Intimacy and emotional illness in the general population.
Ninety married couples in the general population received a structured interview to assess their level of intimacy. The couples also completed self-report questionnaires to assess non-psychotic emotional illness and marital adjustment. High levels of intimacy were associated with martial adjustment. Low ratings of marital intimacy were significantly associated with non-psychotic emotional illness and psychiatric help-seeking. These findings are discussed in relationship to recent studies which explore the role of lack of marital intimacy as a vulnerability factor in the development of non-psychotic emotional illness. Implications for treatment of non-psychotic emotional illness in married individuals is briefly discussed.
D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires