Depression, Marital Satisfaction and Communication in Couples: Investigating Gender Differences

The correlation between depression and dysfunctional marital interaction is well documented, but only a few studies have examined gender-related differences in marital interaction patterns of couples with a depressed partner. In this paper we examined differences in observed marital communication in a sample of 62 Swiss couples presenting for treatment of depression. There were 16 maritally distressed couples with a depressed wife, 21 maritally nondistressed couples with a depressed wife, 18 maritally distressed couples with a depressed husband, and 7 maritally nondistressed couples with a depressed husband. Marital interaction behavior was found to depend on gender, depression, marital distress, as well as gender of the depressed partner. Our results suggest the need for a gender-sensitive model of the link between marital interaction and depression.