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Idstad, M., Torvik, F. A., Borren, I., Rognmo, K., Roysamb, E., & Tambs, K. (2015). Mental distress predicts divorce over 16 years: the HUNT study. BMC public health, 15, 320.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The association between mental distress and divorce is well established in the literature. Explanations are commonly classified within two different frameworks; social selection (mentally distressed people are selected out of marriage) and social causation (divorce causes mental distress). Despite a relatively large body of literature on this subject, selection effects are somewhat less studied, and research based on data from both spouses is scarce. The purpose of the present study is to investigate selection effects both at the individual level and the couple level. METHODS: The current study is based on couple-level data from a Norwegian representative sample including 20,233 couples. Long-term selection effects were tested for by means of Cox proportional hazard models, using mental distress in both partners at baseline as predictors of divorce the next 16 years. Three identical sets of analyses were run. The first included the total sample, whereas the second and third excluded couples who divorced within the first 4 or 8 years after baseline, respectively. An interaction term between mental distress in husband and in wife was specified and tested. RESULTS: Hazard of divorce was significantly higher in couples with one mentally distressed partner than in couples with no mental distress in all analyses. There was also a significant interaction effect showing that the hazard of divorce for couples with two mentally distressed partners was higher than for couples with one mentally distressed partner, but lower than what could be expected from the combined main effects of two mentally distressed partners. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that mentally distressed individuals are selected out of marriage. We also found support for a couple-level effect in which spouse similarity in mental distress to a certain degree seems to protect against divorce.
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Jeppesen, E., Bjelland, I., Fossa, S. D., Loge, J. H., & Dahl, A. A. (2013). Psychosocial problems of teenagers who have a parent with cancer: a population-based case-control study (young-HUNT study). J Clin Oncol, 31(32), 4099–4104.
Abstract: PURPOSE: High prevalence of psychosocial problems has been observed in clinical studies of teenagers who have a parent with cancer. In contrast, we used a population-based design to study such problems in teenagers who have a parent with cancer (cases) compared with matched teenagers with cancer-free parents (controls). We hypothesized that higher prevalence of psychosocial problems would be observed in cases compared with controls and that sex differences would be observed between cases and controls. METHODS: We used data from a cross-sectional population-based survey of teenagers (Young-HUNT study). Among 8,986 teenage participants, 120 of their parents had invasive cancer before the Young-HUNT study according to the Norwegian Cancer Registry. These parents had 143 teenagers (cases) participating in the Young-HUNT study. Matched on sex, age, and municipality, 429 control teenagers with cancer-free parents were drawn from the Young-HUNT study. Six psychosocial problems were studied. RESULTS: No significant differences in psychosocial problems were observed between cases and controls in the total sample. Fewer case daughters reported eating problems compared with control daughters, and more case sons reported eating problems compared with control sons. More case daughters than case sons reported somatic stress symptoms and low self-esteem and displayed more caseness of anxiety/depression. These three sex differences were also observed among controls, indicating that they were general sex differences. CONCLUSION: In this population-based study, teenagers who had a parent with cancer did not have higher prevalence of psychosocial problems than controls. Sex differences observed in previous clinically based studies were confirmed but may simply reflect sex differences observed among teenagers in general.
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