Depression :: Marital breakdown and subsequent depression

Men and women whose marriage has broken up have a higher risk of being depressed than people who remained with their spouse, according to a new study. However, men appear to take the separation harder.

The study, based on longitudinal data from the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), examined the association between marital dissolution and subsequent depression.

Both men and women had higher odds of having an episode of depression in the two years following the end of a marriage or common-law relationship, compared with people who stayed with their spouse.

The study determined that men who experienced a break-up were more at risk of depression than were women.

It also found that marital break-up was independently associated with depression. That is, while other factors that often accompany a break-up were associated with an increased risk of depression, they did not completely account for it.

These other factors included a change in household income, in social support, or in the number of children in the household. The association between marital break and depression persisted even when these events were taken into account.

The study found that most people who experienced depression in the post-relationship period were no longer depressed four years after the break-up. But for a sizeable minority, depression remained a problem.


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