Depressive Symptoms in Early Marriage: Predictions From Relationship Confidence and Negative Marital Interaction

The authors proposed a model of depressive symptoms in early marriage in which relationship confidence, defined as perceived couple-level efficacy to manage conflicts and maintain a healthy relationship, mediates the effect of negative marital interactions on depressive symptoms. The model was teste...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family psychology 2007-06, Vol.21 (2), p.297-306
Main Authors: Whitton, Sarah W, Olmos-Gallo, P. Antonio, Stanley, Scott M, Prado, Lydia M, Kline, Galena H, Peters, Michelle St, Markman, Howard J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Communication
Conflict (Psychology)
Culture
Depression
Depression (Emotion)
Depression - psychology
Family environment. Family history
Female
Gender differences
Gender Identity
Human
Human Sex Differences
Humans
Interpersonal Conflict
Interpersonal Interaction
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Marital adjustment
Marital Conflict
Marital Relations
Marital relationships
Marital satisfaction
Marital Therapy
Marriage
Marriage - psychology
Marriage counseling
Medical sciences
Mental depression
Mood disorders
Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
Predictors
Psychological aspects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Sex Differences
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Spouses
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Summary:The authors proposed a model of depressive symptoms in early marriage in which relationship confidence, defined as perceived couple-level efficacy to manage conflicts and maintain a healthy relationship, mediates the effect of negative marital interactions on depressive symptoms. The model was tested in a sample of 139 couples assessed prior to marriage and 1 year later. As predicted, relationship confidence demonstrated simple negative associations with negative marital interaction and depressive symptoms for all participants. Longitudinal path analyses supported the mediational model for women only. In women but not men, negative marital interaction indirectly had an impact on depressive symptoms through the mediator of relationship confidence. Findings suggest that relationship confidence may be important to understanding links between marital distress and depressive symptoms, especially in women.
ISSN:0893-3200
1939-1293
DOI:10.1037/0893-3200.21.2.297