Abstract
Purpose
Single motherhood is a well-established risk factor for depression in women. The goal
of this study is to analyze the relationships among partner status, having children,
and depression among women of White, Black, and Hispanic race/ethnicity.
Methods
Stratified analyses were conducted on 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008 cross-sectional
survey data from 10,520 White women, 7,655 Black women, and 7,343 Hispanic women aged
at least 18 years and residing in New York City. Depression was evaluated using Kessler's
K6 scale. Race/ethnicity-specific logistic regression analysis assessed the association
between partner status and depression among women with and without children.
Results
Partner status was significantly associated with depression among White (p < .0001) and Hispanic (p = .0001) women, but not among Black women (p = .82), after adjusting for age, nativity, employment, education, poverty level,
general health, and health insurance. Among White women, the conditional odds of depression
were elevated for single relative to partnered women both with (odds ratio [OR], 2.10;
95% confidence interval [CI], 1.57–2.81; p < .0001) and without (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.06–1.56; p = .01) children, but the size of the effect was significantly larger for those with
children than for those without children (p = .006). Among Hispanic women, the conditional odds of depression were elevated for
single relative to partnered women with children (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.29–1.95; p < .0001), but not for single versus partnered women without children (OR, 1.09; 95%
CI, 0.82–1.46; p = .54). Among Black women, there was no evidence of elevated depression in single
relative to partnered women, either overall or conditional on the presence of children
(with children: OR, 1.21 [95% CI, 0.95–1.54; p = .13]; without children: OR, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.56–1.02; p = .06]).
Conclusion
Past focus on single mothers as a high-risk group has oversimplified the relationship
between partner status and depression, obscuring important distinctions between women
of different racial backgrounds.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Women's Health IssuesAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Mental health profiles among married, never-married, and separated/divorced mothers in a nationally representative sample.Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2006; 41: 122-129
- Investigation of the disparity between New York City and national prevalence of nonspecific psychological distress among Hispanics.Preventing Chronic Disease. 2012; 9: E52
- Prevalence of psychiatric disorders across Latino subgroups in the United States.American Journal of Public Health. 2007; 97: 68-75
- Detecting depression after pregnancy: The validity of the K10 and K6 in Burkina Faso.Tropical Medicine and International Health. 2007; 12: 1225-1229
- Elevated depressive symptoms among caregiving grandparents.Health Services Research. 2004; 39: 1671-1690
Bratter, J. L. (2004). Race/ethnic differences in non-specific psychological distress: Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey. Paper presented at the Population Association of America 2004 Annual Meeting, Boston, MA. Retrieved February 8, 2012, from. http://paa2004.princeton.edu/.
- Specifying race-ethnic differences in risk for psychiatric disorder in a USA national sample.Psychological Medicine. 2006; 36: 57-68
- Stress, social support and depression in single and married mothers.Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2003; 38: 442-449
- Evaluation of 2 measures of psychological distress as screeners for depression in the general population.Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2007; 52: 111-120
- Marital status, gender, and parents' psychological well-being.Sociological Inquiry. 2007; 7: 264-287
- Mortality prediction with a single general self-rated health question: A meta-analysis.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2005; 20: 267-275
- Children of depressed parents: An integrative review.Psychological Bulletin. 1990; 108: 50-76
- Maternal depression in the United States: Nationally representative rates and risks.Journal of Women's Health. 2011; 20: 1609-1617
- Clarifying the relationship between parenthood and depression.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 2005; 46: 341-358
- Infants of depressed mothers.Development and Psychopathology. 1992; 4: 49-66
- American grandparents providing extensive child care to their grandchildren: Prevalence and profile.Gerontologist. 2001; 41: 201-209
- Depression in black and white women: The role of marriage and socioeconomic status.Annals of Epidemiology. 1995; 5: 455-463
- Is parenthood associated with mental health? Findings from an epidemiological community survey.Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2006; 41: 889-896
- Serious psychological distress among parenting and nonparenting adults.American Journal of Public Health. 2007; 97: 2222-2229
- The National Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys of Great Britain: Initial findings from the household survey.International Review of Psychiatry. 2003; 15: 29-42
- Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress.Psychological Medicine. 2002; 32: 959-976
- Screening for serious mental illness in the general population.Archives of General Psychiatry. 2003; 60: 184-189
- Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005; 62: 617-627
- Screening for serious mental illness in the general population with the K6 screening scale: Results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative.International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research. 2010; 19: 4-22
- America's families and living arrangements: 2007.in: Current population reports. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC2009
- Factors associated with major depression among mothers in Los Angeles.Women's Health Issues. 2007; 17: 316-324
- Parental major depression and the risk of depression and other mental disorders in offspring: A prospective-longitudinal community study.Archives of General Psychiatry. 2002; 59: 365-374
- Self-reported health status and mortality in a multiethnic US cohort.American Journal of Epidemiology,149. 1999; : 41-46
- Parenthood and psychological well-being.Annual Review of Sociology. 1987; 13: 237-257
- A note on race, ethnicity and nativity differentials in remarriage in the United States.Demographic Research. 2011; 24: 293-312
- The epidemiology of nonspecific psychological distress in New York City, 2002 and 2003.Journal of Urban Health. 2006; 83: 394-405
- Parenting-related stressors and self-reported mental health of mothers with young children.American Journal of Public Health. 2007; 97: 1261-1268
- Smoking practices in New York City: The use of a population-based survey to guide policy-making and programming.Journal of Urban Health. 2005; 82: 58-70
New York City Department of City Planning. (2006). Hispanic population by origin: 2006 American Community Survey (ACS). Accessed May 9, 2011 from. http://www.nyc.gov.
- Costs and rewards of children: The effects of becoming a parent on adults' lives.Journal of Marriage and Family. 2003; 65: 356-374
- Affective interactions of depressed and nondepressed mothers and their children.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 1993; 21: 683-695
- The socioeconomic status of Hispanic New Yorkers: Current trends and future prospects.Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, DC2002
Shonkoff, J. P., & Garner, A. S.; Committee On Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health; Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption, and Dependent Care; & Section on Developmental And Behavioral Pediatrics. (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129, e232-e246.
- Grandparents living with grandchildren: 2000. In: Census 2000 Briefs.U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC2003
- Implications of timing of maternal depressive symptoms for early cognitive and language development.Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. 2006; 9: 65-83
- Generation gap in values, behaviors: As marriage and parenthood drift apart, public is concerned about social impact.Pew Research Center, Washington, DC2007
- Detecting postnatal common mental disorders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Kessler Scales.Journal of Affective Disorders. 2010; 122: 102-108
- New York City community health atlas 2002. United Hospital Fund, New York2002 (Accessed May 9, 2011 from)
U.S. Census Bureau. Poverty. Accessed September 2, 2011 from. http://www.census.gov.
- The difference between single and married mothers in the 12-month prevalence of major depressive syndrome, associated factors and mental health service utilization.Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2004; 39: 26-32
- Reliability and validity studies of the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI): A critical review.Journal of Psychiatric Research. 1994; 28: 57-84
Biography
Aviva G. Schwarz, MPH, is a consultant with the Bureau of Maternal, Infant and Reproductive Health at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She is an epidemiologist with expertise in maternal–child health.
Biography
Katharine H. McVeigh, PhD, MPH, is Director of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Longitudinal Study of Early Development. She is an epidemiologist with expertise in mental health, substance abuse, child development, and maternal–child health.
Biography
Christina Hoven, DrPH, MPH, is a Professor of Clinical Epidemiology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, and an internationally recognized expert in child and adolescent mental health.
Biography
Bonnie D. Kerker, PhD, is the Senior Epidemiology and Policy Advisor, Division of Epidemiology at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Mental health and maternal–child health are among her many research interests.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 10, 2012
Accepted:
July 19,
2012
Received in revised form:
July 18,
2012
Received:
September 2,
2011
Footnotes
Funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
