Depressive symptoms postpartum among parents are associated with marital separation: A Swedish cohort study

Abstract

Aims: To study whether there is an association between dyadic consensus, depressive symptoms, and parental stress during early parenthood and marital separation 6–8 years after childbirth, among couples in Sweden. Methods: At baseline, 393 couples were included. The couples answered three questionnaires, including: Dyadic consensus at 1 week post-partum, depressive symptoms at 3 months post-partum and parental stress at 18 months post-partum. The parents’ addresses were followed up after 6–8 years, to study the marital separation rate. Results: We found, 6–8 years after childbirth, that 20% of study couples were separated. Separation was associated with less dyadic consensus (mothers p < 0.001; fathers p < 0.001), depressive symptoms (mothers p = 0.022; fathers p = 0.041) and parental stress (mothers p = 0.002; fathers p = 0.040). The hazard ratio (HR) for marital separation was related to dyadic consensus for fathers (HR 0.51; 95% CI 0.28–0.92), depressive symptoms for mothers (HR 1.69; 95% CI 1.01–2.84) and fathers (HR 1.92; 95% CI 1.12–3.28), and the mother’s parental stress (HR 2.16; 95% CI 1.14–4.07). Conclusions: Understanding how dyadic consensus, depressive symptoms and parental stress are associated with marital separation is important for health professionals. It could be useful in developing interventions to provide parents with adequate support during pregnancy and early parenthood. This knowledge is also important for the public. Parents should get support in pregnancy and while bringing up children, which may help prevent marital separation and optimize conditions for the children.