Mehdi Mokhtari, Monireh Khadem, Marzieh Abbasinia, Abdol Rasoul Rahmani, Uonees Ghasembaklo, Iman Ahmadnezhad, Mehdi Asghari.
Effects of divorce on women’s mental health: an epidemiological survey.
Pak J Public Health Jan ;3(3):16-21.

Background: Divorce as a social phenomenon has profound effects on families and children. The aim of this study was investigating the mental health in divorced women and effects of divorce on mental or psychological disorders. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 150 divorced and 150 non divorced women. Samples were randomly selected from two public and private family counseling centers. Demographic and DASS-21questionnaires were used. Results: Mean age of divorced women and control group were 36.7±6.5 and 34.6±5.5 respectively. There was the highest rate of divorce in the age group of 40-31. The average of marital life between divorced women was 7.34 ± 3.3 years and the mean age at the time of divorce was 30.2±3.6. Depression (p<0.014), stress (p<0.001), and anxiety (p<0.001) were more prevalent among divorced women. Mean scores for psychological dimensions among all divorced women were significantly more than non-divorced. There were significant relationship between divorce and demographic variables such as early marriage, social class and education level in divorced women. Conclusions: Considering the impact of divorce on mental health, supporting programs and preventive strategies for groups at risk are necessary. Also some training courses and preventing programs can be effective for married people.

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