Predicting Improvement in Depression Across Therapies Using Indicators of Romantic Relationship Functioning: A...

Depression is a common presenting problem, often affected by couple interactions in unique ways. However, research in the area of romantic relationship functioning and depression often replicates previous research or consists of literature reviews, limiting the clinical relevancy. The purpose of this preliminary study is to expand the research on the effects of relational processes on depression treatment outcomes. We tested whether initiator tendency, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and marital satisfaction predicted improvement in depression for women with Major Depressive Disorder enrolled in a depression treatment clinical trial (n = 17). Women completed treatments of either pharmacotherapy or combined Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples and pharmacotherapy. We found that higher baseline levels of partner initiator tendency resulted in less change in depression (worse outcomes), regardless of treatment type and that higher baseline levels of attachment avoidance predicted better depression outcomes in treatment. Marital satisfaction, however, was not linked to change in depression. Initiator tendency is discussed as a critical romantic relationship factor for depression treatment outcomes.