The health-protective effect of marriage is stronger for men than women.[1][2] Marital status — the simple fact of being married — confers more health benefits to men than women.[2] Women's health is more strongly impacted than men's by marital conflict or satisfaction, such that unhappily married women do not enjoy better health relative to their single counterparts.[2][3][11] Laboratory studies indicate that women have stronger physiological reactions than men in response to marital conflict.[2][3]