Sebastian Arias
English 1010
The Benefits of Marriage and Why People Should Not Fear It:
An Annotated Bibliography
Gerstel, Naomi, and Natalia Sarkisian. "Marriage: the Good, the Bad, and the Greedy." American
Sociological Association. (2006): 16-21. EBSCO Host. Web. 9 Nov. 2012.
Arias 1
In this article the authors quickly summarize the benefits of marriage but then go on to critique it. They call marriage greedy as it causes the couple to withdraw from other important family relationships. Married couples, especially those without children, are less likely to help or be involved with anyone else besides themselves. This will be a good source that argues against my argument of promoting marriage.
Murray , Sandra L., Dale W. Griffin , Jaye L. Derrick, Brianna Harris, et al. "Tempting Fate or Inviting
Happiness? Unrealistic Idealization Prevents the Decline of Marital Satisfaction." Association for
Psychological Science. 22.5 (2001): 619-626. EBSCO Host. Web. 9 Nov. 2012.
This article looks at the relationship between unrealistic idealization of a marriage partner and marital happiness. The look at evidence that supports the idealization of marriage partners in promoting marital bliss. This article will support my opinion that people normally strive to be what you see in them.
Skogrand, Linda, Alena C. Johnson, Amanda M. Horrocks, and John Defrain. "Financial Management
Practices of Couples With Great Marriages." Journal of Family Economic Issues. 32. (2011): 27
35. EBSCO Host. Web. 9 Nov. 2012.
This is another article that talks about the financial aspects that affect marriage. It outlines the role of money management in happy marriages. There were three themes: the first was that

Arias 2 one partner managed the finances, the second was that the couples had little to no debt, and the third was that the couples lived within their means. This will help me to develop the financial aspect of my argument.
Stutzer, Alois, and Bruno S. Frey. "Does Marriage Make People Happy, or Do Happy People Get
Married." Journal of Socio-Economics. 35. (2006): 326-347. EBSCO Host. Web. 9 Nov. 2012.
This article is authored by the same authors as the “Happiness Research: State and Prospects.” It talks about some of the same things but focuses on the causal relationship of happy people choose to get married rather than the idea that marriage makes people happy. Marriage provides several boosts to self-esteem and satisfaction in life but these benefits are better felt by those who are already happy before they get married. Those are not very satisfied with life before marriage; do not see much of a boost after marriage and usually in this environment the marriage is terminated.
Waite, Linda, and Maggie Gallagher. The Case for Marriage. 1st Ed. New York: Broadway Books, 2000.
Print.
As the title suggests this book argues the case for marriage and how it is mutually beneficial for both the man and the woman. It talks about the financial, physical, mental, sexual, and parental advantages of marriage. This book cites many great statistics that I can use to support my claims of financial stability, psychological and physical health, better parenting, emotionally healthier children and the overall greater satisfaction that married people enjoy over those who are unmarried.