The moderating role of social support for marital adjustment, depression, anxiety, and stress: Evidence from Pakistani working and nonworking women

Abstract

BackgroundThis study examined how social support moderates the prolongation of mental distress related to depression, anxiety, stress, and marital adjustment in working and nonworking women. The study aimed to reveal the relationship between social support and mental health issues associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and marital adjustment among females. MethodsThis research study is among the few studies performed in a Pakistani context and was conducted in 2017 to measure affective disorders among nonworking and working married females. Questionnaires were distributed among 500 targeted women, and valid responses were received from married working women in hospitals, banks, and multinational companies, and married nonworking women from residential areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan. A cross-sectional design with purposive sampling was adapted for this research, and three scales were used to measure stress, anxiety, depression, social support, and marital adjustment and its social and cultural implications among the sampled population. ResultsSocial support was positively and significantly associated with marital adjustment, although it showed a negative association with anxiety, depression, and stress in working and nonworking women; this finding reflects the better mental health of the study population. The findings proved that marital adjustment has a negative relation with depression and anxiety in married working and nonworking females. Social support acts as a moderator for marital cohesion, affection, stress, and depression, and the results reflected that nonworking women with higher marital cohesion and affection showed less stress and depression because of social support. LimitationsThe findings of this sample cannot be generalized to the whole population as they are specific to the targeted respondents only. ConclusionThe study revealed that women's mental health is affected by psychological distress caused by depression, anxiety, stress, social and cultural norms, and their implications. Lower stress and depression lead to better mental health as ostensive social support may help to explain the relationship between depression, anxiety, and stress.