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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Socioeconomic status, marital status continuity and change, marital conflict, and mortality
Heejeong Choi1, Nadine F Marks
1Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University Altoona, Altoona, PA 16601, USA. huc12@psu.edu
Objective:
The authors investigated (a) whether being continuously married compared with other marital status trajectories over 5 years attenuates the adverse effects of lower education and lower income on longevity, (b) whether being in higher conflict as well as lower conflict marriage compared with being single provides a buffer against socioeconomic status inequalities in mortality, and (c) whether the conditional effects of marital factors on the SES-mortality association vary by gender.
Method:
The authors estimated logistic regression models with data from adults aged 30 or above who participated in the National Survey of Families and Households 1987- 2002.
Results:
Being continuously married, compared with being continuously never married or making a transition to separation/divorce, buffered mortality risks among men with low income. Mortality risk for low-income men was also lower in higher conflict marriages compared with being never married or previously married.
Discussion:
Marriage ameliorates mortality risks for some low-income men.
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