Marriage brings happiness to men, even to those less interested in marriage, and most women, although women with less traditional expectations did not report an increase in happiness, new research suggests.
Marriages in Taiwan last year reached a record low of 114,606, while divorces hit a 20-year low of 47,887, government data show.
Investigating the trend, National Chengchi University Department of Sociology associate professor Hu Li-chung (胡力中) analyzed data from a longitudinal Academia Sinica study on adolescent development.
Photo: CNA
The 17-year study of 5,600 students from 40 junior-high schools in Taipei, New Taipei City and Yilan County asked the students about their happiness at different stages in life, among other questions.
Hu found that reported happiness was higher overall among married people than unmarried people.
By gender, 56.2 percent of married men said they were “very happy,” compared with only 39.4 percent of unmarried men who said so.
Among women, the figure dropped to 44.9 percent and 35.4 percent respectively.
Happiness in marriage also increased over time, with 47.2 percent of people saying they were happy in 2011, which grew to 51.8 percent in 2017.
However, the 2011 figure was higher than the average number of people who said they were happy that year, suggesting that happiness is linked to marriage.
The top reason men said they wanted to get married was to start a family, which was different from reasons cited by women, who said they wanted children or to make their parents happy.
A considerable number of respondents from both genders said they would not get married to “avoid gossip,” a factor that has decreased in importance over time, Hu said.
Instead, more people are choosing to get married for personal reasons, although meeting parental expectations was a major contributing factor, he said, citing the 30 to 40 percent of women and nearly half of men who said making their parents happy was a major factor in their decision.
The effect of marriage on happiness also appeared to be split by gender, Hu said.
Marriage usually had a positive impact on male happiness, but for women, only those who had a higher “probability” of getting married became happier, while happiness did not change among those with a low probability.
The probability of marriage relates to family background and personal values, Hu said.
For example, if a woman identifies with traditional familial norms, marriage would bring her more happiness, as it is the only type of close relationship that satisfies these expectations, he said.
On the other hand, women who do not identify with traditional norms can find the same fulfillment from other arrangements, such as coliving or remaining single, he said.
Daughters of men with a university education or higher often have high career goals and marry later, meaning that getting married in their early 30s has a smaller effect on their happiness, Hu added.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS