Uma Thurman at the HRC Marriage For Equality celebration

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Dads Who Bond With Kids Help Keep Marriage Strong

Sharing housework also key, study found, as is open communication with spouse

By Barbara Bronson Gray

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- For dads aiming at marital bliss, a new study suggests just two factors are especially important: being engaged with the kids, for sure -- but also doing a fair share of the household chores.

In other words, just taking the children outside for a game of catch won't cut it.

"In our study, the wives thought father involvement with the kids and participation in household work are all inter-related and worked together to improve marital quality," said Adam Galovan, lead author of the study and a researcher at the University of Missouri, in Columbia. "They think being a good father involves more than just doing things involved in the care of children."

Galovan found that wives feel more cared for when husbands are involved with their children, yet helping out with the day-to-day responsibilities of running the household also matters.

But Galovan was surprised to find that how husbands and wives specifically divide the work doesn't seem to matter much. Husbands and wives are happier when they share parenting and household responsibilities, but the chores don't have to be divided equally, according to the study. What matters is that both parents are actively participating in both chores and child-rearing.

Doing household chores and being engaged with the children seem to be important ways for husbands to connect with their wives, and that connection is related to better relationships, Galovan explained.

The research was recently published in the Journal of Family Issues.

For the study, the researchers tapped data from a 2005 study that pulled marriage licenses of couples married for less than one year from the Utah Department of Health. Researchers looked at every third or fourth marriage license over a six-month period.

From that data, Galovan surveyed 160 couples between 21 and 55 years old who were in a first marriage. The majority of participants -- 73 percent -- were between 25 and 30 years old. Almost 97 percent were white. Of participants, 98 percent of the husbands and 16 percent of the wives reported they were employed full time, while 24 percent worked part time. The average couple had been married for about five years, and the average income of the participants was between $50,000 and $60,000 a year.

Couples indicated which spouse was generally responsible for completing 20 common household tasks -- or if both or neither of them were responsible. Fathers rated their involvement in their children's lives and mothers noted how involved they felt their husbands were with the kids. Both spouses rated how happy they were with how they divided household tasks and with their marriage.

Men and women differed in how they reported marital quality. For wives, the father-child relationship and father involvement was most important, followed by satisfaction with how the household work was accomplished.

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Child Health Experts Come Out in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage

Kids benefit from having stable home, two loving parents, regardless of sexual orientation, AAP says

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, March 21 (HealthDay News) -- Marriage for same-sex couples -- and the right for all parents, regardless of their sexual orientation, to adopt or provide foster care -- is the best way to guarantee benefits and security for their children, according to child health experts.

The stance is outlined in a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), published online March 21 and in the April print issue of the journal Pediatrics.

"Children thrive in families that are stable and that provide permanent security, and the way we do that is through marriage," policy statement co-author Dr. Benjamin Siegel said in an AAP news release.

"The AAP believes there should be equal opportunity for every couple to access the economic stability and federal supports provided to married couples to raise children," added Siegel, who is chair of the AAP Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health.

Another policy statement co-author, Dr. Ellen Perrin, pointed out that the "AAP has long been an advocate for all children, and this updated policy reflects a natural progression in the academy's support for families."

Therefore, Perrin said in the news release, "If a child has two loving and capable parents who choose to create a permanent bond, it's in the best interest of their children that legal institutions allow them to do so."

Studies have found that important factors that can affect children's development and mental health include parental stress, economic and social stability, community resources, discrimination, and exposure to "toxic stressors" at home or in the community. However, there is no evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship between a child's well-being and the sexual orientation of their parents, the authors noted in the news release.

The AAP "supports pediatricians advocating for public policies that help all children and their parents, regardless of sexual orientation, build and maintain strong, stable and healthy families that are able to meet the needs of their children," according to the policy statement.

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Child Health Experts Come Out in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage

Title: Child Health Experts Come Out in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage
Category: Health News
Created: 3/21/2013 10:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/21/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Marriage May Cut Heart Attack Risk for Both Spouses

THURSDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Marriage appears to reduce the risk of heart attacks for both men and women, according to researchers in Finland.

Other studies have shown that being single or living alone increases the risk for developing and dying from heart disease. Many of these studies, however, were only among men, the researchers said, while this new study includes both sexes.

"Our study suggests that marriage reduces the risk of acute coronary events and death due to acute coronary events in both men and women and at all ages," said lead researcher Dr. Aino Lammintausta, of Turku University Hospital.

"Furthermore, especially among middle-aged men and women, being married and cohabiting are associated with considerably better prognosis of incident acute coronary events both before hospitalization and after reaching the hospital alive," she said.

The report was published Jan. 31 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

For the study, Lammintausta's team collected data on more than 15,300 people who suffered heart attacks between 1993 and 2002. Among these people, about 7,700 died within 28 days of their attack.

Looking at the role marriage might play in the likelihood of having a heart attack, the researchers found that unmarried men were 58 percent to 66 percent more likely to have a heart attack, as were 60 percent to 65 percent of single women, compared to members of married couples.

The gap in risk of dying from a heart attack was even greater for single men and women, the researchers said. For single men, the risk of dying within 28 days of a heart attack was 60 percent to 168 percent higher than for married men; for single women, the risk of death due to heart attack was 71 percent to 175 percent higher than for married women.

The odds of dying from a heart attack were increased for unmarried men and women regardless of age, compared with similar-aged married couples, the researchers noted.

Why marriage might have this effect isn't clear. The researchers, however, suggest several possible reasons.

Single people may be more likely to be in poor health, they said. Married people may be better off financially, live healthier lives and have more friends and social support, all of which promotes health. Married people also may be more likely to call an ambulance sooner than single people, the researchers said.

In addition, married couples get better treatment in the hospital and after discharge, the researchers noted.

On the other hand, the researchers suggested, single people may be less likely to follow measures that might help prevent heart attacks -- such as taking daily aspirin, cholesterol-lowering statins and medications to control high blood pressure.

"For better or worse, marriage is associated with better cardiovascular health and a lower risk of death due to an acute coronary event," said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The reasons marriage or cohabitation may protect people from heart attacks requires further study, he added. Further research is also needed to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between marital status and heart attack incidence and survival.

More information

To learn more about heart attacks, visit the American Heart Association.

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College Students: 25 Is Perfect Age for Marriage

Title: College Students: 25 Is Perfect Age for Marriage
Category: Health News
Created: 12/4/2012 2:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 12/5/2012 12:00:00 AM

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