Monday, February 09, 2004
Marriage benefits women as much as men
Marriage makes life much better for men but worse for women - right? Wrong. The persistent 1960s sociological myth has been laid to rest by a major piece of Australian research which shows that, far from driving women crazy, marriage protects the mental health of both women and men. The research is the subject of an article by La Trobe sociologist David de Vaus in the Winter 2002 issue of Family Matters.
In 1996 the Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing of Adults, in which personal interviews were conducted with a random sample of 10,641 Australians. De Vaus says it is the largest study of mental health ever conducted in Australia and one of the most comprehensive in the world. The survey questioned people about symptoms of mood, anxiety, drug and alcohol disorders during the previous 12 months.
Analysis by gender showed that men and women are equally at risk of having a mental disorder, but that women are more likely to have mood and anxiety disorders while men are more prone to alcohol and drug disorders - and these differences are significant.
When marital status was looked at it was clear that married people are the least likely to suffer from any mental disorder; divorced and separated adults are the most prone to mood and anxiety disorders; and never married adults are the most at risk of drug an alcohol disorders. Differences in mental health between married men and women were of type rather than degree.
Jessie Bernard wrote of women in 1972 that "marriage typically eliminates much of her way of life … and children deliver the coup de grace". But de Vaus says today's married full-time mother "is no more at risk of mood, alcohol or drug disorders than the married working mother or the childless full-time housewife - children do not seem to add to the risk of mental disorders …" The single working woman without children is at considerably greater risk of mood, anxiety and substance abuse disorders.
The survey showed that being single and out of work are major risks for both men and women - around a third in this category suffer some mental health disorder. But married fathers without a job are also at high risk, nearly 29 per cent suffering some disorder. When people - men or women - are both married and employed they have the lowest risk.
Marriage makes life much better for men but worse for women - right? Wrong. The persistent 1960s sociological myth has been laid to rest by a major piece of Australian research which shows that, far from driving women crazy, marriage protects the mental health of both women and men. The research is the subject of an article by La Trobe sociologist David de Vaus in the Winter 2002 issue of Family Matters.
In 1996 the Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing of Adults, in which personal interviews were conducted with a random sample of 10,641 Australians. De Vaus says it is the largest study of mental health ever conducted in Australia and one of the most comprehensive in the world. The survey questioned people about symptoms of mood, anxiety, drug and alcohol disorders during the previous 12 months.
Analysis by gender showed that men and women are equally at risk of having a mental disorder, but that women are more likely to have mood and anxiety disorders while men are more prone to alcohol and drug disorders - and these differences are significant.
When marital status was looked at it was clear that married people are the least likely to suffer from any mental disorder; divorced and separated adults are the most prone to mood and anxiety disorders; and never married adults are the most at risk of drug an alcohol disorders. Differences in mental health between married men and women were of type rather than degree.
Jessie Bernard wrote of women in 1972 that "marriage typically eliminates much of her way of life … and children deliver the coup de grace". But de Vaus says today's married full-time mother "is no more at risk of mood, alcohol or drug disorders than the married working mother or the childless full-time housewife - children do not seem to add to the risk of mental disorders …" The single working woman without children is at considerably greater risk of mood, anxiety and substance abuse disorders.
The survey showed that being single and out of work are major risks for both men and women - around a third in this category suffer some mental health disorder. But married fathers without a job are also at high risk, nearly 29 per cent suffering some disorder. When people - men or women - are both married and employed they have the lowest risk.
