So despite the fact that single motherhood has no apparent effect on happiness[1], his solution to the "happiness gap" is instituting a social stigma against sex, to prevent single motherhood.
[1] > A working-class Hispanic woman is far more likely to be a single mother than her white and wealthy counterpart, yet the male-female happiness gap holds in East Hampton and East L.A. alike.
Well, yeah - the author's a religious conservative (hired recently to keep some representation of Team Red in the NYT editorial pages), and he's shamelessly grabbing random data and trying to make them support his political goals.
[1] > A working-class Hispanic woman is far more likely to be a single mother than her white and wealthy counterpart, yet the male-female happiness gap holds in East Hampton and East L.A. alike.