Family Status and Mental Health: Recent Advances and Future Directions

Umberson, Debra; Thomeer, Mieke Beth; Williams, Kristi

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4276-5_20

Cited by 109 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 190 publications

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“…The attention to spousal relationships mirrors a larger pattern in family scholarship that has tended to emphasize the marital tie (Fingerman and Hay 2002), and reflects an assumption that as individuals age and form new family ties (e.g., spouses), those ties take priority, whereas the ties with their families of origin (e.g., parents and siblings) become less important (Carr and Springer 2010;Umberson et al 2013). Research over the last several decades, however, has shown that parents and adult children maintain enduring ties across the life course, regardless of whether adult children marry ).…”

Section: Family Network and Psychological Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that the spousal relationship is strongly associated with well-being. Research on marriage and mental health has demonstrated that the impact of marriage on well-being is highly dependent on the quality of the marital relationship (Umberson et al 2013). In particular, marital dissatisfaction is detrimental for psychological well-being (Proulx et al 2007;Umberson et al 2013).…”

Section: Family Network and Psychological Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on marriage and mental health has demonstrated that the impact of marriage on well-being is highly dependent on the quality of the marital relationship (Umberson et al 2013). In particular, marital dissatisfaction is detrimental for psychological well-being (Proulx et al 2007;Umberson et al 2013). Given the primacy of the spousal relationship, we expected that spousal tension would be more strongly associated with depressive symptoms compared to tension with mothers or siblings.…”

Section: Family Network and Psychological Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Family Networks and Psychological Well-Being in Midlife

et al. 2017

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Scholarship has highlighted the importance of kin relations for well-being in adulthood. Much focus has been on relationships between spouses and between parents and children. However, limited research has explored the role of adult sibling relationships in well-being, and no studies have made direct comparisons among the effects of tension with these multiple family members. Using data collected from 495 adult children nested within 254 families, we examined the differential impact of tension with mothers, siblings, and spouses on depressive symptoms in midlife. Separate multi-level regression analyses showed that tension with spouses, mothers, and siblings each predicted depressive symptoms. Combined analyses revealed that greater tension with spouses was associated with higher depressive symptoms, but tension with mothers and siblings was not. However, Wald tests comparing the strength of these associations between tension and depressive symptoms indicated that these associations did not significantly vary across family members. Interactions with gender indicated that tension with mothers was more strongly associated with higher depressive symptoms for women than men. These findings highlight the importance of the quality of relationships with family members on individuals' psychological well-being, and call for researchers to consider multiple ties and gender when examining family relationships and well-being.

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Section: Family Network and Psychological Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Family Network and Psychological Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Family Network and Psychological Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Family Networks and Psychological Well-Being in Midlife

et al. 2017

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“…According to social control and support theories, marriage improves men’s health through wives’ health monitoring (e.g., health care utilization, physical activity, drinking alcohol, and smoking) (Umberson, 1992) but improves women’s health through increasing their financial status, which, in turn, grants them access to better health-management resources (e.g., health insurance) (Hahn, 1993). Wives’ illness or death might cause men to engage in health-damaging behaviors and lose some of the social ties that benefited their health (Umberson et al, 2013). Husbands’ illness or death might increase financial hardship, which often leads to increased depressive symptoms for widows (Umberson, Wortman, & Kessler, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increases in Blood Glucose in Older Adults

et al. 2014

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Objectives The death or illness of a spouse negatively affects a partner’s health, but little is known about the effect on blood glucose (glycemic) levels. This study investigates the extent to which a spouse’s declining health or death is associated with changes in the glycemic levels of older adults. Methods Data come from a nationally representative longitudinal sample of 597 Taiwanese (aged 54 to 90). We use changes in spousal health and death of a spouse to predict changes in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels over a six-year period. Results A decline in spousal health is associated with increased HbA1c levels for women, but not for men. The death of a healthy spouse is associated with increased HbA1c levels for both genders. Discussion Stressful life transitions may compromise the glycemic levels of older adults. Taking on a caregiving role may erode some of the benefits of marriage and interfere with women’s maintenance of their own health.

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“…As posited in SPM, low SES and other disadvantaged positions can threaten mental health by increasing one's exposure to stressors such as financial hardship and poor living conditions (Muntaner et al, 2013). Studies also find that, in general, people who are married or employed are less likely to be depressed than the unmarried or people who are not working (Dalgard et al, 2007; Halvorsen, 1998; reviews: Tausing, 2013; Umberson, Thomeer, & Williams, 2013). More importantly, the nature and quality of these social roles matter, such that excess role demands, lack of control, and job insecurity can undermine mental well-being (Burgard, Brand, & House, 2009; Dalgard et al, 2007; Sipsma et al, 2013; Stansfeld, Head, Fuhrer, Wardle, & Cattell, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-country variation in the sociodemographic factors associated with major depressive episode in Norway, the United Kingdom, Ghana, and Kenya

Ambugo

2014

Social Science & Medicine

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Studies based on Western samples generally show that status characteristics like gender or marital status are associated with better mental health for individuals who occupy advantageous positions, such as men or the married. However, these patterns may not hold in developing regions that differ in important ways from the West. Guided by the Stress Process Model (SPM), this study uses logistic regression to examine the effect of gender, education, and other status characteristics on major depressive episode (MDE). Similarities and differences in these associations across two Western and two African countries are also assessed. Nationally representative data for adults ages 18 years and older are from the World Health Surveys (2002-2004) for Norway (N = 943), the United Kingdom (UK: N = 1,195), Ghana (N = 3,922), and Kenya (N = 4,331). Results indicate a mixed pattern of associations between status characteristics and MDE across the four countries. Norwegian men face higher risk of MDE than Norwegian women—an anomalous finding. With some exceptions, education and employment status are not significantly related to MDE across the countries, providing little support for SPM. Marital status differences in risk of MDE are largest for Norway and smallest for Ghana. For the UK, men face lower risk of MDE than women across levels of mastery, and the gender gap in MDE is larger at higher levels of mastery. Overall, there is some heterogeneity in the associations between status characteristics and MDE even in somewhat similar environments like Ghana and Kenya. This study extends the reach of SPM to settings in sub-Saharan Africa, and contributes to the sparse empirical literature on the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of MDE in the general populations of Ghana and Kenya.

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Family Status and Mental Health: Recent Advances and Future Directions

Cited by 109 publications

References 190 publications

Family Networks and Psychological Well-Being in Midlife

Family Networks and Psychological Well-Being in Midlife

Increases in Blood Glucose in Older Adults

Cross-country variation in the sociodemographic factors associated with major depressive episode in Norway, the United Kingdom, Ghana, and Kenya

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