Social consequences of personality disorders: probability and timing of marriage and probability of marital disruption
Abstract
The associations between DSM-IV personality disorders and probability of marriage, early marriage, and marital disruption were evaluated among people that participated in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, which is a nationally representative face-to-face survey of 43,093 respondents, 18 years and older. Participants completed a structured interview for the diagnosis of seven personality disorders, and provided information about the occurrence and timing of marriage and marital disruption. Results suggest that personality disorders were associated with decreased probability of marriage, increased probability of early marriage, and increased probability of marital disruption. These findings suggest that personality disorders have substantial consequences for the probability and timing of marriage and probability of marital disruption.
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Early-onset mental disorders predict a lower probability of ever marrying, are either positively associated or unrelated with marriage before age 18, and are negatively associated with on-time and late marriage; these patterns are largely similar for men and women and across countries, and major depressive disorder is one of the most important pre-marital mental disorders.
“Early-onset mental disorders predict low probability of ever marrying, but are either positively associated28 or unrelated27 with early (before age 18) marriage, which is known to be associated with a number of adverse outcomes, and negatively associated with on-time and late marriage, which are known to be associated with a number of benefits (e.g., financial security, social support). These ass”
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- Authors
- Whisman, M. A., Tolejko, N., & Chatav, Y.
- Affiliations
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- ORCID
- Whisman, Mark A.
- Venue
- Journal of Personality Disorders
- Publisher
- Guilford Publications
- Published
- 2007-12
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 690-695
- ISSN
- 0885-579X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1992915386
- Cited by
- 68
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 2.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Keywords
- personality disorders, marriage, early marriage, marital disruption, marriage timing, DSM-IV personality disorders, NESARC
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Divorce, Female, Humans, Internal-External Control, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Marriage, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Personality Disorders, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Behavior, United States, Comorbidity, Spouses, Substance-Related Disorders, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
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