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Cited by 69Family Dynamics and RelationshipsMental Health Treatment and AccessAttachment and Relationship Dynamics

Mental health problems and marital disruption: is it the combination of husbands and wives' mental health problems that predicts later divorce?

Butterworth, Peter, Rodgers, Bryan·2008·Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
DOI 10.1007/s00127-008-0366-5
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Abstract

Background Divorce has been established as an adverse social consequence of mental illness. There is, however, little research that has considered how the mental health of both spouses may interact to predict relationship disruption. The aim of the current study was to use data from a large population-based survey to examine whether the combination of spouses' mental health problems predicts subsequent marital dissolution.Methods Prospective analysis of data from a longitudinal national household survey. 3,230 couples were tracked over 36 months, with logistic regression models used to determine whether the mental health problems of both spouses at wave 1 (determined by the SF36 mental health subscale) predicted subsequent relationship dissolution.Results Couples in which either men or women reported mental health problems had higher rates of marital disruption than couples in which neither spouse experienced mental health problems. For couples in which both spouses reported mental health problems, rates of marital disruption reflected the additive combination of each spouse's separate risk. Importantly, these couples showed no evidence of a multiplicative effect of mental illness on rates of subsequent divorce or separation.Conclusions The results do not support the notion that a combination of mental health problems in both spouses uniquely predicts marital dissolution. Rather, there is an additive effect of individual mental health problems on the risk of dissolution.

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  • Pre-marital history of mental disorders predicts divorce, with associations quite similar for husbands and wives across all countries, and major depressive disorder is among the most important disorders in this regard.

    “A separate set of studies has shown that pre-marital history of mental disorders predicts divorce,30, 31 again with associations quite similar for husbands and wives across all countries and MDD among the most important disorders in this regard.27”

    From The Costs of Depression (2012) · cites this paper as [30]

  • Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder reported in people who die by suicide: from available psychological autopsy studies it is estimated that depression is responsible for the largest proportion of the burden of disease attributed to suicide (as measured in DALYs: 46%; 95%CI 28% to 61%).

    “Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder reported in people who die by suicide: from available psychological autopsy studies 203 it is estimated that depression is responsible for the largest proportion of the burden of disease attributed to suicide (as measured in DALYs: 46%; 95%CI 28% to 61%). 204”

    From Time for united action on depression: a Lancet–World Psychiatric Association Commission (2022) · cites this paper as [204]

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Authors
Butterworth, P., & Rodgers, B.
Affiliations
Australian National University (AU)
Corresponding author
Butterworth, Peter
ORCID
Venue
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2008-05-13
Volume
43
Issue
9
Pages
758-763
ISSN
  • 0933-7954 (ISSN-L)
  • 1433-9285
DOI
10.1007/s00127-008-0366-5
OpenAlex
W1973584379
Cited by
69
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 3
FWCI
6.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Keywords
divorce, separation, mental illness, couples, additive risk, relationship disruption
MeSH terms
Mental Disorders, Divorce, Female, Humans, Male, Marriage, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires

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