Marital Status and Sociodemographic and Clinical Correlates in Patients With Mental Disorders in Northwestern Nigeria

Background: Marriage is one of the most important life events for an individual because it can influence psychological well-being and social functioning and, in some communities, has been linked to quality of life. Yet, for several reasons, individuals with mental illness have difficulty contracting and/or maintaining a successful marriage. This study aimed to determine the marital status and sociodemographic and clinical correlates among patients with mental illness in northwestern Nigeria. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the medical outpatient department of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto (UDUTHS), among patients with mental illnesses attending routine follow-up visits over a three-month period from October 2025 to December 2025. A total of 226 participants were recruited using a consecutive sampling technique after obtaining informed consent. A structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic information, such as marital status, and clinical data, such as diagnoses. Data analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics version 25.0 (IBM Corp. Released 2017. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, and associations were assessed using the chi-square test. Results: The mean age of the participants was 31.7 ± 10.9 years, and most were aged 25-44 years. Most participants married at a younger age, whereas the onset of illness occurred at an older age. A slight majority (50.4%) were married, and most marriages occurred before the onset of illness; the rate of divorce was much higher after illness onset. Mood and substance use disorders were the most common diagnoses among the respondents. There was a significant association between marital status and age category (p = 0.019), age at illness onset (p < 0.001), sex (p < 0.001), level of education (p = 0.015), consanguinity (p = 0.001), marital discord (p = 0.012), diagnosis (p < 0.001), with mood disorders having the highest unmarried status, timing of divorce (p = 0.007), and timing of marriage (p = 0.007). Conclusions: This study revealed that psychiatric disorders play an important role in the matrimonial outcomes of individuals with mental illness. The findings indicate that individuals with mental illness predominantly experience divorce following the onset of their illness. Several factors play key roles, including advanced age, female sex, low level of education, diagnosis (particularly mood and substance use disorders), and marital discord. Family-based interventions and marital counseling should be routinely incorporated into mental health clinics, along with psychological interventions for family members to address the impact of stigma on married and unmarried individuals with mental illness.