Marital quality, marital disruption, and immune function.

TLDR

Marital disruption is linked to increased psychological and physical disorders. The study collected self‑report data and blood samples from 38 married and 38 separated/divorced women to investigate psychological and physiological mediators. Poor marital quality and recent separation were associated with higher depression and impaired immune function, and shorter separation and stronger attachment to an ex‑spouse predicted worse immune outcomes, supporting epidemiologic links between marital disruption and morbidity.

Abstract

Marital disruption is associated with significant increases in a variety of psychologic and physical disorders. In order to examine psychologic and physiologic mediators, self-report data and blood samples were obtained from 38 married women and 38 separated/divorced women. Among married subjects, poorer marital quality was associated with greater depression and a poorer response on three qualitative measures of immune function. Women who had been separated 1 year or less had significantly poorer qualitative and quantitative immune function than their sociodemographically matched married counterparts. Among the separated/divorced cohort, shorter separation periods and greater attachment to the (ex)husband were associated with poorer immune function and greater depression. These data are consistent with epidemiologic evidence linking marital disruption with increased morbidity and mortality.