Marital Status, Happiness, and Anomia

Abstract

A common theme in the literature of marriage and the family is that the marital relationship protects the individual from the normlessness and alienation of an impersonal world. Using data from the 1976 National Opinion Research Center (NOR C) General Social Survey, this research examines the effects of marital status and marital happiness on anomia, as measured by the Srole Scale. Controlling for relevant background variables, the results indicate that neither marital status nor marital happiness is related to anomia. There is, however, a moderately strong negative relationship between education and anomia and a weak negative relationship between overall life satisfaction and anomia. These results indicate that socioeconomic status remains the primary determinant of anomia for most Americans.