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The Mental Health Of Mothers And Fathers Before And After Cohabitation And Marital Dissolution

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  • Claire M. Kamp Dush

    (Ohio State University)

  • Kate S. Adkins

    (Ohio State University)

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    Abstract

    Using data from years one and three of the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, changes in depressive and anxious symptoms are compared for mothers and fathers who: 1) dissolve a cohabitating union versus remain intact; 2) dissolve a marital union versus remain intact; and 3) dissolve a cohabiting as compared to a marital union. In order to take into account potential sources of third variable bias from selection factors that differentiate those who are in cohabitations from those who are in marriages, mothers and fathers were matched on several sociodemographic control variables that research has demonstrated to be related to union formation and mental health outcomes. Results indicated that fathers who dissolve cohabitating or marital unions have greater increases in depressive and anxious symptoms over time than those who remain in their unions. In contrast, mothers increased in depressive and anxious symptoms, regardless of the type or stability of the union. For both mothers and fathers, no differences were found in change in mental health by type of union dissolution. In this low income sample of parents, results suggest that the impact of cohabitation and marital dissolution on mental health are similar in magnitude.

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    Bibliographic Info

    Paper provided by Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing. in its series Working Papers with number 1134.

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    Date of creation: Jan 2009
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    Handle: RePEc:pri:crcwel:1134

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    Related research

    Keywords: Depression; fragile families; marriage; cohabitation; income; mental health;

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    1. Reichman, Nancy E. & Teitler, Julien O. & Garfinkel, Irwin & McLanahan, Sara S., 2001. "Fragile Families: sample and design," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4-5), pages 303-326.
    2. Jay Teachman, 2002. "Stability across cohorts in divorce risk factors," Demography, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 331-351, May.
    3. Ahituv, Avner & Lerman, Robert I., 2005. "Job Turnover, Wage Rates, and Marital Stability: How Are They Related?," IZA Discussion Papers 1470, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
    4. Catherine Kenney & Sara McLanahan, 2006. "Why are cohabiting relationships more violent than marriages?," Demography, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 127-140, February.
    5. Becker, Gary S & Landes, Elisabeth M & Michael, Robert T, 1977. "An Economic Analysis of Marital Instability," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(6), pages 1141-87, December.
    6. Mason, Karen Oppenheim & Jensen, An-Magritt (ed.), 1995. "Gender and Family Change in Industrialized Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198289708, February.
    7. Edwin Leuven & Barbara Sianesi, 2003. "PSMATCH2: Stata module to perform full Mahalanobis and propensity score matching, common support graphing, and covariate imbalance testing," Statistical Software Components S432001, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 19 Jul 2012.
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