A STUDY OF MARITAL ADJUSTMENT, PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND COPING AMONG FEMALE SPOUSES OF PATIENTS WITH ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE

BACKGROUND Alcohol use in a family member causes significant adverse effects not only to the abuser but also to the family members. The most affected among them were the spouses, who have been prone to physical and mental stress due to the alcoholic behaviour of their husband. We wanted to assess the level of marital adjustment, psychological well-being and coping mechanisms among the spouses of patients with alcohol dependence. METHODS This is a case control study done in 30 spouses of alcoholics and 30 spouses of controls in a tertiary care center in urban region in Tamil Nadu by using Marital Quality Scale, Psychological General Well-being Index and Brief Cope Scale. RESULTS There is a significant difference in marital adjustment and psychological well-being among the two groups with spouses of alcoholics showing poor marital quality and psychological well-being. Regarding their coping mechanism, there is significant difference in using adaptive coping styles like planning, positive reframing, and acceptance between the two groups. The spouses of alcoholics were using less adaptive coping styles than controls. CONCLUSIONS The inferences from this study can be summarized that there is a significant level of less adaptive coping style, poor marital quality of life and psychological well-being in spouses of alcohol dependent patients than controls. The potential implication of this study is that while treating alcohol dependent patient we should also focus on spouses and family members to psychoeducate them about mental well-being and coping mechanism.