Prospective associations between marital discord and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults.
Data from both spouses in a population-based sample of middle-aged and older adults (N = 1,869 couples) were used to evaluate the 2-year prospective association between marital discord and depressive symptoms. Nested path analyses indicated that (a) baseline marital discord predicted one's own depressive symptoms at follow-up, (b) baseline depressive symptoms predicted one's own marital discord at follow-up, (c) baseline depressive symptoms predicted partners' marital discord at follow-up, and (d) there were no gender differences in the magnitudes of the pathways between one's own baseline depressive symptoms and one's own marital discord at follow-up or between one's own baseline marital discord and one's own depressive symptoms at follow-up. These results suggest a bidirectional longitudinal association between marital discord and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults.
Whisman
Mark A
MA
University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Psychology, Boulder, CO 80309-0345, USA. whisman@colorado.edu
Uebelacker
Lisa A
LA
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D012737:Sex Factors