this study examined the effects of marital conflict on changes in depressive symptoms and functional impairment among married men and women with a longitudinal national sample. to extend previous literature on marital quality and health, we investigated the following three research questions: (a) does marital conflict directly lead to increases in depressive symptoms and functional impairment? the aim of this study was to better understand the potentially complex processes through which marital disagreement may affect changes in depressive symptoms and functional limitations, both directly and indirectly. in support of this hypothesis, a decline in self-rated physical health was found to lead to lower marital quality for a national sample of married men and women (booth & johnson, 1994). given the bidirectional influence between depressive symptoms and functional limitations, as well as the associations of these two health outcomes with marital conflict, we expected that marital conflict might evidence a different pattern of influence on depressive symptoms and functional limitations when the bidirectionality between the two health outcomes is taken into account. the nsfh included 12 items assessing two depressive symptoms subdimensions — negative affect and somatic symptoms — from the original 20-item version of the ces-d. we employed only the negative affect items in analyses to reduce potential confounding between depressive symptoms and functional limitations, especially among older adults (grayson, mackinnon, jorm, creasey, & broe, 2000).
to differentiate measured variables and latent constructs, we refer to latent constructs of marital disagreement, negative affect, and functional limitations as marital conflict, depressive symptoms, and functional impairment, respectively, in the results section. for all observed indicators of marital conflict, depressive symptoms, and functional impairment, we estimated a series of three-factor models. the model included a saturated set of immediate lagged effects (from t1 to t2 and from t2 and t3) among marital conflict, depressive symptoms, functional impairment, and income, which was also measured at each time point. marital conflict at t1 was found to exacerbate functional impairment between t1 and t2, and the increase in functional impairment at t2 in turn aggravated depressive symptoms between t2 and t3. with the effects of both marital conflict and depressive symptoms on functional impairment estimated simultaneously, our study allowed evidence to emerge that marital conflict explains a greater portion of the variance in functional impairment than depressive symptoms. in addition, persons who indicated higher levels of marital conflict and depressive symptoms at t1 were more likely to become widowed, thus being excluded from the sample at t2. goodness of fit statistics for measurement models of marital conflict, depressive symptoms, and functional impairment (n = 1,832) parameter estimates and standard errors (se)for marital conflict, depressive symptoms, and functional impairment measurement models (n = 1,832) parameter estimates and standard errors for the structural model of marital conflict, depressive symptoms, and functional impairment (n = 1,832)
there are many temptations to organize our life around the experience of earlier trauma. understanding how to fix relationship problems, therefore, is key to sustaining both personal well-being and a positive partnership. interactions in which one partner takes a dominant role and the other a submissive role are likely to trigger depression in the partner who feels the lessor power or victim role (heitler, 1990). the following example is from the introduction to a workbook on marriage, the power of two workbook, that i co-authored with my daughter, psychologist dr. abigail hirsch: bonnie and jack, an attractive, bright, capable, and likable couple, found that their marriage had become a source of ever increasing unhappiness. i don’t know this man!” how did bonnie and jack’s marriage, launched with great hopes, disintegrate? bonnie and jack seemed on every dimension to be a perfectly matched pair. bonnie would explode, and jack would back off: “i give up—do it your way.” the price jack paid for his attempt to end the fighting?
unable to resolve their differences in a way that left them both feeling satisfied, bonnie and jack talked less and less. both genuinely wanted to remedy their skill deficits in hopes that that they then could talk through the divisive issues that had mounted over the years. laughter and affection returned to their home. bonnie and jack were elated to discover that all they had really needed was a how-to course. at the same time, bonnie lamented, “all those years when i thought the problem was you, and you believed that the problem was me, the problem was really skill deficits. does one of you aim to win and the other end up giving up? susan heitler, ph.d., is the author of many books, including from conflict to resolution and the power of two.
created for family members of people with alcohol abuse or drug abuse problems. answers questions about substance abuse, its symptoms, sherman, mft, a licensed marriage and family therapist in lancaster, pa., who saw the couple in counseling. when he was at work, he worried that when half of a couple is depressed, the relationship suffers. sometimes the relationship suffers and then one of the partners becomes depressed. stress in a, .
treatment for the individual with depression, relationship counseling, and open communication are essential for managing depression in a “we cannot say what does or does not cause depression, however being in an unhappy relationship can definitely lead to depressive symptoms,” says amber robinson the marital relationship can be a critical physical health resource for adults. numerous studies have indicated that married men and women, compared to their, .
When you try to get related information on depression and marriage problems, you may look for related areas. .