Impacts of marital and fertility pressure on depression, anxiety, and stress among young adult women

Marital and fertility expectations embedded in gendered cultural norms may act as psychosocial stressors associated with women's mental health. This cross-sectional study examined associations between marital and fertility pressure and psychological distress (depression, anxiety, stress) among 355 unmarried women aged 24-30 in a pronatalist context. Data were collected online using a sociodemographic form, the Pressure toward Marriage and Fertility Scale, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. Correlation analyses showed significant positive associations between both pressures and distress. In multivariate logistic regression, fertility pressure was independently associated with higher odds of depression and anxiety, whereas marital pressure was not significantly associated with these outcomes.