Depression among married working women vs homemakers: a comparative study

Introduction: Globally Mental health is one of the most important issue of public health causing mortality and morbidity in the world.  Depression is known to be its major element affecting more than 264 million people of which 50% of them are women. Objective: To assess depression among working and nonworking married women and to determine its associated socio-demographic. Methodology: A comparative study was conducted on 102 working (51) and nonworking (51) married women of Belagavi city. Proportionate sampling technique was used to recruit the participants in North & South Belagavi, Beck depression inventory scale was used to assess depression. Results: Borderline (21.6%) and moderate (17.6%) depression was higher among nonworking women  than working women, whereas normal mood (58.8%) and mild (25.5%) depression was seen to be more in working women. Association of age, no of children and type of family was seen in married women with depression. Conclusion: The nonworking women showed   higher borderline and moderate depression levels compared to working married women. There is a need to improve the mental health status of women by community awareness, programmes, strategies, early diagnosis and treatment.