In general, we know little about how the benefits and costs of social ties vary across sociodemographic groups, but some evidence suggests that there is variation. Most attention has been devoted to gender differences, particularly in the context of marriage. Historically, marriage has conferred more health gains for men than for women. Men not only experience greater health benefits through the positive lifestyle and health behaviors that often accompany marriage (Waite 1995), they also experience fewer costs from spousal caregiving, childrearing, caring for aging parents, and balancing work/family demands (Spain and Bianchi 1996). The availability, costs, and benefits of social ties may also vary by race. For instance, blacks are less likely to be married than whites. Yet evidence regarding costs and benefits is mixed. African Americans may experience more marital strain (Broman 1993; Umberson et al. 2005; cf. Kiecolt, Hughes, and Keith 2008) and receive fewer economic gains from marriage compared to whites (Willson 2003), yet some studies find African Americans have historically received more health benefits from marriage than whites (Kiecolt et al. 2008; Liu and Umberson 2008).
