Marital discord and depression in middle-aged and older couples

Is taxon status associated with depression

Bibliographic Data

ID2924849
AuthorsMark A Whisman (0000-0003-1821-7569, University of Colorado Boulder, corresponding author), Briana L Robustelli (0000-0002-7850-7587, University of Colorado Boulder), Steven R Beach (0000-0001-8053-7761, University of Georgia), Steven R H Beach, Douglas K Snyder (0000-0002-3507-2843, Texas A&M University), James M Harper (0000-0003-0765-8828, Brigham Young University)
Year2015
Volume32
Issue7
Pages967-973
Publication date2015-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0265407514554519
OpenAlexW2161491799
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited20

Although a large literature links relationship discord with depression, most prior studies have evaluated relationship discord as a continuous variable and have examined this association in younger couples. Based on findings suggesting that the latent structure of marital discord is taxonic, this study evaluated whether taxon status was associated with depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older individuals and whether taxon status accounted for unique variance in depressive symptoms, over and above that which was accounted for by continuous measures of marital quality. This association was examined in a community sample of 502 couples who had been married at least 10 years and in which at least one spouse was 55 to 75 years old. There were statistically significant differences between taxon (discordant) and complement (nondiscordant) women and men in depressive symptoms, with discordant spouses reporting higher levels of depressive symptoms than nondiscordant spouses. For wives but not for husbands, taxon status contributed to symptoms beyond the effect of the mean of continuously distributed marital quality scales, indicating a point at which couple taxon status incrementally predicts a significant increase in depressive symptoms. Implications for clinical assessment and further research are discussed

Anxiety · Association (psychology · Depression (economics · Depressive symptoms · Marital status · Population · Psychiatry · Spouse · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Psychology

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