TORONTO, Jan. 17 Previously married mothers have higher rates of depression and alcohol abuse compared to married or never-married mothers, says a Canadian study.Study leader Dr. John Cairney of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health says previously married mothers had higher rates of mental illness when compared with currently married mothers. In addition, single mothers who were never married and married mothers have similar prevalence rates of psychiatric and substance-use disorders. These rates were generally lower than the illness rates among women who experience a disruption in their marriage.This pattern of results suggests that divorced or separated women with children are at greater risk for psychiatric and substance use disorders, says Cairney. Cairney and his team suggest that clinicians look at the impact of marital history on the relationship between family structure and psychiatric outcomes, and carefully screen for psychiatric and substance-use disorders in mothers who have experienced marital disruption.Copyright 2007 by UPI
