Economic Conditions,Spouse Support,and Psychological Distress of Rural Husbands and Wives1

Abstract Previous studies of the relation between economic conditions and psychological stress among farm operators are extended by comparing farming and nonfarming husbands' and wives' depressive symptoms and by including spouse support as both a mediating and a moderating variable. Using three waves of data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project, the analyses found few differences between farmers and nonfarmers, but the relation between economic pressure and distress operates differently for husbands and wives. For husbands, wives' support buffers the relation between economic pressure and husbands' sense of control over events in their lives, which in turn reduces depression. For wives, husbands' support both directly reduces their depression and buffers the effects of economic pressure on depression by weakening the relation between sense of control and feelings of depression.