Authors: Patrick Poyner-Del Vento and Rebecca Cobb
Date and Location: November 2008; Orlando, FL
Summary: The association between marital discord and depressive symptoms is strong and bi-directional. However, not all maritally distressed spouses experience depression, and it is important to identify risk factors for this association. The focus thus far in the literature has been on personality characteristics (i.e., neuroticism); however, couples exist within a larger social context, and how spouses are functioning in other domains (e.g., work, family) may be a particularly important risk factor for depressive symptoms when already experiencing marital distress. We predicted that chronic stress external to the relationship would moderate the association between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms over the first year and a half of marriage. We found that the association between depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction was stronger and more negative over time when spouses were experiencing more average chronic stress. These results indicate that when couples begin their marriage while experiencing difficulties in other areas of their lives, they may be more vulnerable to the negative effects of depressive symptoms. Conversely, couples experiencing less chronic stress may have more resources to devote to managing depressive symptoms and feel more satisfied over time. This suggests that identifying couples at risk for depression and discord should include evaluating chronic stress from outside sources. Thus, addressing the greater social context in which couples’ relationships are embedded may, in part, prevent the erosion of relationship satisfaction and the development of depressive symptoms.
Authors: Patrick Poyner-Del Vento and Rebecca Cobb
Date and Location: November 2007; Philadelphia, PA
Summary: Couples who experience marital distress are at a greater risk for experiencing higher levels of depressive symptoms, and the reverse also seems to be true (couples who experience more depressive symptoms are at risk of experiencing more marital distress). We hypothesized that higher levels of chronic stress from areas outside the marriage (e.g., school, work, in-laws, finances) would predict more depressive symptoms which would then lead to marital distress. We also hypothesized that higher chronic stress would predict more marital distress and then lead to more depressive symptoms. In the SFU Transition to Marriage Study, we asked couples to rate their current level of satisfaction in their marriage, how depressed they might feel currently, and their level of chronic stress over the past six months. Our results indicated that marital distress partially mediated between chronic stress and depressive symptoms. We also found that depressive symptoms partially mediated between chronic stress and marital satisfaction. On the whole, this study suggests that negative external circumstances may be one of many factors that lead some couples to experience more marital distress and depressive symptoms. One limitation is that this study used data from only the first time point, so it was unclear whether chronic stress is actually the cause of marital distress or depressive symptoms.