| Abstract [eng] |
Alcohol use in the family causes many problems, not only for the person who consumes it, but also for the close relatives and family members, but especially for the partner. Alcohol dependence is one of the most researched diagnoses related to addictions, but it is not necessary to have an addiction or a diagnosis for one‘s alcohol consumption habits to harm the person and their family. Therefore, the aim of this study is to reveal the features of the mental health and psychological well-being of women whose partners have problems with alcohol use and the factors related to it. A total of 131 women participated in the study. The women ranged in age from 18 to 66 years (M = 37.92, SD = 11.56). An important criterion is that the woman's partner consumes alcohol. Some of the women themselves attended Al – Anon self – help groups (23 out of 131). To evaluate women's psychological well – being, we chose the Lithuanian Psychological Well-being Scale for Adults (LPGS - S), and for mental health we chose the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the Wellbeing Index (WHO-5). In addition, women completed the AUDIT – C alcohol consumption screening test, which was designed to assess partner's alcohol consumption habits and also the women's own drinking habits. The results show that women's psychological well – being and mental health are affected by their partner's harmful use of alcohol. When a partner uses alcohol harmfully, women are more likely to experience negative emotions, feel disappointment, tension, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Experiencing psychological or physical abuse is also associated with worse psychological well-being and mental health for women. The psychological well – being of women who did not seek help is higher than those who sought help. Psychological well-being of women whose partners use alcohol is predicted by frequency of anxiety simptoms, experience of physical abuse and age of the woman. Mental health indicators are predicted by various factors that have different prognostic significance. |
