Saying 'I do' benefits dads, research shows

I suspect most people know this already, but it is nice to have it spelled out from time to time: marriage can make a big difference as far as guys are concerned. From a June 19, 2005, Washington Times article by Cheryl Wetzstein:

Pastor Carl Rawls walks the neighborhoods of Selma, Ala., looking for men he can turn into good fathers and husbands. His own family experiences motivate him.

"My parents were married and had eight kids," he said. "I saw my father work hard and take care of the family. He took me to work with him when I was 12."

Today, as a married father of four, Mr. Rawls talks to an endless stream of men who are fathers but not married. Many of these fathers are good providers, dedicated caregivers and satisfied with living together with the mothers of their children, common-law style, he said.

But marriage is better, and it can happen in a low-income family, he said. "You just need to do it." Mr. Rawls' viewpoint is both supported by research and dogged by controversy.

Researchers such as Steven L. Nock argue that marriage is good for fathers because marriage is good for men.

In general, married people have better health, higher earnings, longer life spans, better mental health, better sex lives and more happiness than unmarried people, according to Mr. Nock, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia and author of the 1998 book, "Marriage in Men's Lives."

Men, however, gain something especially beneficial from marriage: identification as a competent, capable adult male, Mr. Nock said. Historically, mature masculinity is defined by three things -- fatherhood, working hard to provide for a wife and children, and protecting the family and estate.

He added that marriage has long served -- and still serves -- as the ideal entree into these core dimensions of masculinity, and marriage confers a powerful new set of social expectations on men...

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