نقش ازدواج در سلامت عمومي زوج هاي جوان: مطالعه اي طولي

The Role of Marriage on the Mental Health of Newly Married Couples: A Longitudinal Study

Purpose of this study was to determine the trend of changes in the mental health of married couples. Method was a descriptive-comparative study in which 230 married couples were selected from studentʹs mass marriages in Tehran universities. From this sample, 213 couples in the first year of the study, 116 couples in the second year, 46 couples in the third year, 95 couples in the fourth year, 56 married coupes in the fifth year, and finally 27 couples in the fourth year of their marriage completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Results indicated that except for the somatic symptoms subscale, differences between mean scores of other subscales as well as the total GHQ mean scores in different years were not significant. The best predictor of the GHQ total score in the fifth year of the study was the event of getting married itself. Also there were gender differences in terms of the GHQ scores؛ i.e. females have reported lower mental health in comparison with males. Discussion: The result showed a change may occur during first year of marriage is in relations and responsibilities of couples and the expression of tension in obtaining communication and conflict – resolution skills. Furthermore, this tension may be increased in women by occupational family and occur at ional roles during first years of marriage which impacts their mental health negatively.