“心理学家和精神病学家相信，婚姻对精神健康起到保护作用。” 两位作者注解道。
自20世纪70年代初期到90年代末期，虽然美国人的收入提高了，但他们的幸福水平降低了，布兰奇弗劳尔怀疑这也许归因于离婚率的增加。
还有一些发现：
非洲裔美国人的年收入需要增加3万美元，才能使他们的幸福程度上升到平均水平。
两位作者推测，这样的结果或许与种族歧视有关。不过，几十年过去后，他们的幸福水平有所上升。“黑人的状况有了一些改善。”他们说。
失业严重地损伤了男人的幸福。一年需要6万美元才能补偿这种无业的状况。
男人的幸福程度有上升的趋势。尽管女人的幸福感比男人高，但是已经“明显”地下降了。
原则上实行的男女平等，显然没有提高她们的幸福感。
受教育多的人倾向于比受教育少的人更幸福，即使不涉及高收入的问题，幸福也往往是与前者相伴。
随着年龄的增加，幸福程度与生活的满意度呈U形曲线变化。在美国，在40岁左右时，人们对幸福的感觉降至最低谷，之后又逐渐上升。
两位作者解释说，也许人到中年时，人们已适应了自己的环境，也会放弃一些自己不能实现的理想，因此也就更能享受生活。
宗教信仰可以产生积极的影响。
总的来说，一个人的幸福感并不受到孩子和兄妹的数量的影响。但是对于30岁以下的人来说，其幸福感随着孩子和兄妹数量的增长而成比例降低。在一项单独的研究——“年轻人日益增高的幸福感”中，布兰奇弗劳尔和奥斯瓦尔德先生得出了这一结论。
布兰奇弗劳尔认为，这与需要应对孩子产生的压力有关。
在英国得出的结论与在美国调查的结果“极其相似”。但是，人们的满意程度从20世纪70年代初到90年代末保持相同的水平。
心灵小语
你的幸福指数高吗？你是快乐、相当快乐，还是不怎么快乐呢？
记忆填空
1. That’s the____of two economists who have tried to put a monetary value on____ , measuring the emotional value of everything from religion to racial discrimination in____ .
2. Perhaps, the authors__ , people____to their circumstances, relinquish some unfulfilled aspirations by the middle of their lives, and enjoy life____ .
佳句翻译
1. 特别的是，某种幸福的确可以用金钱买到，但也并不像人们猜想的那样多。
译__________________________
2. 原则上实行的男女平等，显然没有提高她们的幸福感。
译__________________________
3. 随着年龄的增加，幸福程度与生活的满意度呈U形曲线变化。
译__________________________
短语应用
1. In terms of happiness, your spouse — if you have one — is worth 100000 a year.
in terms of：用……的话；用……字眼；以……的措辞；从……角度来讲
造________________________
2. ...compared with being widowed or divorced.
compare with：与……相比较
造________________________
婚姻美满度对健康的影响
A Happy Marriage Can Help Mend Physical Wounds
佚名 / Anonymous
A happy marriage apparently is good medicine, but hostile spouses may be harmful to one another’ s health.
Couples in conflict-ridden marriages take longer than the happily married to heal from all kinds of wounds, from minor scrapes or athletic injuries to major surgery, suggests a study out over the weekend. And the health toll taken by a stressful job seems to be eased when the worker has a pleasurable home life.
This new research, reported at an American Psychosomatic Society meeting, adds to growing evidence that marriage has an impact on health.
In the wound healing study, 42 couples agreed to let researchers use a suction device to create several minor blister wounds on their skin in two sessions about two months apart. The first time, couples were told to discuss a neutral topic; the next time they were given half an hour to resolve an issue or two on which they disagreed. Their discussions were monitored. Researchers also checked participants’ wounds over the next few weeks and their production of three proteins created in wound healing.
The outcome: “Even a simple discussion of a disagreement slows wound healing,” says psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, who did the study with co-author Ronald Glaser of Ohio State University College of Medicine.
Overall, couples took longer to heal when asked to thrash out points of conflict than neutral issues. Hostile couples - peppering both discussions with criticism, sarcasm and put-downs - healed the slowest. It took them 40% longer, or two more days, to heal, and they also produced less of the proteins linked to healing.
These are minor wounds and brief, restrained encounters. Real-life marital conflict probably has a worse impact, Kiecolt-Glaser adds. “Such stress before surgery matters greatly,” she says,“ and the effect could apply to healing from any injury.”
显然，幸福的婚姻是剂良药，而敌对的夫妻可能有害于彼此的身体健康。
一项在周末公布的研究表明，经受矛盾冲突影响的婚姻，其伤愈时间较幸福的婚姻更长一些，这里的伤包括轻度擦伤或运动创伤，以及大的外科手术。而且，如果工作者有一个快乐的家庭生活，那么工作压力对身体健康的破坏似乎可以得到减轻。
在美国心理学学会的会议上，这一新的研究成果被公布，这进一步证实了：婚姻对健康有影响作用。