Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Marital Cognitions and Depression in the Context of Marital Discord

  • Published:
Cognitive Therapy and Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The cognitions of 63 couples were examined to explicate the link between marital conflict and depression. Following a laboratory-based marital problem solving discussion, spouses listed cognitions about these discussions and thoughts about the future of their relationship. Cognitions also were assessed using the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire and Marital Attitude Survey. Self-reported assessments of mood were obtained before and after the problem solving discussion. Depressed wives exhibited significantly more self-blame and hopeless thoughts than nondepressed wives. Self-blame, partner-blame, and hopelessness in reference to the problem solving discussions were associated with spouses' mood states after a problem solving discussion, albeit in different ways. The results support the importance of hopelessness and blame in understanding the link between marital discord and depression.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders-III-R. New York: Author.

  • Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I., & Alloy, L. B. (1989). Hopelessness depression:Atheory-based subtype of depression. Psychological Review, 96, 358–372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beach, S. R. H., Fincham, F. D., & Katz, J. (1998). Marital therapy in the treatment of depression: Toward a third generation of therapy and research. Clinical Psychology Review, 18,635–662.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Garbin, M. G. (1988). Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 77–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biglan, A., Hops, H., Sherman, L., Friedman, L. S., Arthur, J., & Osteen, V. (1985). Problem-solving interactions of depressed women and their husbands. Behavior Therapy, 16, 431–451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradbury, T. N., & Fincham, F. D. (1990). Attributions in marriage: Review and critique. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 3–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, F. B., & Baxter, W. J. (1997). The structure of positive and negative automatic cognition. Cognition and Emotion, 11, 225–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davila, J., Bradbury, T. N., Cohan, C. L., & Tochluk, S. (1997). Marital functioning and depressive symptoms: Evidence for a stress generation model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 849–861.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deardorff, P. A., Hopkins, L. R., & Finch, A. J. (1984). Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire: A reliability and validity study. Psychological Reports, 55, 708–710.

    Google Scholar 

  • Derogatis, L. R. (1983). SCL-90–R: Administration, scoring and procedures manual. Baltimore: Clinical Psychometrics Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, N. (1985). Depression and marital dysfunction: Cognitive and behavioral linkages. International Journal of Mental Health, 13, 86–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammen, C. L. (1991). The generation of stress in the course of unipolar depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 555–561.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heyman, R. E., Eddy, J. M., Weiss, R. L., & Vivian, D. (1995). Factor analysis of the Marital Interaction Coding System (MICS). Journal of Family Psychology, 9, 209–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heyman, R. E., Sayers, S. L., & Bellack, A. S. (1994). Global marital satisfaction vs. marital adjustment: An empirical comparison of three measures. Journal of Family Psychology, 8, 432–446.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollon, S. D., & Kendall, P. C. (1980). Cognitive self-statements in depression: Development of an automatic thoughts questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 4, 383–396.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollon, S. D., Kendall, P. C., & Lumry, A. (1986). Specificity of depressotypic cognitions in clinical depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology,95, 52–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hops, H., Wills, T. A., Weiss, R. L., & Patterson, G. R. (1972). Marital Interaction Coding System. Eugene: University of Oregon and Oregon Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R. E., Miranda, J., & Segal, Z. V. (1998). Cognitive vulnerability to depression. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, N. S., Follette, W., Reventsdorf, D., Baucom, D. H., Hahlweg, K., & Margolin, G. (1984). Variability in outcome and clinical significance of behavioral marital therapy: A reanalysis of outcome data. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 497–504.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janoff-Bulman, R. (1979). Characterological versus behavioral self-blame: Inquiries into depression and rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10, 1798–1809.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, R. E. (1982). Experimental design: Procedures for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwon, S., & Oei, T. P. S. (1992). Differential causal roles of dysfunctional attitudes and automatic thoughts in depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16,309–328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lubin, B. (1977). Bibliography for the Depression Adjective Check Lists: 1966-1967. San Diego, CA: EdITS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lubin, B., Zuckerman, M., Hanson, P. G., Armstrong, T., Rinck, C. M., & Seever, M. (1986). Reliability and validity of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List–Revised. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 8, 103–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metalsky, G. I., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (1992). Vulnerability to depressive symptomatology:Aprospective test of the diathesis-stress and causal mediation components of the hopelessness theory of depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 667–675.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metalsky, G. I., Joiner, T. E., Jr., Hardin, T. S., & Abramson, L. Y. (1993). Depressive reactions to failure in a naturalistic setting: A test of the hopelessness and self-esteem theories of depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 101–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miranda, J., Gross, J. B., Persons, J., & Hahn, J. (1998). Mood matters: Negative mood induction activates dysfunctional attitudes in women vulnerable to depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22, 363–376.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miranda, J., & Persons, J. (1988). Dysfunctional attitudes are mood-state dependent. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 76–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mittelstaedt, W. H., & Wollert, R. (1991). Blame and the development of depressed mood. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 23, 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Leary, K. D., & Beach, S. R. H. (1990). Marital therapy: A viable treatment for depression and marital discord. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 183–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretzer, J. L., Epstein, N., & Fleming, B. (1992). The marital attitude survey: A measure of dysfunctional attributions and expectancies. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 5, 131–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rounsaville, B. J., Weissman, M. M., Prusoff, B. A., & Herceg-Baron, R. L. (1979a). Marital disputes and treatment outcome in depressed women. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 20, 483–490.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rounsaville, B. J., Weissman, M. M., Prusoff, B. A., & Herceg-Baron, R. L. (1979b). Process of psychotherapy among depressed women with marital disputes. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 49, 505–510.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sayers, S. L., & Bellack, A. S. (2000). Marital conflict behavior, negative mood, and discordant wives' depression. Manuscript in preparation.

  • Sayers, S. L., Fresco, D. M., Kohn, C. S., & Sarwer, D. B. (1995, November). Thought listing using free recall and videotape reconstruction: Content coding of cognitions of depressed-discordant wives. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Advancement of BehaviorTherapy,NewYork.

  • Shrout, P. E., & Fleiss, J. L. (1979). Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability. Psychological Bulletin, 86,420–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 15–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B.W., Gibbon, M., & First, M. B. (1989). Instruction Manual for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Biometrics Research Department: New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiles, T. C., & Götestam, K. G. (1989). The role of automatic negative thoughts in the development of dysphoric mood: An analogue experiment. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 13, 161–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tennen, H., & Affleck, G. (1990). Blaming others for threatening events. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 209–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, R. L. (1992). MICS-IV: Marital Interaction Coding System. Unpublished manual.

  • Weiss, R. L., & Birchler, G. R. (1975). Areas of change. Oregon Marital Studies Program. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Weiss, R. L., & Summers, K. J. (1983). Marital Interaction Coding System-III. In E. E. Filsinger (Ed.), Marriage and family assessment (pp.85–115). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weissman, M. M. (1987). Advances in psychiatric epidemiology: Rates and risks for major depression. American Journal of Public Health, 77, 445–451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whisman, M. A., & Bruce, M. L. (1999). Marital dissatisfaction and incidence of major depressive episode in a community sample. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 674–678.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wollert, R., & Rowley, J. (1987). Concurrent and longitudinal patterns among sanctions, mood, and attributions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 608–613.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuckerman, M., & Lubin, B. (1965). Manual for the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. San Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Service.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, MCP Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Steven L. Sayers

  2. Department of Psychiatry, MCP Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Carolynn S. Kohn

  3. Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    David M. Fresco

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

    Alan S. Bellack

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    David B. Sarwer

Authors
  1. Steven L. Sayers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carolynn S. Kohn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David M. Fresco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alan S. Bellack
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. David B. Sarwer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sayers, S.L., Kohn, C.S., Fresco, D.M. et al. Marital Cognitions and Depression in the Context of Marital Discord. Cognitive Therapy and Research 25, 713–732 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012967222638

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012967222638

Search

Navigation