Gender differences in measures of mental health associated with a marital relationship

Abstract

This study examined gender differences for two measures of mental health as related to the quality of the marital relationship. Middle-aged respondents (221 female; 210 male) rated their marital satisfaction, affection, and communication. They also rated their psychological well-being and depression. The correlations between marital quality and mental health indicated that for males marital quality was more strongly associated with psychological well-being than with depression. Females showed no such difference, or their marital quality was associated with depression. This implies that for females, depression was a more sensitive measure of their mental health related to their husband-wife relationship. On the other hand, for males subjective well-being which was correlated with self-esteem was a more sensitive measure of their mental health.