Do men learn their social behavior through marriage?

Men become social in marriage

Partnership and attachment skills: Men learn their social behavior through marriage?

08/12/2010

Apparently, the marriage for men has a positive effect on their social behavior. According to numerous studies, men behave much more socially in the context of marriage and are less criminal. Is it because of the positive influence of women or rather married men who already have a higher level of understanding of solidarity with each other from home?

The fact is, and has been proven in countless research papers, that men who are married are also much more social. Married people are much less involved in criminal activities and show significantly less aggressiveness towards other people. But a question could never be completely and finally clarified: Does a marriage lead to bringing so-called soft side of the man to light? Or rather married the men who have a social vein anyway? The scientists of the American „Michigan State University“ say the answer is somewhere in the middle. Both therefore play a role depending on the basic understanding and socialization of the man.

Rather social men married

The science team around Alexandra Burt write in the psychology trade magazine „Archives of General Psychiatry“, that, in fact, men are more likely to enter into the union of marriage, which is more social. But the partnership as such seems to directly affect men. Once the men are firmly bound, they become socially more sociable and sociable. The professor of psychology Prof. Alexandra Burt said in the trade journal: „The marriage itself is good for men, at least as far as better social behavior is concerned. But the data also shows that it is no coincidence who marries.“

Men become more social

Over the course of the study, data from a total of 289 identical male twin pairs were compared. The investigation was a long-term psychological study because the men were interviewed and examined at the age of 17, 20, 24 and 29, respectively. Those subjects who behaved socially at different scales at the age of 17 and 20 were already married at most at the age of 29 at the latest. According to significant features, those behaved more socially acceptable than before. Even clearer was the difference to the single twin brothers.

In the unequal results, the scientists see a meaningful selection process, which came a few decades ago due to social reasons. For now, the number of marriages has dropped significantly, while in the 50s it was still part of the norm to be married early to a life partner. Yet, psychologists consider marriage to be an indicator of how well men can bond and how much time they have spent with peers. Marriage is therefore less a course of behavior, but rather an indication of the ability to bind.

Marriage strengthens the health of both partners

Interesting in this context is the fact that a strong bond or a marriage also strengthens the health of men and reduces the risk of death. Because significantly more married men take part in precautionary services, as unmarried. According to a recent GfK survey study, married couples pay more attention to health than others. For example, only 16 percent of singles took part in the German health check „Check up 35“ part. For married people, the participation rate was already over 50 percent. In the survey, moreover, 72 percent of the participants said they would take care that their partner is performing the investigations. Especially women remind their men at medical appointments and checkups. (Sb)

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