"I know what you did": Associations between relationship satisfaction and reported and suspected extramarital sex.

Although extradyadic sex has been repeatedly shown to be inversely associated with relationship quality, researchers have rarely evaluated partners' beliefs (or suspicions) of such behavior and the degree to which relationship quality varies as a function of suspected extradyadic sex. This study examined, in a United States probability sample of couples (National Couples Survey; N = 236 couples), the (a) prevalence of cross-tabulations of wives' and husbands' reports of their own history of extramarital sex (i.e., sexual intercourse) and their beliefs about their partner's history of extramarital sex having ever occurred in the couple's relationship, and (b) associations between reported and suspected extramarital sex and current relationship satisfaction. The prevalence of different combinations of spouses' reported history of their own extramarital sex and suspicions of their partner's history of extramarital sex are presented. Results indicated that both spouses' reports of their own history of and their suspicion of their partner's history of extramarital sex were significantly and inversely associated with wives' and husbands' relationship satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of examining not only respondents' report of their own extramarital sexual involvement but also their beliefs about their partner's extramarital sexual involvement in future research on relationship and individual functioning outcomes associated with extramarital sex.

Intimate Relationships and Depression: Searching for Causation in the Sea of Association.

This article provides a critical review of existing research on intimate (marriage or marriage-like) relationship distress and risk for depression. Using the meta-framework of research triangulation, we seek to synthesize research evidence across several different methodologies and study designs and to draw the most reliable conclusion regarding a potential causal association between relationship distress and depression. Focusing on existing correlational (i.e., observational), genetically informed, and intervention (i.e., experimental) research on the association between relationship distress and depression, we conclude that the existing body of research evidence supports the claim that relationship distress is a causal risk factor for depression. A secondary aim of the article is to highlight a variety of effective methods that, when viewed from the perspective of triangulation, enhance the pursuit of causal inference, including propensity score matching, target trial emulation, directed acyclic graph approach, and Mendelian randomization.

Associations Between Marital Discord and Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-Cultural Analysis.

The objectives of this study were to investigate actor and partner effects of the association between marital discord and depressive symptoms in a sample of 4,779 couples from 11 European countries that were divided into three groups (i.e., Northern, Central, Southern Europe), and evaluate the potential gender and cross-cultural invariance of this association. Actor-partner interdependence models were used to analyze the cross-sectional associations between self-reported perceived marital conflict and depressive symptoms. Marital conflict was significantly and positively associated with self-reported depressive symptoms for husbands and wives (actor effects), as well as with partner-reported depressive symptoms (partner effects). Pooling across cultural groups, no significant difference in the magnitude of actor or partner effects based on gender was found. The magnitude of the actor effects varied across cultural groupings only for women: a significantly weaker association existed for women residing in Northern Europe relative to women in Central or Southern Europe. These results suggest that marital discord is a reliable correlate of depressive symptoms for European couples and that the magnitude of the positive association varies by culture for women. Should these results be replicated longitudinally, couple-based interventions may be indicated to reduce marital discord and prevent and treat depression in Europe.

Los objetivos de este estudio fueron investigar los efectos en el actor y la pareja de la asociación entre el desacuerdo conyugal y los síntomas depresivos en una muestra de 4779 parejas de 11 países europeos que se dividieron en tres grupos (p. ej.: Europa septentrional, Europa Central y Europa meridional) y evaluar la posible invariancia intercultural y de género de esta asociación. Se utilizaron los modelos de interdependencia actor-pareja para analizar las asociaciones transversales entre el conflicto conyugal percibido y los síntomas depresivos autoinformados. El conflicto conyugal estuvo asociado considerable y positivamente con síntomas depresivos autoinformados para los esposos y las esposas (efectos en el actor), así como con síntomas depresivos informados por las parejas (efectos en la pareja). Al combinar los grupos culturales, no se encontró una diferencia significativa en la magnitud de los efectos en el actor o en la pareja sobre la base del género. La magnitud de los efectos en el actor varió entre grupos culturales solo en el caso de las mujeres: existió una asociación considerablemente más débil para las mujeres que viven en Europa septentrional respecto de las mujeres de Europa Central o Europa meridional. Estos resultados sugieren que los desacuerdos conyugales se correlacionan de manera fiable con los síntomas depresivos en las parejas europeas, y que la magnitud de la asociación positiva varía según la cultura en el caso de las mujeres. Si estos resultados se repitieran longitudinalmente, podrían indicarse intervenciones basadas en la pareja para disminuir el desacuerdo conyugal y prevenir y tratar la depresión en Europa.

A cross-cultural examination of pleasant events and depressive symptoms.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the associations between pleasant or reinforcing activities (as they relate to the behavioral theory of depression) and depressive symptoms across cultures. METHODS: We tested for differences in the strength of association between pleasant events and depressive symptoms in probability samples of adults from the United States (N = 619) and Japan (N = 232). RESULTS: Results indicate that frequency, enjoyment, and obtained pleasure from pleasant events were significantly and negatively associated with depressive symptoms for both American and Japanese adults, and these associations were significantly greater in magnitude for American adults relative to Japanese adults. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that there is a cross-sectional association between pleasant events and depressive symptoms in both the United States and Japan, and that this association is stronger in the United States.

Extramarital Sex and Marital Dissolution: Does Identity of the Extramarital Partner Matter?

Panel data from married adults (N = 1,853) in the General Social Survey, a probability sample of the adult household population of the United States, were used to evaluate (a) the longitudinal association between extramarital sex and marital dissolution 2 years later, (b) whether probability of marital dissolution differed as a function of the type of relationship people reported having with their extramarital sex partner, and (c) the degree to which these associations were incremental to participants' level of marital satisfaction at baseline. Compared to people who reported not engaging in extramarital sex, those who reported engaging in extramarital sex at baseline were significantly more likely to be separated or divorced 2 years later. Furthermore, the association between having extramarital sex with a close personal friend and marital dissolution was particularly strong. These associations remained statistically significant after adjusting for marital satisfaction. Results suggest that the identity of the extramarital sex partner and the type of relationship a person has with him or her has important implications for probability of marital dissolution above and beyond the contribution of marital satisfaction.

Se utilizaron los datos de panel de adultos casados (N = 1,853) de la Encuesta Social General (General Social Survey), una muestra probabilística de la población de hogares de adultos de los Estados Unidos, para evaluar (a) la asociación longitudinal entre las relaciones sexuales extramatrimoniales y el divorcio dos años después, (b) si la probabilidad de divorcio difirió como una función del tipo de relación que las personas informaron tener con su pareja de relaciones sexuales extramatrimoniales y (c) el grado en el cual estas asociaciones aumentaron según el nivel de satisfacción matrimonial de los participantes al inicio del estudio. En comparación con las personas que informaron no tener relaciones sexuales extramatrimoniales, aquellos que sí informaron tener relaciones extramatrimoniales al comienzo del estudio tuvieron muchas más probabilidades de estar separados o divorciados dos años después. Además, la asociación entre tener relaciones sexuales extramatrimoniales con un amigo íntimo personal y el divorcio fue particularmente fuerte. Estas asociaciones continuaron siendo estadísticamente significativas después de ajustar teniendo en cuenta la satisfacción conyugal. Los resultados sugieren que la identidad de la pareja extramatrimonial y el tipo de relación que una persona tiene con ella repercuten considerablemente en la probabilidad de divorcio más allá del aporte de la satisfacción matrimonial.

Specificity of the Association between Marital Discord and Longitudinal Changes in Symptoms of Depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing.

This longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate actor and partner effects of marital discord on changes in symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in a large population sample of Irish adults (N = 1,445 couples), adjusting for the potential confounds of quality of other social relationships and other psychopathology symptoms. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was used to examine actor and partner effects of marital discord on changes in symptoms of depression and GAD at a 2-year follow-up. Additional models examined these associations adjusting for family and friend discord and symptoms of the other type of psychopathology (depressive or GAD symptoms). Actor effects of marital discord on depressive and anxiety symptoms were greater for men than for women. There were significant, positive actor effects of marital discord on depressive symptoms for husbands and wives, which remained significant when adjusting for family and friend discord and GAD symptoms. There were significant, positive actor effects of marital discord on GAD symptoms for husbands, which remained significant when adjusting for family and friend discord and depressive symptoms. Results demonstrate that longitudinal associations between marital discord and depressive symptoms (for wives and husbands) and GAD symptoms (for husbands) are incremental to other rival explanations (family and friend discord and the other set of symptoms). Findings provide evidence for a potential causal association leading from marital discord to symptoms of depression and GAD.

Depressive Symptoms and Salivary Telomere Length in a Probability Sample of Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between depressive symptoms and salivary telomere length in a probability sample of middle-aged and older adults, and to evaluate age and sex as potential moderators of this association and test whether this association was incremental to potential confounds. METHODS: Participants were 3,609 individuals from the 2008 wave of the Health and Retirement Study. Telomere length assays were performed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction on DNA extracted from saliva samples. Depressive symptoms were assessed via interview, and health and lifestyle factors, traumatic life events, and neuroticism were assessed via self-report. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between predictor variables and salivary telomere length. RESULTS: After adjusting for demographics, depressive symptoms were negatively associated with salivary telomere length (b = -.003; p = .014). Furthermore, this association was moderated by sex (b = .005; p = .011), such that depressive symptoms were significantly and negatively associated with salivary telomere length for men (b = - .006; p < .001) but not for women (b = - .001; p = .644). The negative association between depressive symptoms and salivary telomere length in men remained statistically significant after additionally adjusting for cigarette smoking, body mass index, chronic health conditions, childhood and lifetime exposure to traumatic life events, and neuroticism. CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with shorter salivary telomeres in men, and this association was incremental to several potential confounds. Shortened telomeres may help account for the association between depression and poor physical health and mortality.

Discovery of a Partner Affair and Major Depressive Episode in a Probability Sample of Married or Cohabiting Adults.

Prior research has found that humiliating marital events are associated with depression. Building on this research, the current study investigated the association between one specific humiliating marital event-discovering that one's partner had an affair-and past-year major depressive episode (MDE) in a probability sample of married or cohabiting men and women who were at high risk for depression based on the criterion that they scored below the midpoint on a measure of marital satisfaction (N = 227). Results indicate that (i) women were more likely than men to report discovering their partner had an affair in the prior 12 months; (ii) discovering a partner affair was associated with a higher prevalence of past-year MDE and a lower level of marital adjustment; and (iii) the association between discovering a partner affair and MDE remained statistically significant when holding constant demographic variables and marital adjustment. These results support continued investigation into the impact that finding out about an affair has on the mental health of the person discovering a partner affair.

Marital Adjustment and Psychological Distress in Japan.

This study was conducted to examine the association between marital adjustment and psychological distress in a large, probability sample of married adults in Japan (N = 710) from the Midlife Development in Japan (MIDJA) study. Results indicate that positive and negative dimensions of marital adjustment were significantly associated with dimensional and categorical measures of psychological distress. Furthermore, the associations between marital adjustment and psychological distress remained significant when statistically controlling for neuroticism, quality of friend and family relationships, and demographic variables. These results demonstrate that the well-established association between marital adjustment and psychological distress found in European-American countries is also found in Japan. Findings support continued research on marital functioning and psychological distress in East Asian countries.

Intimate partner relationship distress in the DSM-5.

Over the past 40 years, a large body of literature has documented intimate partner relationship distress as a primary reason for seeking mental health services as well as an integral factor in the prognosis and treatment of a range of mental and physical health conditions. In recognition of its relevance to clinical care, the description of intimate partner relationship distress has been expanded in the DSM-5. Nonetheless, this is irrelevant if the DSM-5 code for intimate partner relationship distress is not reliably used in clinical practice and research settings. Thus, with the goal of dissemination in mind, the purpose of this paper was to provide clinicians and researchers with specific guidelines on how to reliably assess intimate partner relationship distress and how this information can be used to inform treatment planning. In addition to the implications for direct clinical care, we discuss the importance of reliable assessment and documentation of intimate partner relationship distress for future progress in epidemiology, etiology, and public health research.

Normative Data on the Beck Depression Inventory--Second Edition (BDI-II) in College Students.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to provide normative data on the Beck Depression Inventory--Second Edition (BDI-II) in college students. METHOD: Data were obtained from 15,233 college students drawn from 17 universities in the United States, weighted to match the gender and race/ethnicity of enrollment in degree-granting institutions. RESULTS: Descriptive statistics, point prevalence of individuals exceeding cutoff scores, and mean differences by gender and race/ethnicity were provided. Because the distribution of BDI-II scores was not normal, percentile ranks for raw scores were provided for the total sample and separately by gender and race/ethnicity for the total sample and by race/ethnicity for men and women. Normative data were used to calculate the Reliable Change Index on the BDI-II for college students. CONCLUSION: Because the distribution of BDI-II scores demonstrated significant skewness and non-normal kurtosis, percentile ranks are important to consider in interpreting scores on the measure, in addition to descriptive statistics.

Genetic and environmental influences on rumination and its covariation with depression.

This study examined the extent to which rumination and depression share genetic and environmental influences in a community sample of adult twins (N=663). Twins completed multiple rumination questionnaires, a depressive symptoms questionnaire and a diagnostic interview. Rumination was moderately heritable (h2=.37-.41 for the latent variable) and substantially influenced by nonshared environmental factors, and these results were consistent across different measures. Nonshared environmental influences on rumination were larger for women than men. Depressive symptoms and diagnosis were influenced by genetic and nonshared environmental factors (h2=.30-.45). The genetic correlations between rumination and depression were moderate to large (rA=.40-.82), suggesting that a substantial proportion of the genetic influences on rumination overlap with those on depression. Results were similar when examining self-reported depressive symptoms and interview-based diagnosis of major depressive disorder. These results highlight the importance of rumination in the integration of cognitive and genetic models of depression risk.

Opposite effects of anxiety and depressive symptoms on executive function: the case of selecting among competing options.

People constantly face the need to choose one option from among many, such as when selecting words to express a thought. Selecting between many options can be difficult for anyone, and can feel overwhelming for individuals with elevated anxiety. The current study demonstrates that anxiety is associated with impaired selection across three different verbal tasks, and tests the specificity of this finding to anxiety. Anxiety and depression frequently co-occur; thus, it might be assumed that they would demonstrate similar associations with selection, although they also have distinct profiles of symptoms, neuroanatomy and neurochemistry. Here, we report for the first time that anxiety and depressive symptoms counter-intuitively have opposite effects on selection among competing options. Specifically, whereas anxiety symptoms are associated with impairments in verbal selection, depressive symptoms are associated with better selection performance. Implications for understanding the mechanisms of anxiety, depression and selection are discussed.

Genetic and environmental influences on negative life events from late childhood to adolescence.

This multiwave longitudinal study tested two quantitative genetic developmental models to examine genetic and environmental influences on exposure to negative dependent and independent life events. Participants (N = 457 twin pairs) completed measures of life events annually from ages 9 to 16. The same genetic factors influenced exposure to dependent events across time and increased in magnitude during the transition to adolescence. Independent events were less genetically influenced than dependent events in boys, but not girls. Shared environmental influences decreased in magnitude as youth transitioned into adolescence. Nonshared environmental influences were mostly age specific and contributed significantly to both types of events at all ages. Results provide theoretical implications for developmental risk pathways to stress exposure and stress-related psychopathology.

Gender differences in rumination: A meta-analysis.

Starting in adolescence and continuing through adulthood, women are twice as likely as men to experience depression. According to the response styles theory (RST), gender differences in depression result, in part, from women's tendency to ruminate more than men. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate gender differences in rumination in adults (k = 59; N = 14,321); additionally, an analysis of subtypes of rumination - brooding and reflection - was conducted (k = 23). Fixed effects analyses indicated that women scored higher than men in rumination (d = .24, p < .01, SEd = .02), brooding (d = .19, p < .01, SEd = .03) and reflection (d = .17, p < .01, SEd = .03); there was no evidence of heterogeneity or publication bias across studies for these effect sizes. Although statistically significant, the effect sizes for gender differences in rumination were small in magnitude. Results are discussed with respect to the RST and gender differences in depression.

Marital satisfaction as a potential moderator of the association between stress and depression.

BACKGROUND: Stress and marital dissatisfaction have been identified as risk factors for depression in separate lines of research. However, the interaction between stress and marital satisfaction in predicting depression over time has rarely been examined, despite the fact that marital satisfaction may weaken (i.e., buffer) the impact of stress on depression. This longitudinal study evaluated marital satisfaction as a moderator of the association between stress and depressive symptoms in a probability sample of American married adults. METHODS: Married respondents from Wave I and Wave II of the Americans' Changing Lives (ACL) study (N = 1392) completed measures of marital satisfaction, stressful life events, and depressive symptoms at baseline and three-year follow-up. RESULTS: Marital satisfaction and stressful life events were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in cross-sectional analyses and uniquely predicted depressive symptoms three years later, controlling for prior depressive symptoms. However, marital satisfaction did not moderate the association between stressful life events and depression. A sensitivity analysis of data from Wave IV and Wave V of the ACL yielded similar findings, supporting the replicability of the results. LIMITATIONS: Broader assessment on stressful life events and assessment of perceived stress would provide a stronger test of the association between stress and depression as well as the degree to which this association is moderated by marital satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Attending to both stress and marital satisfaction may provide a more comprehensive understanding of risk for depression than exclusive focusing on either stress or marital satisfaction, which may have beneficial implications for preventing and treating depression.

A prospective study of marital distress and mental health symptoms across the deployment cycle.

Although recent findings imply that marital distress and mental health symptoms are intertwined among military personnel, a prospective longitudinal study is needed to evaluate the bidirectionality of the link between marital distress and mental health symptoms across the deployment cycle. We investigated over time associations using data from the Pre-Post Deployment Study component of the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS). Married soldiers (N = 2,585) reported on their marital distress, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms 1 month before deploying to Afghanistan and 3 months and 9 months after they returned home. The data were analyzed using cross-lagged panel models, adjusting for a variety of demographic and military covariates (including deployment stress, measured 1 month after homecoming). Results indicated (a) no associations between marital distress and mental health symptoms during the 13-month lag from predeployment to postdeployment, (b) bidirectional associations between marital distress and symptoms of anxiety and depression during the 6-month lag from 3 to 9 months after homecoming, and (c) a unidirectional association from PTSD symptoms to marital distress during the 6-month lag from 3 to 9 months after homecoming. These findings shed light on a lingering debate about the directionality of the longitudinal association between marital distress and psychopathology. They also imply points of intervention to help buffer military personnel from the harmful effects of marital distress and mental health symptoms across the deployment cycle. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A longitudinal investigation of marital dissolution, marital quality, and generalized anxiety disorder in a national probability sample.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common psychiatric disorder that is associated with high levels of distress and impairment. The present study was conducted to examine the 10-year longitudinal associations between marital dissolution, three measures of marital quality, and GAD among married participants from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) survey, a probability sample of American adults aged 24-74 years. Results indicated that GAD at baseline was significantly and positively associated with incidence of marital dissolution during the 10-year follow-up and marital strain (i.e., negative partner interaction) at baseline was significantly and positively associated with incidence of GAD at the 10-year follow-up. These associations remained statistically significant after adjusting for demographic characteristics and neuroticism. In comparison, marital satisfaction and marital support (i.e., positive partner interaction) at baseline were not significantly associated with incidence of GAD, GAD at baseline was not significantly associated with any of the three measures of marital quality at follow-up, and marital dissolution during follow-up was not significantly associated with incidence of GAD. These findings suggest that negative interactions with one's partner may be a risk factor for GAD and that improving marital functioning may be important for the prevention and treatment of GAD.

Overlap of relationship distress and intimate partner violence in community samples.

Mixed-gender couples presenting for couple therapy are at 2-3 times higher risk for physical intimate partner violence (IPV) than community couples. However, it is unclear if this elevation of relative risk is the same in the general population because relationship distress and treatment-seeking are often confounded. We used archival data from three representative U.S. civilian samples and one representative U.S. Air Force sample to test the hypothesis that clinically significant relationship distress is associated with increased risk of various forms of IPV. In these community samples, those in mixed-gender distressed relationships were at 2-3 times higher risk than those in nondistressed relationships for any physical IPV during the past year and at 3-6 times higher risk for clinically significant psychological and physical IPV during the past year. Given that the increase in IPV risk is similar for individuals in distressed community relationships and therapy-seeking relationships, the prior findings of the elevated rates of IPV in clinical samples are unlikely to be due to therapy-seeking. Although epidemiological risk involves statistical, not causal, associations, the increased co-occurrence of IPV in distressed mixed-gender couples fits with numerous theories of IPV and has implications for both screening and future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Marital functioning and binge eating disorder in married women.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between marital functioning and binge eating disorder (BED). METHOD: In a population-based survey of 2,084 married women, women with current (i.e., occurring in the past 12 months) BED were compared on three measures of marital functioning (marital satisfaction, negative interaction, and positive interaction) to women with (a) other current Axis I disorders and (b) no current disorder. RESULTS: Women with BED reported lower levels of marital satisfaction and higher levels of negative interaction than women with other disorders, who in turn reported poorer functioning than women with no disorder. Women with other disorders reported lower levels of positive interaction than women with BED, who in turn reported lower levels than women with no disorder. DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that marital functioning for women with BED is comparable to or worse than for women with other psychiatric disorders, which supports the need for continued investigation into the marital functioning of people with BED.