Marriage and Depressive Symptoms: The Role and Bases of Self-Esteem Differ by Gender

This study examined gender differences in the configuration of components of intimacy in marriage and in the relationship of marriage to depression in a community sample of 260 men and women. We hypothesized that women's report of marital intimacy would include a distinct self-disclosure compon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology of women quarterly 1998-12, Vol.22 (4), p.647-663
Main Authors: Culp, Laurie N., Beach, Steven R. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Depression
Feminism
Feminist psychology
Gender differences
Intimacy
Marital quality
Marital satisfaction
Marriage
Mediators
Mental depression
Psychology
Relationship
Self disclosure
Self esteem
Self image
Selfesteem
Sexes
Women
Womens studies
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:This study examined gender differences in the configuration of components of intimacy in marriage and in the relationship of marriage to depression in a community sample of 260 men and women. We hypothesized that women's report of marital intimacy would include a distinct self-disclosure component, whereas this would be part of companionship in men's report of intimacy. Also, using self-in-relation theory, we hypothesized that self-esteem level would mediate the relationship between marital quality and depression for women but would moderate this relationship for men. Both predictions were upheld, suggesting a need to reformulate current models of the role of marital quality in depression to better capture the influence of gender.
ISSN:0361-6843
1471-6402
DOI:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1998.tb00183.x