The Effects of Marital Conflict and Marital Disruption on Depressive Affect: A Comparison Between Women In and Out of Poverty^*

Abstract

Objectives. We examine the independent and interactive effects of marital conflict and marital disruption on women's depressive affect and how these effects vary by family's poverty status. Methods. We use the OLS regression and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to test the hypothesized relationships. Results. The results showed that marital conflict and marital disruption each predicts subsequent depression after controlling for the initial level of depression and other antecedent variables. The effect of marital conflict on depression is stronger among women in poverty than those out of poverty. Furthermore, among women in poverty, marital conflict followed by marital breakup is related to a heightened level of depression, whereas among women financially better off, there is a reduction in the level of depressive affect. Conclusions. These findings point to the importance of a family's economic condition and its impact on the interrelationships among marital processes and women's psychological health.

Relationship Quality and Changes in Depressive Symptoms Among Urban, Married African Americans, Hispanics, and Whites

“…Research findings have also revealed that poverty is negatively associated with subjective well‐being worldwide (Howell & Howell, 2008). In addition, the association between marital conflict and depression is stronger for poor women than for non‐poor women (Liu & Chen, 2006). Qualitative research has suggested that African American women with inadequate financial resources and high levels of relationship conflict may be at especially high risk for health concerns (McCallum, Arnold, & Bolland, 2002).…”

Is Divorce More Painful When Couples Have Children? Evidence From Long-Term Panel Data on Multiple Domains of Well-being

“…Following this idea, researchers have studied moderators such as gender (Simon 2002), age (Williams and Umberson 2004), marital quality (Kalmijn and Monden 2006; Williams 2003), family background (Mandemakers et al 2010), cohabitation versus marriage (Musick and Bumpass 2012), poverty (Liu and Chen 2006), and marriage cohort (Liu and Umberson 2008). None of these moderators have yielded consistent effects despite broad consensus that the consequences of divorce vary among the individuals involved (Amato and Anthony 2014).…”

The Family in Value Orientations

“…For example, one American survey, which included among possible causes of conflicts the study of bad habits, interpersonal relations (e.g., with children from a previous marriage), the way to spend free time, material problems (both expenses and earnings), friends, work, family obligations, issues related to children, personality traits of the married partners (e.g., too talkative, too shy, a propensity to flirt), issues of intimacy, obligations with respect to each other and relations as a whole, characteristics of interaction (e.g., when one partner does not understand what the other one says) [17] found that the most common conflicts were about children, followed by household duties, issues of interaction, ways of spending leisure time, and, finally, work and money. 3 A number of foreign surveys have found that the family's poor material condition has an unfavorable influence [18]; a poor material situation has a destructive effect on family relations [19]; and poverty causes the marriage to be unstable [20]. According to our study, families in which conflicts come about due to drunkenness and narcotics abuse are characterized by the highest degree of pessimism in regard to the possibility of having a happy family some day.…”