Marriage is the central relationship for the majority of adults, and morbidity and mortality are reliably lower for married individuals than unmarried individuals across such diverse health threats as cancer, heart attacks, and surgery.1 - 4 Although loss of a spouse through death or divorce can provoke adverse mental and physical health changes,1,5 - 7 the simple presence of a spouse is not necessarily protective; a troubled marriage is itself a prime source of stress, while simultaneously limiting the partner's ability to seek support in other relationships.8 The impact of a turbulent marriage is substantial; for example, epidemiological data demonstrated that unhappy marriages were a potent risk factor for major depressive disorder, associated with a 25-fold increase relative to untroubled marriages.9 Similarly, other researchers found a 10-fold increase in risk for depressive symptoms associated with marital di
Marriage is the central relationship for the majority of adults, and morbidity and mortality are reliably lower for married
individuals than unmarried
individuals across such diverse health threats as cancer, heart attacks, and surgery.1 - 4 Although loss of a spouse through death or divorce can provoke adverse mental and physical health changes,1,5 - 7 the simple presence of a spouse is not necessarily protective; a
troubled marriage is itself a prime source of stress, while simultaneously limiting the partner's ability to seek support in other relationships.8 The impact of a turbulent marriage is substantial; for example, epidemiological data demonstrated that unhappy marriages were a potent risk factor for major depressive disorder, associated with a 25-fold increase relative to untroubled marriages.9 Similarly, other researchers found a 10-fold increase in risk for depressive symptoms associated with marital di
marriage is itself a prime source of stress, while simultaneously limiting the partner's ability to seek support
in other relationships.8 The impact of a turbulent
marriage is substantial; for example, epidemiological data demonstrated that unhappy marriages were a potent risk factor for major depressive disorder, associated with a 25-fold increase relative to untroubled marriages.9 Similarly, other researchers found a 10-fold increase in risk for depressive symptoms associated with marital di
marriage is substantial; for example, epidemiological data demonstrated that unhappy
marriages were a potent risk factor for major depressive disorder, associated with a 25-fold increase relative to untroubled
marriages.9 Similarly, other researchers found a 10-fold increase
in risk for depressive symptoms associated with marital discord.10