Why Marriage Matters: Thirty Conclusions from the Social Sciences

Overview
Maggie Gallagher's 2000 report "Why Marriage Matters: Thirty Conclusions from the Social Sciences" presents a concise synthesis of empirical findings linking marriage to a wide range of social and individual outcomes. Drawing on research from sociology, economics, psychology, and public health, the report distills thirty central conclusions intended to communicate to policymakers and the public how marriage relates to the well-being of adults, children, and communities.
The tone is research-oriented and policy-relevant: the conclusions emphasize patterns repeatedly observed in the literature rather than a singular theoretical claim. The argument highlights consistent associations between stable, high-quality marriages and better outcomes, while noting limits to the evidence and the complexity of causal relationships.

Key Conclusions
The core set of conclusions shows that married adults tend to enjoy better physical and mental health, greater economic stability, and longer life expectancy compared with unmarried counterparts. Marriage is associated with lower rates of substance abuse, depression, and risky behaviors among adults, and married households typically accumulate more wealth and experience greater economic security than single or cohabiting households.
For children, the report summarizes evidence that those raised in intact, two-parent married families generally fare better on average in educational achievement, emotional and behavioral health, and lower involvement in delinquency and crime. While not all differences are large or universal, the accumulated studies point to marriage as a context that often enhances parental investment, supervision, and resource stability, factors linked to improved child outcomes.

Explanatory Mechanisms
Several mechanisms are offered to explain the correlations. Marriage often creates mutual monitoring, emotional support, and economies of scale that reduce stress and improve health behaviors. Shared financial resources and incentives for long-term planning can raise household stability and foster environments conducive to child development. Marriage also tends to concentrate parental time and authority in ways that increase supervision and consistency of discipline.
The report addresses the question of causation versus selection: some people who marry are already different from those who do not, and those differences contribute to better outcomes. Nevertheless, Gallagher emphasizes that experimental and longitudinal studies suggest marriage itself contributes additional benefits beyond selection effects, particularly when the marriage is stable and of good quality.

Policy Implications
Given the pattern of findings, the report argues that marriage should be treated as a public good deserving supportive public policy. Recommendations include promoting marriage education and counseling, reducing economic barriers to stable unions, and designing welfare and tax policies that do not inadvertently penalize marriage. The report frames marriage promotion as complementary to anti-poverty and child-welfare strategies rather than a substitute for direct economic supports.
Care is urged in policy design to avoid shaming or penalizing single parents and to recognize that poor-quality or high-conflict marriages do not yield the same benefits. Programs that strengthen relationship skills, improve economic security for families, and support responsible parenting are highlighted as ways to translate social-science findings into practical improvements.

Caveats and Critiques
The report candidly notes limitations in the literature: heterogeneity across populations, variations by race and class, and the difficulty of measuring long-run causal effects. Quality of marriage matters greatly, and some benefits attributed to marriage in aggregate reflect differences in selection and socioeconomic context as much as marital status per se.
Overall, the synthesis presents marriage as a powerful correlational predictor of many desirable outcomes while calling for nuanced policymaking and further research to untangle causal pathways and to design supports that help families succeed regardless of form.