Marital status,sex, and suicide: new longitudinal findings and Durkheim’s marital status propositions*

Abstract

The purpose of the paper was to use new longitudinal data to investigate the impact of marital status on suicide, and test Durkheim’s marital status propositions. Previous research found marital status was associated with suicide, but some studies neglected sex, most of the research was cross-sectional, and divorce and separated statuses were often combined. Data were obtained from the latest release of the U.S. National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS), consisting of the largest U.S. sample of suicide victims, 2,013 out of 1.5 million persons. Proportional hazards and logistic regression models were fitted to the NLMS data based on follow-up from 1990 to 2011. Results showed that when combined, the divorced and separated were over 88% more likely to suicide than the married (ARR = 1.886, CI = 1.649, 2.156). When split, the divorced had suicide risk that was over 97% higher than that of the married (ARR = 1.973, CI = 1.711, 2.274). Separated individuals experienced suicide risk that was nearly 52% greater than that of the married (ARR = 1.515, CI = 1.130, 2.037). The Mountain and southern census divisions had higher suicide risks than New England. Discussion focused mainly on Durkheim’s theory of suicide.     

"Take Me Along"-A Marital Syndrome

The work-identity-marriage relationship for females and males is examined. Physicians and their wives illustrate some of the patterns of a "take me along" marital syndrome involving contingent identity for the females. Implications are discussed.     

Marital status and psychiatric disorders among blacks and whites.

This paper examines the association between marital status and psychiatric disorder for Blacks and explores the extent to which these patterns differ from those for Whites. Widowed and separated/divorced Black males and females have higher rates of disorder than the married; never-married Blacks do not have an elevated risk of psychiatric illness. The association between marital status and disorder for White males is similar and stronger than that observed for Blacks. For White women, the separated/divorced have a higher risk of disorder than the married, and unmarried White females have higher rates of the substance abuse disorders, but lower rates of the anxiety disorder than the married. Across all marital status groups, Black males and White males have higher rates of disorder (except for depression), than females. A complex pattern emerges when gender differences in the relative rates of disorder for unmarried Blacks compared to married Blacks are considered. Separated/divorced Black men, widowed Black women, and never-married Black men are worse off than their respective peers. Except for the separated/divorced, opposite patterns are evident for Whites. Directions for further research are outlined.     

Marital status and psychological well-being: An individual-environment congruence perspective

The role of the individual's relationship to his environment has achieved central prominence in social science theory, but has not yet been adequately represented and measured through numerical methods. A variety of multivariate regression techniques have been proposed to incorporate individual and environmental level measures in a single regression equation. This article presents a special case of a contextual analysis model in which two sets of predictor variables are statistically treated to create a third set of predictor variables called congruence measures. Each of the three sets of predictor variables are then run separately in multiple regression equations against a fourth set of individual level outcome variables to determine the relative gain in predictive power of the congruence measures over the individual and environmental level variables when they are run alone. Martital status variables are used to illustrate and examine the model.     

Marital Type and the Marital Relationship

No abstract available for this article.     

Marital Satisfaction and Marital Stability*

This exploration of the relationship between marital satisfaction and marital stability utilizes the social-psychological schema of Thibaut and Kelley (1959). Marital satisfaction is viewed as a function of the comparison between one's marital expectations and one's marital outcome. Marital stability is viewed as a function of the comparison between one's best available marital alternative and one's marital outcome. Hence, marital satisfaction and marital stability can differ. Implications of this view for both researcher and clinician are discussed.     

Marital status, social support, and health transitions in chronic disease patients

Married persons tend to be healthier, both physically and mentally, than unmarried persons. We tested the hypothesis that being married results in better physical and mental health outcomes for chronic disease patients (N = 1,817) by increasing social support. We modeled health outcomes one year later, controlling for initial health status. Cross-validation studies of two random halves of the sample supported an indirect effect of marital status on mental health through social support, but did not support a relationship, direct or indirect, of either marital status or social support with physical health outcomes. In addition, specific types of functional support were not differentially predictive of mental health status.     

Comment on Wilson and Zurcher's "Status Inconsistency and Participation in Social Movements"

Wilson and Zurcher (1976) set out to discuss the relationships within a set of four variables—income, occupation, education, and pornactivity, that is, activity in relation to two anti-pornography crusades—and to proceed from this discussion to conclusions about status inconsistency as an explanatory framework for the analysis of social movements. We should like to comment on three levels. First we discuss the purely numerical aspects of their analysis; second, the inferences they draw from that analysis; and third, we present some reflections on the theoretical apparatus of Wilson and Zurcher.     

"Ordinary people" and "death work": Palestinian suicide bombers as victimizers and victims

Applying criminological/victimological concepts and theories, the study addresses the social processes involved in Palestinians' suicide terrorism and describes Palestinians' pathways to suicide bombing. The data are derived from in-depth interviews of 7 male and female Palestinians serving prison sentences in Israel for attempted suicide bombing. The social background, context, and experiences of the interviewees, including their recruitment, interactions with the organizations that produce suicide bombing, the tangible and intangible incentives and rewards that motivated them to become suicide bombers, their preparation for the mission, and the strategies employed by the organizations to sustain recruits' resolve to conform to the plan are described and analyzed. The implications of the findings for theory and public policy are drawn and discussed.     

Marital status, marital transitions, and health: a gendered life course perspective

We work from a life course perspective to assess the impact of marital status and marital transitions on subsequent changes in the self-assessed physical health of men and women. Our results suggest three central conclusions regarding the association of marital status and marital transitions with self-assessed health. First, marital status differences in health appear to reflect the strains of marital dissolution more than they reflect any benefits of marriage. Second, the strains of marital dissolution undermine the self-assessed health of men but not women. Finally, life course stage is as important as gender in moderating the effects of marital status and marital transitions on health.