婚姻与预期寿命
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2010-05-13 01:42 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Rostock, Germany (May, 12th 2010). Marriage is more beneficial for men than for women - at least for those who want a long life. Previous studies have shown that men with younger wives live longer. While it had long been assumed that women with younger husbands also live longer, in a new study Sven Drefahl from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock, Germany, has shown that this is not the case(情况不总是这样) . Instead, the greater the age difference from the husband, the lower the wife's life expectancy1. This is the case irrespective of whether the woman is younger or older than her spouse2. Related to life expectancy choosing a wife is easy for men - the younger the better. The mortality(死亡数) risk of a husband who is seven to nine years older than his wife is reduced by eleven percent compared to couples where both partners are the same age. Conversely(相反地) , a man dies earlier when he is younger than his spouse.

For years, researchers have thought that this data holds true for both sexes. They assumed an effect called "health selection" was in play; those who select younger partners are able to do so because they are healthier and thus already have a higher life expectancy(预期寿命) . It was also thought that a younger spouse has a positive psychological and social effect on an older partner and can be a better caretaker in old age, thereby3 helping4 to extend the partner's life.

"These theories now have to be reconsidered", says Sven Drefahl from MPIDR. "It appears that the reasons for mortality differences due to the age gap of the spouses5 remain unclear." Using data from almost two million Danish couples, Drefahl was able to eliminate the statistical6 shortcomings of earlier research, and showed that the best choice for a woman is to marry a man of exactly the same age; an older husband shortens her life, and a younger one even more so (see figure 1 in extra figure sheet http://www.demogr.mpg.de/files/press/1813_Figures.pdf).

According to Drefahl's study, published May 12th in the journal Demography7(人口统计学) , women marrying a partner seven to nine years younger increase their mortality risk by 20 percent. Hence, "health selection" can't be true for women; healthy women apparently8 don't go chasing after younger men. While many studies on mate selection show that women mostly prefer men the same age, most of them end up with an older husband. In the United States, on average a groom9 is 2.3 years older than his bride. (see figure 2 in extra figure sheet http://www.demogr.mpg.de/files/press/1813_Figures.pdf). "It's not that women couldn't find younger partners; the majority just don't want to", says Sven Drefahl.

It is also doubtful that older wives benefit psychologically and socially from a younger husband. This effect only seems to work for men. "On average, men have fewer and lesser10 quality social contacts than those of women," says Sven Drefahl. Thus, unlike the benefits of a younger wife, a younger husband wouldn't help extend the life of his older wife by taking care of her, going for a walk with her and enjoying late life together. She already has friends for that. The older man, however, doesn't.

This means that women don't benefit by having a younger partner, but why does he shorten their lives? "One of the few possible explanations is that couples with younger husbands violate social norms and thus suffer from social sanctions(社会制裁,社会认可) ," says Sven Drefahl. Since marrying a younger husband deviates11 from(脱离,偏离) what is regarded as normal, these couples could be regarded as outsiders and receive less social support. This could result in a less joyful12 and more stressful life, reduced health, and finally, increased mortality.

While the new MPIDR study shows that marriage disadvantages most women when they are not the same age as their husband, it is not true that marriage in general is unfavourable. Being married raises the life expectancy of both men and women above those that are unmarried. Women are also generally better off than men; worldwide their life expectancy exceeds(超过,胜过) that of men by a few years.



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1 expectancy tlMys     
n.期望,预期,(根据概率统计求得)预期数额
参考例句:
  • Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
  • The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。
2 spouse Ah6yK     
n.配偶(指夫或妻)
参考例句:
  • Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
  • What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么?
3 thereby Sokwv     
adv.因此,从而
参考例句:
  • I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市,因此对它不怎么熟悉。
  • He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民,因而得到了投票权。
4 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
5 spouses 3fbe4097e124d44af1bc18e63e898b65     
n.配偶,夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
  • An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句
6 statistical bu3wa     
adj.统计的,统计学的
参考例句:
  • He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
  • They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。
7 demography pw7xs     
n.人口统计,人口学
参考例句:
  • Demography is the analysis of population variables.人口学是对人口变量的分析。
  • It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer.按人口统计学的一贯规律,一个国家里的人民越富有,他们所拥有的孩子就越少。
8 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
9 groom 0fHxW     
vt.给(马、狗等)梳毛,照料,使...整洁
参考例句:
  • His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
  • George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作,乔治已在接受专门的培训。
10 lesser UpxzJL     
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地
参考例句:
  • Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
  • She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及,但程度较轻。
11 deviates 095f40a93b73fe7ea87eddba8bee1aec     
v.偏离,越轨( deviate的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The boy's behavior deviates from the usual pattern. 这个男孩子的举止与一般人不同。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The limit occurs when the ordinate deviates appreciably from unity. 这个限度发生在纵坐标明显地从单位1偏离的时候。 来自辞典例句
12 joyful N3Fx0     
adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的
参考例句:
  • She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
  • They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。
TAG标签: life marriage women men
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