Previous studies have shown that marriage reduces stress. According to a study published in the journal Stress, committed relationships do too. Five hundred and one masters of business administration students (348 men and 153 women) took a 90-minute, computerized test that they were told was a course requirement and would affect their career placement. Saliva tests for cortisol – the stress hormone – were taken before and after the testing. Although cortisol concentrations increased in all the students, it “shot up” in the single students. It seems that both married and committed couples handle stress better because of “twogetherness”.
Unfortunately, a phone survey of 2,691 adults by the Pew Research Center found that 39% of Americans think marriage is becoming obsolete – that’s up 11% from a 1978 Time Magazine survey. That statistic is reflected in Census data that shows the percentage of married adults is decreasing. There were 72% in 1960, 57% in 2000 and 54% in 2010. However, the median age for first marriages is increasing. In 2010 it was the highest ever – 28.2 for men and 26.1 for women. Although the survey also found that 44% of adults have cohabitated, 64% of those considered cohabitation a step toward marriage – especially if it’s a “baby step”.
More information extracted from the Pew Research Center’s survey showed that American adults are redefining what “family” means. Eighty-six percent of those surveyed said a single parent and a child are a family, 80% said an unmarried couple living together with a child are a family and 63% said a gay or lesbian couple living together with a child are a family. Childless married couples were also considered to be families by 88% of the survey participants, but 54% of them said cohabitating couples without children weren’t families – cohabitating couples were more familiar than familial.
Different groups consider themselves families. The brotherhood of NBA teams is shown in high fives, chest bumps and head slaps. In a study published in the journal Emotion, researchers taped the 2008-2009 early season games for all 30 teams, recorded the number of times each team’s players communicated through touch and followed the teams’ successes throughout the season. Touch was linked to more cooperative play. The more touching a team displayed, the better they played and the more successful they were as individuals and as a team. Obviously, NBA teams wanting to be more successful should “touch up” their games.
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