Zhang Yang, Axinn William G
Department of Sociology, and Population Studies Center, University of Michigan.
Department of Sociology and Public Policy, Population Studies Center, and Survey Research Center, University of Michigan.
AJS. 2021 May;126(6):1439-1486. doi: 10.1086/714272.
Understanding the consequences of marital experiences for individual mental health provides insight into how social relationships shape individual wellbeing. Using newly available, clinically validated diagnostic interviews with more than 10,000 respondents integrated with the longitudinal Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS), we assess the associations between marital experiences, intimate partner violence (IPV), and mental health and how they differ by gender in a setting of universal marriage-Nepal. Particularly novel, we integrate measures of arranged marriage, IPV, and marital quality into a single comprehensive analysis of the marital experiences shaping subsequent depression. This study reveals that becoming married can be positively associated with major depressive disorder (MDD) for women. IPV is a strong and independent risk factor for depression, but it only mediates a small portion of the consequences of marriage on depression. Among women, having no say at all in the selection of a spouse is also a strong and independent risk factor for depression, and IPV can only mediate a small portion of the consequences of arranged marriage on depression. We also investigate the associations between the positive (i.e., husband-wife emotional bond) and negative (i.e., spousal criticism and disagreement) dimensions of marital quality and depression. Frequent spousal disagreement significantly increases depression for women, but strong husband-wife emotional bond is not significantly associated with depression. Overall, the associations between marital experiences and mental health should be understood as contingent on both gender and the social contexts of marriage. Depending on these factors, specific marital experiences have the potential to increase transitions to depression, not just protect from depression.
了解婚姻经历对个人心理健康的影响，有助于洞察社会关系如何塑造个人幸福感。我们利用新获得的、经过临床验证的对1万多名受访者的诊断访谈，并结合奇旺山谷家庭纵向研究（CVFS），评估婚姻经历、亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）与心理健康之间的关联，以及在尼泊尔这种普遍存在婚姻制度的背景下，它们在性别上的差异。特别新颖的是，我们将包办婚姻、IPV和婚姻质量的测量方法整合到一个对塑造后续抑郁症的婚姻经历的综合分析中。这项研究表明，结婚对女性来说可能与重度抑郁症（MDD）呈正相关。IPV是抑郁症的一个强大且独立的风险因素，但它仅介导了婚姻对抑郁症影响的一小部分。在女性中，在配偶选择上完全没有发言权也是抑郁症的一个强大且独立的风险因素，而且IPV仅介导了包办婚姻对抑郁症影响的一小部分。我们还研究了婚姻质量的积极维度（即夫妻情感纽带）和消极维度（即配偶批评和分歧）与抑郁症之间的关联。频繁的配偶分歧会显著增加女性的抑郁症，但强烈的夫妻情感纽带与抑郁症没有显著关联。总体而言，婚姻经历与心理健康之间的关联应被理解为取决于性别和婚姻的社会背景。根据这些因素，特定的婚姻经历有可能增加患抑郁症的几率，而不仅仅是预防抑郁症。
