Getting married is reported in a new study as being positive for the mental health of men and women, reducing the risks of getting most mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse. By contrast, the 15 country study of 34,493 people, finds that ending marriage through separation, divorce or being widowed, is associated with substantially increased mental health risk in both genders, particularly substance abuse for women and depression for men. The study is based on WHO World Mental Health surveys across developing and developed countries over the past decade. It was led by clinical psychologist Dr Kate Scott from the University of Otago Wellington and was recently published in the UK journal Psychological Medicine. The study was able to look at what happens to mental health in marriage, in those never getting married and after ending marriage. Dr Scott says, “One of the more important findings is that in recent years it has been asserted that marriage is better for men than for women in terms of mental health. This study does not agree with that position… We found that compared to never getting married, getting married is good for both men and women in terms of most mental health disorders.”