Psychological distress and marital satisfaction among the spouses of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome attending Patan Hospital: COVID-19 outcome in vaccinated and unvaccinated

Introduction: Alcohol dependence is considered an ongoing stressor for individuals and families. Among them, spouses are primarily affected because of the intimate nature of their relationship. Spouses play an important role in treatment programs related to alcohol. Thus, this study aims to identify the prevalence of psychological distress and marital satisfaction among spouses of ADS patients. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Patan Hospital in Nepal. A total of 92 spouses of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome were selected by purposive sampling and were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Psychological Distress and Marital Satisfaction were assessed using DASS 21 and the Marital Satisfaction Scale respectively. The descriptive statistics were calculated for socio-demographic and association and the correlation between marital satisfaction status and psychological distress was done using the Chi-square test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient respectively. Result: Majority of respondents had anxiety 59(64.13%) followed by depression 52(56.52%) and 19(20.65%) perceived stress. There was a significant association between psychological distress (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress) and marital dissatisfaction in spouses (p-value = <0.05) whereas there was a negative correlation with each other. Conclusion: Psychological distress in spouses of alcohol-dependent patients is high, with marital satisfaction being low. Addressing these issues will be beneficial as spouses have an important role in the prompt treatment of alcohol dependence syndrome and also prevents from deterioration of the spouse’s mental state. Keywords: Marital satisfaction status, psychological distress, spouses of men with alcohol dependence