Mental health and home life in the early phase of marriage: An evaluation of early married and non-early married women

Abstract

Background: The first five years of marriage are a vulnerable period in home life, particularly for early married women. This is a challenge for them because of their lack of physical, mental and financial readiness. Purpose: This study discusses the impact of early marriage on mental health—including depression, anxiety, and stress—as well as various dimensions of home life, such as domestic violence, life satisfaction, and marital satisfaction. Focusing on women in Lamongan, Indonesia, it compares those who married early with those who did not during the first five years of marriage. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 210 women, both early married and non-early married. Depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-42), while domestic violence was measured with the Dating Violence Questionnaire (DVQ). Life satisfaction was evaluated using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and marital satisfaction was assessed with the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMS). Logistic regression analysis with α=5% and 95% confidence interval was conducted to determine the relationship between early marriage and depression, anxiety, stress, domestic violence, life satisfaction, marital satisfaction. Results: Early marriage was significantly associated with higher levels of depression (p<0.001), anxiety (p<0.001), stress (p<0.001), domestic violence (p<0.001), life dissatisfaction (p<0.001) and marital dissatisfaction (p=0.020). Early married women were nearly nine times more likely to experience domestic violence compared to those who married later. Conclusion: Early marriage needs to be prevented because its impact is very detrimental to women, especially in relation to domestic violence