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Cited by 1,357Family Dynamics and RelationshipsHealth disparities and outcomesAttachment and Relationship Dynamics

Gender, marital status and the social control of health behavior

Umberson, Debra·1992·Social Science & Medicine
DOI 10.1016/0277-9536(92)90259-s
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Abstract

Mortality rates are lower for married individuals than they are for unmarried individuals, and marriage seems to be even more beneficial to men than women in this regard. A theoretical model of social integration and social control is developed to explain why this may occur. Drawing from this model, I hypothesize that marriage may be beneficial to health because many spouses monitor and attempt to control their spouse's health behaviors. Furthermore, the provision, receipt, and consequences of these social control efforts may vary for men and women. These hypotheses are considered with analysis of a national panel survey conducted in 1986 (N = 3617) and 1989 (N = 2867). Results show that: (1) marriage is associated with receipt of substantially more efforts to control health for men than women, (2) those who attempt to control the health of others are more likely to be female than male, (3) there is some support for the social control and health behavior hypothesis among the married, and (4) the transition from married to unmarried status is associated with an increase in negative health behavior while the transition from unmarried to married status seems to have little effect on health behavior. A theoretical explanation is developed to explain these marital status differences.

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  • Among women, direct social control predicted more physical activity three years later.

    “among women, direct social control (i.e., “how often does anyone tell or remind you to do anything to protect your health?”) predicted increased physical activity three years later.4”

    From Social isolation (2011) · cites this paper as [4]

  • Marriage is associated with a greater likelihood of health-promoting behaviors such as exercise, presumably because spouses influence these behaviors.

    “Being married is associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in health-promoting behaviors such as exercise,5–7 presumably because marital partners exert some influence over these behaviors.8,9”

    From Social isolation (2011) · cites this paper as [9]

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Authors
Umberson, D.
Affiliations
The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Corresponding author
Umberson, Debra
ORCID
Umberson, Debra
Venue
Social Science & Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
1992-04
Volume
34
Issue
8
Pages
907-917
ISSN
0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/0277-9536(92)90259-s
OpenAlex
W2028099244
Cited by
1,357
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 26 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 69 · 2020: 67 · 2019: 69 · 2018: 64 · 2017: 60 · 2016: 65 · 2015: 69 · 2014: 63 · 2013: 74 · 2012: 53
FWCI
38.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (1f32ag005440-01)
  • National Institute on Aging (AGO5440, AGO5562)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Keywords
marriage, marital status, gender differences, social control, health behavior, social integration, mortality, marital transitions, unmarried individuals
MeSH terms
Adult, Female, Gender Identity, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Marriage, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Social Control, Informal, Texas, United States, Health Behavior

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