Marital satisfaction
affected by both spouse’s mental health
October 11, 2004 , Newswise — New research examines why a
person’s mental health is important for maintaining a satisfying
marriage and how either partner can influence the other’s marital
happiness. These findings are reported on in the October issue of the
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology published by the
American Psychological Association (APA).
In a sample of 774 married couples
from seven states in the U.S., researchers Mark A. Whisman, Ph.D., and
Lauren M. Weinstock, M.S., of the University of Colorado in Boulder and
Lisa A. Uebelacker, Ph.D., of Brown University Medical School assessed
each partners’ level of depression and anxiety with the MMPI-2 scale
along with their marital satisfaction to find out if one partners’
pathology was associated with his or her view of the relationship and/or
the partner’s view of the relationship. Specifically, the researchers
examined how much each person’s marital satisfaction was predicted by
his or her own level of depression and anxiety and/or by his or her
spouse’s level of depression and anxiety.
Results from the research show that
each spouse’s level of anxiety and depression predicted not only their
own marital satisfaction but their spouse’s as well. The more anxious
and/or depressed either spouse was, the more dissatisfied he or she was
with the marriage. Interestingly, depression was found to influence both
husbands and wives more than anxiety in how satisfied they felt about
the marriage. But only a spouse’s depression level affected the other
spouse’s marital satisfaction. When a spouse suffers from anxiety, but
not depression, the affect on the marital partner was less.
Evidence has shown that people living
with a depressed person report feeling more burdened and upset by the
person’s depressive symptoms, said the authors. “It may be that the
scope or magnitude of these burdens are not as great for people living
with an anxious person, thereby diminishing the connection between one
person’s anxiety and his or her partner’s satisfaction,” said Dr.
Whisman. Furthermore, a depressed partner may have a negative worldview
that encompasses how he or she views his or her partner and
relationship. In contrast, a partner with anxiety may view the world in
terms of expecting harm or failure but may not view his or her
relationship as seemingly negative compared with a partner suffering
from depression, added Whisman.
The study also found no gender
differences in the levels of marital satisfaction by either husbands or
wives who had similar anxiety and depression symptoms. There were also
no differences between the sexes in the degree to which a husband’s or
wife’s psychopathology affecting the other spouse’s marital
satisfaction. Furthermore, the authors found that marital
dissatisfaction was the highest when both partners in a couple reported
high levels of depression.
These findings show how important it
is to evaluate both partners’ mental health when dissatisfaction occurs
in a marriage, said Dr. Whisman. “Seeking help when trouble starts may
prevent further declines in marital functioning and lead to improvements
in treatments for married couples where one or both spouses are
suffering from depression (and possibly other psychological problems).
Dealing with each partners’ psychological well-being may help to prevent
dissolution of the marriage.”
Article: “Psychopathology and Marital
Satisfaction: The Importance of Evaluating Both Partners,” Mark A.
Whisman, Ph.D., and Lauren M. Weinstock, M.S., University of Colorado at
Boulder; Lisa A. Uebelacker, Ph.D., Brown University Medical School and
Butler Hospital; Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 72,
No. 5.
The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is
the largest scientific and professional organization representing
psychology in the United States and is the world’s largest association
of psychologists. APA’s membership includes more than 150,000
researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through
its divisions in 53 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60
state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to
advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of
promoting health, education and human welfare.
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