Sometimes I can’t stop from scratching my head over the more trivial studies our tax dollars pay for.

Case in point- a new study by researchers out of Ohio State University say that they’ve found a weird benefit of being married. What’s the benefit? The study authors say that getting married, or even thinking about getting married at some point in the future, prevents criminal behavior.

That’s right, friends. Our money is going to fund studies of this sort. But I digress.

The research was published in the Journal of Marriage and Family and study authors say that teens and young adults who are hoping or expecting to get married sometime in the next five years of their life are much less likely to commit a crime.

Apparently, the reasoning behind this is that younger people feel like they’ve got to watch their every move and behavior if they want to be seen as someone who would make a good spouse.

I think we can all agree that people tend to be on their best behavior when they think there’s a chance they might get married because while ‘bad boys (or girls)’ might be fun to date, they’re not necessarily the best to settle down with. However, the study didn’t say what happens after marriage.

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