Attributional Models of Depression and Marital Distress

Abstract

The authors compare the attributional models presented in depression and marital literatures by examining simultaneously their prediction of depressive symptoms and marital distress. A total of 150 married couples completed the Attribution Style Questionnaire (ASQ), the Relationship Attribution Measure (RAM), and measures of depression and marital distress. For both husbands and wives, a full model that included paths from depressogenic and distress-maintaining marital attributions to both depressive symptoms and marital distress provided a better fit to the data than a model that omitted paths from distress-maintaining attributions to each outcome. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.