25% of 40-year-olds in 2021 reporting they had never married.  

“Marriage appears to offer a stabilizing and supportive context that lifts the burdens of motherhood, while strengthening happiness, connection, and meaning,” the IFS report concludes. “The opportunities for greater touch, less loneliness, and more meaning seem to provide married mothers the most joyful lives.”