Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40285395›Full record

ArticleJournal of health and social behavior2026

Does Marriage Benefit Maternal Mental Health? New Evidence from Nairobi, Kenya.

Sangeetha Madhavan, Estelle Monique Sidze, Kirsten Michelle Stoebenau, Michael A Wagner, Carol Wangui Wainaina

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of health and social behavior, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Sangeetha MadhavanUniversity of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6216-3612
Estelle Monique SidzeAfrican Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
Kirsten Michelle StoebenauUniversity of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD, USA.
Michael A WagnerUniversity of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD, USA.
Carol Wangui WainainaAfrican Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.

Funding

Sci-Tech Core-Maryland Population Research CenterP2CHD041041 · NICHD · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · PI Susan W Parker · 2018 to 2026
$3.9M
Kinship, Nuptiality and Child Health Outcomes in a Low Income Urban AreaR01HD101613 · NICHD · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · PI MADHAVAN, SANGEETHA · 2020 to 2024
$2.7M
NICHD NIH HHS P2C HD041041NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD101613
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

It has long been known that marriage is a critical correlate of mental health, primarily through relationship quality and support from partner. However, in contexts where couples struggle to maintain a healthy relationship and marriage is an increasingly protracted process, the benefits of marriage for women's mental health are far from assured. In this analysis, we draw on survey and qualitative data from a longitudinal study in two low-income communities in Nairobi, Kenya, to unpack the complex relationships among the conditions of marriage, kinship support, and the risk of depression among mothers with young children. Using cross-lagged, mediation, and growth models, we find some support for the benefits of union formalization for mothers' mental health explained primarily through relationship satisfaction. Qualitative data help explain the pathways through which these benefits accrue but also highlight ways in which the process of formalizing a union can undermine mothers' mental health.

Indexed as

kinshipmarriagemental healthrelationship quality

Identifiers

PMID40285395
PMCPMC13162170

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.