Grundström Jenna, Konttinen Hanna, Berg Noora, Kiviruusu Olli
Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 30, 00271, Helsinki, Finland.
Faculty of Social Sciences, P.O. Box 18, 00014, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
SSM Popul Health. 2021 Mar 17;14:100774. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100774. eCollection 2021 Jun.
The aim of this study was to assess the associations between relationship status and mental well-being in four different phases during the life course, and to identify whether relationship quality moderated these associations. We used a broader concept of relationship status (instead of marital status) and also included the positive dimension of mental health. Participants in a Finnish cohort study were followed up at ages 22 (N = 1,656), 32 (N = 1,471), 42 (N = 1,334), and 52 (N = 1,159). Measures in all study panels covered relationship status (marriage, cohabitation, dating, single and divorced/widowed), Short Beck Depression Inventory (S-BDI), self-esteem (seven items) and relationship quality (six items). Analyses were carried out using linear regression. Compared to marriage, being single or being divorced/widowed were associated with depressive symptoms at every age in men. For women, in turn, being single - but not being divorced/widowed - was associated with depressive symptoms. Among men, being single or being divorced/widowed were also associated with lower self-esteem at age 32, 42 and 52, but in women, only one association between lower self-esteem and being single was found at age 32. Of the age stages, the age 32 is highlighted in men, at which point all relationship statuses were risk factors compared to marriage. There were only few indications of the moderating role of the relationship quality. Compared to marriage, being single or being divorced/widowed were quite consistently associated with poorer mental well-being during the life course, especially among men. For dating and cohabiting the associations were more fragmented depending on age and gender; particularly among women, these relationship statuses tended not to differ from marriage in terms of mental well-being. These observations on mental well-being across five relationship statuses are important in our contemporary society, where the number of marriages is decreasing, and other forms of relationships are becoming more common.
本研究的目的是评估人生历程中四个不同阶段的恋爱状况与心理健康之间的关联，并确定恋爱质量是否会调节这些关联。我们采用了更宽泛的恋爱状况概念（而非婚姻状况），并且纳入了心理健康的积极维度。芬兰一项队列研究中的参与者在22岁（N = 1656）、32岁（N = 1471）、42岁（N = 1334）和52岁（N = 1159）时接受了随访。所有研究板块的测量指标包括恋爱状况（已婚、同居、约会、单身以及离异/丧偶）、贝克抑郁自评量表简版（S-BDI）、自尊（七个项目）以及恋爱质量（六个项目）。分析采用线性回归进行。与已婚相比，男性在各个年龄段单身或离异/丧偶都与抑郁症状相关。而对于女性而言，单身——而非离异/丧偶——与抑郁症状相关。在男性中，单身或离异/丧偶在32岁、42岁和52岁时也与较低的自尊相关，但在女性中，仅在32岁时发现较低自尊与单身之间存在一种关联。在各个年龄阶段中，32岁在男性中尤为突出，在这一年龄，与已婚相比所有恋爱状况都是风险因素。恋爱质量的调节作用仅有很少的迹象。与已婚相比，单身或离异/丧偶在人生历程中相当一致地与较差心理健康相关，尤其是在男性中。对于约会和同居，其关联在不同年龄和性别上更为分散；特别是在女性中，这些恋爱状况在心理健康方面往往与已婚没有差异。在我们当代社会，结婚数量在减少，其他形式的恋爱关系越来越普遍，这些关于五种恋爱状况下心理健康的观察结果很重要。
