[Acute nuptial psychosis: apropos of 16 cases]

The marriage, an over-invested social event in our Maghrebin cultural context, can, in certain cases, generate major psychiatric disorders especially of psychotic types. The aim of our study is to describe the clinical specifications of these psychotic disorders and to discuss the surroundings and individuals factors incriminated in their genesis. Our retrospective study concerns sixteen patients suffering from acute psychotic disorders precipitated by marriage. Male subjects represented 75% of cases with an average age of 26.8 years. 62.5% of them have no psychiatric background. The disorders first appeared after the marriage in 75% of cases, often during the first week. 68% of cases have delirious syndrome. Schizophreniform and brief psychotic disorders were often reported. The importance of the cultural factors was particularly prominent in the starting of these disorders.