Relationship functioning moderates the association between depressive symptoms and life stressors.

Data from 172 newlywed couples were collected over the first 4 years of marriage to test how behaviors demonstrated during marital interactions moderate associations between depressive symptoms and subsequent life stressors. Depressive symptoms and behaviors coded from problem-solving and social support interactions were analyzed as predictors of nonmarital stressors that were interpersonal and dependent on the participant's actions. Behavioral codes were found to moderate 3 of 16 symptom-to-life event associations for husbands. Husbands' reports of more depressive symptoms predicted greater levels of stress when husbands' positive affect and hard negative affect during problem-solving were relatively infrequent and when wives made frequent displays of positive behaviors during husbands' support topics. These effects remained after controlling for marital satisfaction. For wives, behavioral moderators did not interact with depressive symptoms to predict changes in stress, but marital satisfaction consistently interacted with depressive symptoms to predict future stressors beyond interpersonal behaviors. Specifically, for wives, stress generation was more evident when relationship satisfaction was low than when it was high. Our results, though different for men and women, suggest that relationship functioning can alter associations between depressive symptoms and life stress in the early years of marriage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderators of the link between marital hostility and change in spouses’ depressive symptoms.

This study examined the moderating roles of marital warmth and recent life events in the association between observed marital hostility and changes in spouses’ depressive symptoms over 3 years. Using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM), structural equation models (N = 416 couples) suggested that husbands’ marital hostility was significantly related to increases in wives’ depressive symptoms. Moderator analyses showed that husbands’ warmth and wives’ warmth moderate the association between marital hostility and change in wives’ depressive symptoms. The association between husbands’ hostility and increases in wives’ depressive symptoms was stronger under conditions of lower levels of husbands’ warmth than under conditions of higher levels of husbands’ warmth. This same pattern was found for wives’ warmth. Regarding life events, the association between wives’ hostility and increases in husbands’ depressive symptoms was stronger for couples with more recent life events than for couples with fewer recent life events. Practical and empirical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of adult attachment styles on the association between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms.

This study tested the hypothesis that attachment styles moderate the relationship between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms among husbands and wives. In a sample of 91 married couples, ratings of the anxious-ambivalent attachment style moderated the relationship between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms for both husbands and wives. Additionally, ratings of the secure attachment style moderated the relationship between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms for wives, with a trend for husbands. These findings suggest a relationship between insecurity and a predisposition to depressive symptoms in marital relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of spouse cognitive impairment on respondents' depressive symptoms: the moderating role of marital closeness

An earlier report documented that, in a community-dwelling sample of 317 older married couples, cognitive impairment in a wife was associated with depressive symptoms in her husband (Moritz, Kasl, and Berkman, 1989). No similar effects were found for wives. Here we examine the extent to which marital closeness moderates the impact of a spouse's cognitive impairment, the stability of influences over 3 years, and gender differences in the associations. Analyses of covariance, controlling for respondent risk factors and potential confounders in the spouse, showed that marital closeness moderated the impact of a wife's cognitive impairment, with husbands in close marriages affected more strongly than husbands in less close marriages. These effects held over 3 years. In addition, husbands became less depressed following the death of a severely impaired wife, whereas widowers whose wife had been unimpaired at baseline were more depressed. None of these effects were found for wives.     

The nature and predictors of the trajectory of change in marital quality over the first 4 years of marriage for first-married husbands and wives.

Both spouses from 198 first-married newlywed couples provided information regarding marital quality and depressive symptoms for at least 2 of 4 annual assessments. Husbands and wives showed equal rates of linear decline in marital quality. For both husbands and wives, decreases in marital quality were accompanied by increases in the severity of depressive symptoms, even with controls for the severity of symptoms not linked to depression. In contrast to previous evidence, plausible longitudinal causal paths between depressive symptoms and marital quality were generally nonsignificant and did not differ between husbands and wives. It is proposed that future studies of marital quality adopt a doubly developmental perspective in which attention is directed to the trajectory of change in "risk factors" for marital distress, the trajectory of change in marital quality, and the link between these 2 trajectories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations between spouses' depressive symptoms and marital conflict: A longitudinal investigation of the role of conflict resolution styles.

This study investigated longitudinal relations between spouses' depressive symptoms and styles of conflict resolution displayed by husbands and wives in marital conflict, including angry, depressive, and constructive patterns of expression. Behavioral observations were made from a community sample of 276 couples during marital conflict resolution tasks once a year for 3 years. Couples were observed engaging in a major and minor conflict resolution task. Constructive, angry, and depressive conflict resolution styles were derived from the behavioral observation coding. Couples self-reported on depressive symptoms and marital dissatisfaction. Path analyses provided support for an extension of the marital discord model of depression (Beach, Sandeen, & O'Leary, 1990). Specifically, angry, depressive, and constructive styles of conflict each mediated the link between marital dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms. Significant cross-spouse effects were found. Implications for the treatment of depressed and/or relationally discordant couples are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in life patterns and symptoms of low mood as reported by wives of severely brain-injured soldiers.

Tested hypotheses that (a) wives of brain-injured veterans would perceive greater changes in their family life 1 yr following their husbands' injury than wives of paraplegic veterans and (b) wives of brain-injured veterans would report more symptoms indicative of low mood than wives of paraplegics and controls. 27 Israeli wives (mean age, 26 yrs) whose husbands had fought in the Yom Kippur War 1 yr earlier responded to questions assessing family life, family interpersonal relations, marital roles, and disturbances in mood. Eight Ss had brain-injured husbands; 5 Ss had paraplegic husbands; and 14 Ss had uninjured husbands. Data support both hypotheses. Significant differences between groups appeared in each of the 4 major areas. It is suggested that future research consider "good adjustment" to the postwar return of paraplegic or brain-injured husbands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More differences about gender differences in marriage: A reply to Beach, Davey, and Fincham (1999).

S. R. H. Beach, A. Davey, and F. D. Fincham (see record 1999-15264-018) suggest that my (L. A. Kurdek, 1998; see record 1998-11410-003) failure to replicate their finding that the prospective links between depressive symptoms and marital quality differ between husbands and wives was due, in part, to the selection of a time lag that was too long and a sample that was homogenous on risk factors. Accordingly, the author reexamined the prospective links between depressive symptoms and marital quality using only a 1-year time lag and an expanded sample (N?=?406) that included spouses in first marriages and remarriages with appreciable variability on depressive symptoms. There was still no evidence that husbands and wives differed in the pattern of these prospective links. The author also addresses concerns that the growth-curve analyses did not provide a good fit to the observed data, speculates about reasons for the differences in findings, and makes recommendations for future longitudinal work in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How representations of the parental marriage predict marital emotional attunement during the transition to parenthood.

Emotional attunement (i.e., couples' dyadic emotional connectedness and responsiveness) was examined in 86 couples across the transition to parenthood. After controlling for prenatal emotional attunement and verbal ability, the authors found that prenatal assessments of husbands' and wives' representations of their parents' marriage (i.e., content and insightfulness) predicted emotional attunement between partners 24 months postpartum. There was a trend for husbands and a statistically significant relationship for wives who insightfully recalled disharmonious content to show greater residualized postnatal emotional attunement compared with other husbands and wives, suggesting that anticipating marital problems following the transition to parenthood may increase attention to maintaining the marriage. In contrast, wives who recalled disharmonious content with low insight showed the lowest residualized postnatal scores for emotional attunement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of Injustice in Family Work: The Role of Psychological Distress.

During the transition to parenthood, perceived imbalances in family work typically increase. Little is known, however, about which individuals are especially prone to perceive unfairness in the division of family work during this time. Using data from a longitudinal study of married couples expecting their first child and controlling for marital distress and other relevant variables, we observed that when husbands were psychologically distressed, both they and their wives were subsequently more likely to perceive unfairness to wives in the division of family work. No analogous significant and prospective effects of wives' levels of distress on their own or their husbands' perceptions of unfairness were found. We also found that once wives perceived the amount of child care they did as unfair, both they and their husbands were later more likely to experience psychological distress, controlling for marital distress and other relevant variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infertility and parenthood: Does becoming a parent increase well-being?

There is a large literature that demonstrates that infertility has a variety of negative effects on women's and men's well-being, but little is known about the impact of becoming a parent. The effects of parenthood were examined in a longitudinal study with both wives and husbands from 174 infertile couples and a comparison group of 74 presumed fertile couples. Infertile women who became parents experienced greater global well-being but diminished marital well-being, compared with infertile women who had not become parents. Infertile men who became parents experienced the same negative effects that their wives reported, but they did not experience positive effects to the same extent. Parental status had fewer positive and negative effects on members of presumed-fertile couples. These results are discussed in terms of gender differences in the meaning of parenthood, and their implications for research and clinical services are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hitting home: Relationships between recent deployment, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and marital functioning for Army couples.

Using a sample of 434 couples consisting of active duty Army husbands married to civilian wives, relationships between recent deployment, current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and a range of marital outcomes were investigated. Self-reports from both husbands and wives regarding relationship functioning did not differ between couples who were and were not separated due to deployment in the prior year. However, deployment in the past year was related to higher levels of current PTSD symptoms for husbands, and husbands' current PTSD symptoms were associated with lower marital satisfaction, confidence in the relationship, positive bonding between the spouses, parenting alliance, and dedication to the relationship for both husbands and wives. In addition, husbands' current PTSD symptoms were associated with higher levels of negative communication for both husbands and wives, and lower satisfaction with sacrifice for the relationship for husbands. Once positive bonding, negative communication, and parenting alliance were controlled, husband PTSD symptoms no longer significantly predicted marital satisfaction for wives. Husband PTSD symptoms continued to exert a significant, but reduced, unique effect on husband marital satisfaction once these variables were accounted for. The results provide greater understanding of the relationship of deployment/PTSD symptoms and marital functioning and suggest areas for intervention with military couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive Symptoms and Marital Satisfaction: Within-Subject Associations and the Moderating Effects of Gender and Neuroticism.

Given the emphasis on within-subject associations between depression and marital quality in recent theory and practice, this study was undertaken with three goals: to examine within-subject associations between depressive symptoms and marital quality over time, to address gender differences in the magnitude and direction of these associations, and to determine whether neuroticism moderates the strength of these associations. A total of 164 newly wed couples provided 8 waves of data over 4 years of marriage. Hierarchical linear modeling confirmed the existence of bidirectional within-subject associations between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Gender differences were rarely significant. Although neuroticism strengthened the effect of marital distress on symptoms as predicted, it weakened the effect of symptoms on marital distress among husbands. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult attachment, the transition to parenthood, and depressive symptoms.

Testing a model suggested by J. Bowlby (1988), this study investigated how a personal vulnerability (attachment ambivalence) interacts with perceptions of deficient spousal support before and during a major life stressor (the transition to parenthood) to predict pre-to-postnatal increases in depressive symptoms. Highly ambivalent women who entered parenthood perceiving either less support or greater anger from their husbands experienced pre-to-postnatal increases in depressive symptoms at 6 months postpartum. The associations between these 2 prenatal interaction terms and pre-to-postnatal increases in depressive symptoms were mediated by perceptions of declining spousal support across the transition period. Moreover, for highly ambivalent women, the association between prenatal and postnatal depression scores was mediated by perceptions of the amount of support available from their husbands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in the link between marital support and satisfaction in older couples.

Recent work on social support in marriage indicates that the link between marital satisfaction and social support is stronger for wives than husbands (D. Julien and H. J. Markman; see record 1992-08896-001). Hypotheses based on these findings and on studies of interpersonal perception were tested on a sample of 69 older married couples (mean age 74 yrs). The separate effects of giving, receiving, and reciprocity on spouses' marital satisfaction and well-being were examined. Analyzing the data separately for husbands and wives reveals that perceptions of social support in marriage are more strongly related to the marital satisfaction and general well-being of wives than husbands. Methodological and theoretical interpretations are offered that shed light on the differences between men and women in the meaning of social support in marriage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting attitudes and marital intimacy: A longitudinal analysis.

This longitudinal study examined change in 97 couples' marital intimacy over the first 3 years after the birth of a child. Participants included both first-time and experienced parents. Regardless of parity, both wives and husbands, on average, showed linear declines in marital intimacy; however, significant variability in individual trajectories was found. The study evaluated the relation between parenting attitudes, measured independently for each partner and in terms of agreement between partners, and individual differences in the level and trajectory of marital intimacy. For both wives and husbands, higher perceived difficulty with parenting was related to lower initial levels of marital intimacy. Wives whose husbands held more traditional attitudes regarding child rearing and those whose beliefs about child rearing differed from the beliefs of their partners experienced steeper declines in intimacy over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital functioning and depressive symptoms: Evidence for a stress generation model.

The present study applied C. L. Hammen's (1991) stress generation model to depressive symptoms in the context of marriage. The authors predicted that depressive symptoms would lead to increased marital stress, which would in turn lead to increased depressive symptoms. Social support processes were hypothesized to function as a mechanism by which dysphoric spouses generate stress. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 154 newlywed couples. Depressive symptoms, marital stress, support perceptions, and support behavior (assessed using observational procedures) were assessed initially and 1 year later. Results provided evidence of marital stress generation among wives, and social support processes functioned as a mechanism of stress generation for wives. Results highlight the cyclical course of dysphoria and stress among wives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive symptoms across older spouses and the moderating effect of marital closeness.

Independent interviews with husbands and wives from 317 community-dwelling older couples showed that depressive symptoms in 1 spouse had a significant impact on depressive symptoms in the other spouse, after controlling for potentially confounding respondent sociodemographic and health status variables. Relationship quality moderated the influence, with spouse depressive symptoms contributing more of the variance to a respondent's symptoms when a couple were close than when they were not and closeness to a spouse buffering the potentially depressive effects of a respondent's own frailty and financial distress. Husband's own variables explained more of the variance in his symptoms when the couple were not close than when they were, and closeness to his wife increased a husband's vulnerability to the impact of the wife's health status. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Daily occupational stressors and marital behavior.

This study examined daily fluctuations in marital behavior (anger and withdrawal) as a function of same-day job stressors, using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). Forty-three couples provided daily diary reports of their workload and negative social interactions at work on 5 consecutive days. Within-subject analyses demonstrate that husbands and wives reported greater marital anger and withdrawal following negative social interactions at work, and wives reported greater marital anger and withdrawal following days of heavy workload. Mediation analyses provide support for the negative mood spillover hypothesis (e.g., workload no longer predicted wives' marital anger when controlling for negative mood). Between-subjects analyses suggest that spouses in high-conflict families may be especially vulnerable to the effects of job stressors on marital interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representations of Early Family Relationships Predict Marital Maintenance During the Transition to Parenthood.

Marital maintenance, which involves engaging in behaviors that maintain closeness and is critical to sustaining marital satisfaction, was examined in 234 husbands and wives across the transition to parenthood. Prenatal assessments of adults' attachment representations and memories of their parents' marriage during childhood predicted perceptions of maintenance in their own marriage prenatally and 24 months postpartum. Adults who dismiss the importance of early attachment and lack believable memories of their parents' marriage reported the lowest levels of prenatal maintenance. Adults who are preoccupied with their early relationships with parents and have negative memories of their parents' marriage reported the sharpest declines in maintenance postpartum. Family interventions that can help couples recognize and explore problems that may accompany parenthood are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)