Mood, marriage, and menopause

Menopausal symptomatology, negative mood states, and marital satisfaction were examined for 326 midlife women classified as pre-, peri-, or postmenopausal. Depression and anger significantly predicted menopausal symptomatology. Nonmarried women reported more depression than married women; however, married women who were unhappy with their marriages reported more negative moods than moderately happy and happily married women. Although martial satisfaction did not significantly enhance the ability of mood to predict menopausal symptomatology, there was a significant negative correlation between marital satisfaction and menopausal symptomatology. The implications of these findings for counseling psychologists working with midlife women are stressed.