Antecedents of symptom expression during marital separation

Examined the role of possible antecedents of psychological symptoms among 310 recently separated men and women. Hierarchical set regression analysis indicated that socio-demographic variables generally are unrelated to symptom expression, although age, gender, length of marriage, and length of separation did predict either agitated depressive or stress symptoms. Several dimensions of social stressors contributed to the prediction of one or more of six symptom factors, but symptoms also were associated with current psychological well-being. These results suggest that the symptomatology of divorcing persons can be partitioned into that which is consequent to the disruptive conditions encountered in divorce and that which may reflect characteristic levels of mental health.