“To Marry or Not to Marry: Investigating the Protective Effects of Living with a Partner on Depression in Poland”

The high prevalence of depression and its destructive impact on people’s lives require thorough research to understand the risk and protective factors contributing to the disorder. Previous findings emphasize marriage as a significant protective factor against depression compared to singlehood. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between relationship status and depressive symptoms in a Polish sample. Additionally, it tried to explain this relationship by investigating factors such as relationship satisfaction, partner’s contribution to domestic labor, and income satisfaction, which are suspected to underlie marriage’s beneficial effects. A total sample of 1,799 participants was drawn from the European Social Survey (ESS, 2012), and three logistic regression models were conducted. The results showed that, compared to single individuals, married people reported significantly lower levels of depression. Relationship satisfaction and income satisfaction remained robust...Show moreThe high prevalence of depression and its destructive impact on people’s lives require thorough research to understand the risk and protective factors contributing to the disorder. Previous findings emphasize marriage as a significant protective factor against depression compared to singlehood. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between relationship status and depressive symptoms in a Polish sample. Additionally, it tried to explain this relationship by investigating factors such as relationship satisfaction, partner’s contribution to domestic labor, and income satisfaction, which are suspected to underlie marriage’s beneficial effects. A total sample of 1,799 participants was drawn from the European Social Survey (ESS, 2012), and three logistic regression models were conducted. The results showed that, compared to single individuals, married people reported significantly lower levels of depression. Relationship satisfaction and income satisfaction remained robust and significantly protective against depression across all models, whereas partner contribution to domestic labor, initially significant, lost its effect after controlling for age, gender, and having children. Moreover, those variables showed to explain partially the beneficial influence of marriage on depression, by diminishing its effect with subsequent independent variables; however, the effect of marital status never lost significance and regained strength once controls were added. This suggests that marital status may have an independent protective effect or that additional factors were not considered. Overall, the findings highlight the protective role of supportive and satisfying marital relationships against depression.Show less

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“To Marry or Not to Marry: Investigating the Protective Effects of Living with a Partner on Depression in Poland”