Marriage and the Mental Health of Low-Income Urban Women With Children

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2347201
AutoresT D Hill (0000-0003-3798-7753, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA), Megan Reid (National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., New York, NY, USA), R Reczek (0000-0001-5309-3632, The Ohio State University), Corinne Reczek (Ohio State University, OH, USA)
Año2013
Volumen34
Número9
Páginas1238-1261
Fecha de publicación2013-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Family Issues (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0192-513X • E-ISSN: 1552-5481
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0192513x12441347
OpenAlexW2161600666
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas64

Although numerous studies of the general population show that married people tend to exhibit better mental health than their unmarried counterparts, there is little evidence to suggest that the psychological benefits of marriage extend to low-income urban women with children. Building on previous research, this study uses longitudinal survey data from the Welfare, Children, and Families project (1999, 2001) to examine the effects of marriage and related transitions on changes in psychological distress among low-income urban women with children. It also tests the mediating influence of financial hardship, social support, self-esteem, and frequency of intoxication. Although entering and exiting marriage are unrelated to changes in psychological distress, continuous marriage is associated with lower levels of psychological distress from baseline to follow-up. The mediation analysis also suggests that the apparent mental health benefits of continuous marriage are partially mediated or explained by lower levels of financial hardship

Developmental psychology · Distress · Economics · Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study · Longitudinal study · Mediation · Mental health · Population · Psychiatry · Psychological distress · Sociology · Welfare · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology