Marriage and mental health

Evidence linking psychiatric impairment with divorced marital status and the presence of marital discord is reviewed. Various theoretical models to explain these relationships are considered. Divorced marital status and marital discord are related to psychiatric impairment and mental health service utilization. Available evidence suggests that part of the impairment in these populations is secondary to factors involved in the breakdown of marital relationships and not completely explainable by premarital hypotheses. This has implications for mental health administrators.