Marriage can be rough, but it seems to be better than the alternative. A new study finds that married people aren’t happier than when they were single, but over time, and all things considered, married people are happier than those who are not married. …

Marriage does not caused satisfaction levels to spike, Yap says, but a union tends to keeps happiness at a stable level. Meanwhile, similar-aged study subjects who did not get married showed a gradual decline in happiness as the years passed. …

Other research has found the following situations contribute to happiness: being old, male and Republican, being religious, and having kids.