Marital status, relationship distress, and self-rated health: what role for ‘sleep problems’?

Summary

This paper analyzes data from a nationally representative survey of
adults in the United Kingdom (Understanding Society, N = 37,253) to
explore the marital status/health nexus (using categories that include a
measure of relationship distress) and to assess the role that sleep
problems play as a potential mediator. Findings indicate how it is not
just the "form" marital status takes but also the absence or presence of
relationship distress that is essential to self-rated health. We
demonstrate two further findings that: (1) sleep problems act as a
mediator of the link between marital status/relationship distress and
self-rated health, most notably for those in cohabiting relationships
with medium/high distress or who have a history of relationship loss,
and (2) the mediating role of sleep problems differs for divorced men
and women. (© American Sociological Association 2015.)