Partners help. They help with daily activities like dishwashing and dog-walking, but they also provide the all-valuable emotional support needed to cope with everything from a rough commute to the death of a family member.
And those without a partner, perhaps due to divorce, are more likely to suffer from depression or anxiety, according to a new study (in Spanish) in the Spanish Journal of Sociological Research. Women have it the hardest, says lead author Carlos Simó-Noguera from the University of Valencia, who is quoted in a recent Medical News Today article.
Women who have lost their partner "show poorer health than men with the same marital and cohabiting status, and are more likely to suffer from chronic anxiety and chronic depression," Simó-Noguera said.
Men are also affected, however. Separated or divorced men "have higher risk for chronic depression than the rest of men," he said.
The team gathered data from the European Health Survey on people between ages 25 and 64.
"The key is not marital status per se, but is found in the interaction between marital status and cohabitation status. Therefore, living with a new partner after the dissolution of marriage preserves the health of the people involved,"Simó-Noguera said.
Previously: Practicing forgiveness to sustain healthy relationships, "Love hormone" may mediate wider range of relationships than previously thought and Study offers clue as to why parents of daughters are more likely to divorce
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