An investigation of Psychological Distress, Negative Affect, Daily Stress, Suicidal Ideation and Mental Health among Married Professionals: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The objective of the study was to explore the psychological distress, negative affect, daily stress, suicidal ideation and mental health among married professionals. The sample consisted of 300 married professionals in the age range of 25 to 40 years. Adult Suicide Ideation Questionnaire (ASIQ; Reynolds, 1991), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30; Goldberg & Williams, 1988), Symptom Check List-90 (SCL-90; Derogatis, et al., 1973), Negative Affect Scale-Expanded Version (PANAS-X; Watson et al., 1994) and Daily Stress Inventory (DSI; Brantley, 1989) were administered to the respondents. Results of the t test revealed that high and low mental health problems group do not differ on sadness, fear, and depression whereas both the groups differ significantly on psychological distress (anxiety, somatisation, & social dysfunction), negative affect (hostility & guilt), daily stress (interpersonal problems, personal competency, cognitive stressors, environment hassles & varied stressors) and suicidal ideation. Descriminant function analysis found four potent variables contribute significantly to the prediction of group membership of high and low mental health problems group among married professionals.