Details:

Alternative Title:
J Consult Clin Psychol
Personal Author:
Brock, Rebecca L. ; Lawrence, Erika
Brock, Rebecca L. ; Lawrence, Erika Less -
Description:
Objective

Marital discord has been linked to both depression and anxiety; however, our understanding of how marriage contributes to the development of internalizing symptoms is limited in scope and lacking specificity. First, it is unclear whether the marital relationship contributes to the broad dimension of internalizing symptoms as opposed to specific diagnoses. Second, it is unclear how the marital relationship contributes to internalizing symptoms: through global marital dissatisfaction or through specific relationship processes (and which processes). The purpose of the present study was to address these two issues and, more generally, to develop a comprehensive and refined framework within which to understand the role of marriage in the developmental course of internalizing symptoms.

Method

Questionnaire and interview data were collected from 102 husbands and wives 5 times over the first 7 years of marriage.

Results

Results indicated that marital discord during the transition into marriage was associated with the broad dimension of internalizing symptoms for husbands but not for wives. Further, both global marital dissatisfaction and an imbalance of power and control put husbands at significant risk for symptoms over the first 7 years of marriage, whereas low levels of emotional intimacy put wives at significant risk.

Conclusions

Results exemplify the need to routinely consider intimate relationship processes in etiological models of depression and anxiety, and identify specific clinical targets that can be prioritized in interventions aimed at preventing internalizing disorders.


Subject:
[+]
Adult
Anxiety
Article
Couples
Depression
Family Conflict
Female
Humans
Internalizing Symptoms
Interview, Psychological
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Marriage
Personal Satisfaction
Relationship Processes
Risk Factors
Spouses
Young Adult

Source:
J Consult Clin Psychol. 79(5):577-589.
Pubmed ID:
21823784
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC3183252
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
5 F31 MH082571-03/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; CCR721682/PHS HHS/United States ; CE721682/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States ; F31 MH082571/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; F31 MH082571-03/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; ... More +
5 F31 MH082571-03/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; CCR721682/PHS HHS/United States ; CE721682/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States ; F31 MH082571/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; F31 MH082571-03/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; HD046789/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States Less -
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:af6559d86df265675ce83a938426782e966f1645b26716fa1d344359e6141ee0
File Type:

Supporting Files

• nihms-311268.nxml

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