our analyses of prospective panel data provide evidence for both marriage protection and marriage selection effects among women who were not employed. In contrast, no evidence was found for marriage protection or marriage selection effects among women who were employed full-time.
As would be expected, the marital status differential in health was large for women who were not employed and smaller or absent for women who were employed full-time. Women who were neither married nor employed had particularly poor health, with substantially more health problems than women who were either married or employed. It appears that
either marriage or employment may provide important health-promoting benefits, including increased income and social support. In contrast, many of the women who were neither married nor employed suffered from multiple interacting socioeconomic and health disadvantages.