The Relationship between Factors Related to Divorce Request and Mental Health among Divorce Applicant Women Referred to Legal Medicine in Ahvaz, Iran

Family is the oldest social organization that provides an important role in the mental health of the community. Disruption or failure of the family can be defined as the breakdown of family unit or the failure to build social roles due to the failure or inability of one or more family members in performing their roles [1]. Psychologists believe that the health of the family can be achieved by establishing a strong and permanent link between woman and man [2]. Therefore, divorce phenomenon is among the problems of concern in all communities is the [3]. Divorce starts with the experience of emotional crisis between couples and ends by making effort to solve the conflict through separation and entering into a new position with a new set of roles and lifestyle [4]. Often, one of the couples endures a heavier dependence, conflict and emotional pain than the other for a longer duration [5]. In most cases women are more exposed to the destructive effects of divorce than men [5]. Divorce rate is increasing in various countries, including the Netherlands [6] and Canada [7]. According to official statistics in Iran, 200 cases of divorce occur out of every one thousand marriages, which have made Iran the fourth country in the world with high divorce rate [8]. According to the Statistical Yearbook of the country, in Khuzestan province 5.8% of marriages ended up in divorce (3198 cases of divorce occurred in 37516 of marriages) while in 2012 this figure increased to 11.66% [9].