Women who are both wives and mothers are more likely than those who are not to be happy, according to a new analysis from the Institute for Family Studies.
The conservative think tank analyzed results from the Women’s Well-Being Survey taken in March 2025, which polled women between 25 and 55 years old, to conclude that “married mothers are happier than unmarried women or women without children.”
In fact, married mothers are “nearly twice” as likely as unmarried women without children to say they are “very happy.”
Some 19 percent of married women with children report being “very happy,” relative to 13 percent of unmarried women with children.
Those results were followed by married women without children, 11 percent of whom report being “very happy,” and unmarried women without children, of whom only 10 percent are “very happy.”
In the same way, married women are more likely than others to report that “life is enjoyable” most or all of the time in the past month, and married women are less likely to report being lonely.
“Contrary to a popular narrative that marriage entails social isolation, these findings show that married women are less lonely,” the Institute for Family Studies said.
“While getting married and having children may mean less time hanging out with friends, marriage and children are also associated with other kinds of social engagement, including volunteer work, church attendance, and community connections,” the analysis added.
The think tank noted that the results directly contradict a popular narrative that women become less happy when they commit to marriage or family.
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In fact, some of those narratives may direct women away from marriage and childbearing in the first place.
“Though there are likely many reasons for the declines in marriage and childbearing, one possible factor is the way marriage and parenthood, particularly for women, are portrayed in the media and in online discussions,” the Institute for Family Studies said.
The analysis rattled off several headlines demeaning such positive life choices, such as “Why so many single women without children are happy” from Psychology Today.
But the data are abundantly clear.
“Despite the challenges associated with family life for women — including more stress and less time for oneself — there is no question that marriage and motherhood are linked to greater female flourishing on many other fronts,” the think tank said.
“Moreover, marriage shapes and magnifies the experience of motherhood,” the analysis added. “Unmarried mothers with children still identify more purpose and meaning than childless women, but they are less happy, more stressed, and lonelier than married mothers.”
The Institute for Family Studies concluded that marriage is “a stabilizing and supportive context that lifts the burdens of motherhood, while strengthening happiness, connection, and meaning.”
“That reality should invite our best efforts, both culturally and politically, to support and strengthen single mothers even as we also work to increase the likelihood and quality of marriages,” the analysis said.
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