A. Highest psychological disorder rates for unmarried
Lowest for currently married
B. True across wide variety of disorders
C. More accidents during divorce
D. More health problems during divorce
II. Explanations for relation between marriage and psychopathology
A. Selection Hypothesis
Less healthy cannot sustain marriage; healthier can
Schizophrenics and alcoholics high rates of never getting married
True especially for males (why?)
Marriage a onetime VA (post WW-II) test of diagnosis!
Men who never were married most likely to be diagnosed
as schizophrenic
B. Causation Hypothesis
Marriage is said to be either the cause of or protects
against psychopathology
Benefits for married, but... Not true for women?
Suspect gender role specificity rather than biological
factors
Effects of major change in marital status (e.g., divorce)
C. Treatment Utilization
Hypothesis
Factors associated with differential utilization
Data are confounded by differential utilization of mental
health
services; for example, after death of a spouse
we might find more women on average seeking some treatment
III. Specific Categories of Individual Psychopathology
Related
to Marriage
A. Depression
(also covered in Depression module)
-
Dysthymia
-
Adjustment disorder with depressed mood
-
Non-psychotic major depression
B. Alcohol abuse
Divorce rates highest for problem drinker spouses than for any
other disorder
Halford and Osgraby (1993; JFP) found 1/3 of couples reported
alcohol abuse; 3/4 frequent disagreements about consumption
C. Anxiety Disorders
Systems hypothesis that women's anxiety disorders often
maintain the stability with a dysfunctional male partner;
Evidence shows that decreased anxiety disorders lead
to increased relationship satisfaction
-
Agoraphobia
-
Panic disorder
-
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
-
Panic disorder
-
Generalized anxiety disorder
yes for women, no for men
D. Psychoses
Expressed Emotion (EE)
research [see Halford ( 1991:
Behavioral
Assessment)]
Emphasis on negative emotions,
not trait like
Emphasis on positive, supportive
interactions most beneficial