Quality of marital life and level of depression among wives of alcohol dependent husbands and non alcohol dependent husbands: a comparative study

Background: Prevalence of alcoholism among men is so high in puducherry (66.2/1000males) compared to neighboring states Tamilnadu and Karnataka. The effects of alcohol dependency can cause more damage and pain than any other internal or external influence on the family unit,. wives feel difficult to manage their marital life and feel stress, as a result they are depressed and likely to affect their marital quality and puts strain on marriage. Aim: To explore and compare the marital quality and level of depression among wives of alcoholics and non alcoholics. Materials and Methods: A Community based cross sectional study was carried out at Moorthikuppam and Mathikrinapuram villages in Pondicherry. Study samples consisted of 50 married women; Out of them 26 were wives of alcoholics and 24 were wives of non alcoholics. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the samples. Data were collected by house to house survey through individual interviews. Anisha shah ‘Marital qualityscale and Beck’s Depression scale were used. Results: The Marital quality among wives of alcohol dependents was poor than wives of non alcoholdependents. The level of depression is not statistically significant between two groups; if the sample size is more and randomization is used it may be significant.