Psychological Distress Among Spouses of Alcoholic Men in Rural Uttarakhand

Aims and objectives: The problem of excessive alcohol consumption is a major cause of public health concern both in urban and rural areas. It is third leading psychiatric problem in the world today. This study was carried out with an objective to assess the psychological distress of non-drinking female spouses of male drinkers.

Methods and Materials: This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at selected villages of Doiwala block of Dehradun district in Uttarakhand. Structured interview was conducted among conveniently selected 60 non-alcoholic women whose husband consumes alcohol for at least 3-4 days a week and over a period of last two years or more. Standardized stress questionnaire and Goldberg Depression Scale.

Results: The mean age of the study participants was 46.5 years with a standard deviation (SD) of 13.2 years. Two third (66.7%) of the subjects living as a nuclear family, nearly one third (31.7%) of participants had no formal education. More than half (55%) of spouses were assessed to have moderate level of stress and every fourth of the women (26.7%) had severe stress. Sixty five percent of the women were assessed to have mild to moderate level of depression while 18.3% of them had severe depression.

Conclusion: Study revealed that there was alarming level of stress and depression symptoms among nondrinking female spouses of male alcoholics. Increased level of psychological distress among female spouses of alcoholic men warrants implications for gendered multi-level interventions at community level.