Racial Differences in Depression: Do Husbands and Wives Benefit Equally from Marriage?

Abstract

Using the stress process model with a sample of 475 Louisiana newlyweds, this research explores whether a more legally rigorous form of marriage (covenant marriage) substantially reduces depressive symptom disparities between Black and White spouses. Results suggest that Black and White wives share similar depressive symptom levels in the first few months of their marriage. Black husbands have higher levels of depression than White husbands. Life stressors substantially mediate the race gap in depressive symptoms for husbands, while buffers have little effect. After controlling for stressors, buffers and demographic measures, covenant marriage seems to buffer wives against depressive symptoms, though only weakly. For husbands, covenant marriage has no effect and does not reduce the race gap in depression. Thus, while covenant marriage may either select on wives with better mental health or buffer against depressive symptoms for some wives, covenant marriage does not have advantages for husbands, and especially distressed Black husbands.