PREDICTING DEPRESSION FROM MARITAL DISTRESS AND ATTRIBUTIONAL PROCESSES Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • This study examined the interaction between marital distress and spouses' attributions and expectancies regarding the marital relationship in predicting depressive symptoms in a mixed sample of 59 clinic and nonclinic couples. The best single predictor of depression for both sexes was a measure of disaffection, reflecting emotional distance and alienation in the marriage. However, prediction of wives' depression in multiple regression analyses was enhanced by measures of overt marital disharmony, attribution of causality for relationship difficulties to their own behavior, and failure to attribute difficulties to their husbands' behavior. Regression analyses accounted for 55% of the variance in wives' depression, in contrast to only 32% for husbands. Treatment implications are discussed. Copyright 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved

published proceedings

  • JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY

author list (cited authors)

  • HEIM, S. C., & SNYDER, D. K.

citation count

  • 27

complete list of authors

  • HEIM, SC||SNYDER, DK

publication date

  • January 1991

publisher