Previous research finds that marriage is a privileged family form with health benefits. These health advantages may have shifted during the pandemic, as more time was spent at home and resources strained. This study compares differences in three health outcomes across relationship statuses between April and December 2020 using a nationally-representative US survey, the Household Pulse Survey (N = 1,422,733). As the pandemic progressed, larger differences emerged when comparing married and never married respondents’ probabilities of fair or poor health, depression, and anxiety as never married people had the steepest decline in health, even adjusting for pandemic-related stressors (e.g., food insufficiency). Yet, widowed and divorced/separated respondents’ greater probabilities of these three health outcomes compared to married respondents’ narrowed over this same period. During the pandemic, relationship status and self-rated health patterns were similar for men and women, but for mental health there was evidence that the growing advantage of marriage relative to never being married was more pronounced for men, whereas the shrinking advantage of marriage relative to being previously married was more pronounced for women. This study identifies the unique health needs for never married adults during the pandemic, demonstrating that social conditions around the pandemic likely exacerbated health disparities by relationship status.

中文翻译：

---

COVID-19 大流行期间基于关系状况的健康差异

先前的研究发现，婚姻是一种享有特权的家庭形式，对健康有益。在大流行期间，这些健康优势可能发生了变化，因为人们花在家里的时间更多，资源也紧张。本研究使用美国全国代表性调查“家庭脉搏调查”(N = 1,422,733)，比较了 2020 年 4 月至 12 月之间不同关系状态的三种健康结果的差异。随着大流行的发展，在比较已婚和未婚受访者健康状况一般或较差、抑郁和焦虑的概率时出现了更大的差异，因为未婚者的健康状况下降幅度最大，甚至调整了与大流行相关的压力因素（例如，食物不足） ）。然而，与已婚受访者相比，丧偶和离婚/分居受访者在这三种健康结果上的可能性在同一时期有所缩小。在大流行期间，男性和女性的关系状况和自评健康模式相似，但在心理健康方面，有证据表明，男性相对于未婚婚姻的优势日益明显，而相对于未婚婚姻的优势则在缩小。对于女性来说，以前结过婚的影响更为明显。这项研究确定了大流行期间未婚成年人的独特健康需求，表明大流行周围的社会条件可能会加剧关系状况的健康差异。但就心理健康而言，有证据表明，对于男性而言，结婚相对于从未结婚的优势日益增强，而对于女性而言，结婚相对于已婚人士的优势缩小则更为明显。这项研究确定了大流行期间未婚成年人的独特健康需求，表明大流行周围的社会条件可能会加剧关系状况的健康差异。但就心理健康而言，有证据表明，对于男性而言，结婚相对于从未结婚的优势日益增强，而对于女性而言，结婚相对于已婚人士的优势缩小则更为明显。这项研究确定了大流行期间未婚成年人的独特健康需求，表明大流行周围的社会条件可能会加剧关系状况的健康差异。