Marital Distress as a Social Determinant of Women’s Mental Health in Kashmir

Razia Malik; Lalhmingmawii Gangte

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.89857

Marital Distress as a Social Determinant of Women’s Mental Health in Kashmir

Author(s)	Ms. Razia Malik, Dr. Lalhmingmawii Gangte
Country	India
Abstract	Background: Marital distress among women in Kashmir constitutes a significant yet underexplored public health concern. While existing literature documents the broader association between marital quality and women's mental health across South Asia, the specific conflict dynamics and social determinants operating within distressed Kashmiri marriages and their direct consequences for women's psychological wellbeing have received limited systematic attention. This paper addresses that gap by examining what couples actually fight about, how those conflict points are narrated differently by each partner, and how they translate into measurable mental health harm for women. Objectives: The study has two primary objectives: (1) to identify and document the key points of conflict between distressed couples in Kashmir, examining how these conflicts are experienced and narrated by women and men separately; and (2) to analyse the social determinants embedded within these conflict patterns and trace the pathways through which they produce adverse mental health outcomes for women. Methods :A qualitative-led mixed-methods design was employed. Data were collected from 30 distressed couples (60 respondents: 30 women and 30 men) recruited from the Women Police Station, Anantnag, Kashmir, where they had registered marital dispute cases. Both partners were interviewed separately using a semi-structured thematic questionnaire and in-depth narrative interviews. Data was analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase thematic analysis, with separate analytical streams for women's and men's accounts before integration. Descriptive frequency mapping supplemented qualitative analysis. Findings:Five key conflict domains were identified: unequal domestic labour and its denial; in-law interference and hierarchical enforcement; spousal non-recognition and symptom misattribution; male unemployment and displaced control; and infidelity with projected suspicion. Women's and men's accounts of the same conflicts diverged systematically what men narrated as causes of marital problems were, when read against women's accounts and situated within the Social Determinants of Health framework, the mental health consequences of structural conditions producing their distress. Women's mental health outcomes chronic anxiety, depression, cognitive overload, somatic complaints, and loss of identity were directly traceable to these conflict-embedded social determinants. Conclusion: Marital conflict in Kashmir is not primarily an interpersonal phenomenon but a structurally produced condition whose specific dynamics function as social determinants of women's mental health. Social work practice, institutional mediation systems, and public health policy must address these structural roots rather than managing individual symptoms or counselling women to endure the conditions harming them.
Keywords	Marital distress, women's mental health, social determinants of health,gender relations, domestic labour; in-law interference.
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-10-23
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.89857

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Marital Distress as a Social Determinant of Women’s Mental Health in Kashmir

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