SynopsisIn a 2-year study of conjugal bereavement, 26 of 99 women remained highly distressed throughout the course of the study. Of the remaining 73 women, 30 never gave evidence of ‘high distress’. Deficits in social support, health and financial problems correlate with enduring ‘high distress’. Personality traits consonant with a socially acceptable and expected ‘widow role’ were found to differentiate the women with enduring ‘low distress’.

A prospective study of 47 married women who met RDC for major depressive disorder investigated the relationship between the social support provided by the husbands and the post-hospital symptom course of the women. Separate taped semistructured interviews were held with the patient and husband at the time of admission. Six months later, symptom course was rated using the LIFE psychiatric status schedule. Only 51% of the sample recovered in the six months. Few demographic or clinical factors were related to symptom course. Recovery was predicted by the depressed woman's ratings of the current marital relationship and by the husband's rating of the pre-morbid relationship but not by the husband's level of expressed criticism or his ratings of the current relationship.

As a by‐product of a larger investigation, this paper examines the psychosocial impact of a 1976 labour dispute among Canadian air traffic controllers. Questionnaires were administered to the controllers during the dispute and during two subsequent periods of routine operations, four and 10 months later. The level of distress, as measured by the 30‐item General Health Questionnaire, was significantly higher during the dispute than during routine operations. The labour dispute was also accompanied by deterioration in perceived general functioning, perceived health and perceived anxiety. However, no increase in use of medical services was documented in the two‐month period surrounding the dispute. Nor did the findings demonstrate any direct causal relationship between the salient issue of the dispute (i.e. the implementation of bilingual air communication in parts of Canada) and the increase in distress level during the dispute. Implications for the focus of future research in the field of labour disputes are discussed.

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