The role of marital status in health services expenditures for psychiatricoutpatients

This study tested the hypothesis that married psychiatric outpatients would have lower total health services expenditures than divorced or separated p atients. Chart review of the 471 individual attending an academic medical c enter outpatient psychiatric clinic during 1994 identified UI married, 40 s eparated and 93 divorced patients. Separated men had significantly higher a verage total charges ($16,890) than married ($5,279) or divorced ($5,539) m en by one-way ANOVA (p < .05). The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test also sho wed that separated men had higher charges than married or divorced men. The re were no differences between marital status groups for women.