CHRONIC STRESS AS A MODERATOR OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND MARITAL SATISFACTION

In a two-year study of 190 newlywed couples, multi-level contemporaneous and time-lagged models indicated that marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms covaried over time, but only marital satisfaction predicted subsequent changes in depressive symptoms and depressive symptoms did not predict su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of social and clinical psychology 2011-11, Vol.30 (9), p.905-936
Main Authors: POYNER-DEL VENTO, Patrick W, COBB, Rebecca J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Couple and family
Couples
Depression
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Happiness
Husbands
Marital satisfaction
Marital stress
Marriage
Married couples
Medical sciences
Mental depression
Mental health
Mental stress
Moderators
Mood disorders
Psychological effects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Social psychology
Stress
Wives
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Summary:In a two-year study of 190 newlywed couples, multi-level contemporaneous and time-lagged models indicated that marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms covaried over time, but only marital satisfaction predicted subsequent changes in depressive symptoms and depressive symptoms did not predict subsequent changes in marital satisfaction. Average levels of chronic stress moderated the contemporaneous association between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms as an outcome; for husbands, higher average non-marital stress (but not marital stress) strengthened the association and for wives, higher marital stress (but not non-marital stress) strengthened the association. The contemporaneous association between depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction as an outcome strengthened when marital stress was higher (for wives only), but contrary to prediction, the association weakened for both spouses when non-marital chronic stress was higher. Chronic stress (marital or non-marital) did not moderate time-lagged associations. Results highlight the role of marital and broader social contexts on the reciprocal associations between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0736-7236
1943-2771
DOI:10.1521/jscp.2011.30.9.905