Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026

A New Method for Inducing a Depression-Like Behavior in Rats
Published on: February 22, 2018
Prospective associations between marital discord and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults
Mark A Whisman1, Lisa A Uebelacker
1University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Psychology, Boulder, CO 80309-0345, USA. whisman@colorado.edu
Abstract:
Data from both spouses in a population-based sample of middle-aged and older adults (N = 1,869 couples) were used to evaluate the 2-year prospective association between marital discord and depressive symptoms. Nested path analyses indicated that (a) baseline marital discord predicted one's own depressive symptoms at follow-up, (b) baseline depressive symptoms predicted one's own marital discord at follow-up, (c) baseline depressive symptoms predicted partners' marital discord at follow-up, and (d) there were no gender differences in the magnitudes of the pathways between one's own baseline depressive symptoms and one's own marital discord at follow-up or between one's own baseline marital discord and one's own depressive symptoms at follow-up. These results suggest a bidirectional longitudinal association between marital discord and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Depressive Disorders: MDD and Dysthymia
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Close Relationships and Culture
Relationship Formation
