Marital Discord and Dysphoria: For Whom does the Marital Relationship Predict Depressive Symptomatology?

Abstract

The article examines the ability of early and concurrent relationship satisfaction to predict newlyweds' level of depression. The sample was composed of 241 couples, all of whom were white, responding to advertisements for couples about to marry. Both spouses were assessed prior to marriage and at 6 and 18 months after marriage. Marital relationship variables were found to be predictive of later depressive symptomatology for all spouses, but a chronically dysphoric subsample was found to be more reactive to changes in marital adjustment. The results are taken as support for the hypothesis that those who are chronically dysphoric are more vulnerable to stresses within the marital relationship. There was no evidence that the prospective effect of marriage on later symptoms was moderated by gender.