Interpersonal Behavior Differences During Conflict Discussions in Couples with Depression
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Authors
Potthoff, Andrea L.
Issue Date
2010
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Depression research suggests that there is a strong link between depressive symptoms and
marital distress (Weissman, 1987). For the past several decades, numerous theories have
attempted to explain this correlation by describing the interpersonal behaviors of romantic
couples in which one partner is depressed. Although these theories differ substantially, they all
suggest a consistency of behavior across situations. However, emerging evidence on the social .
functioning of depressed individuals, suggests that the interpersonal behavior of depressed
individuals can be affected by subtle changes in their social environment, specifically in
instances of perceived inferiority (Zuroff, Fournier, Moskowitz, 2007). Thus, it is important to
examine how the interpersonal behavior of couples with a depressed partner changes across
different situations in order to truly understand the link between depressive symptoms and
marital distress. Specifically, participants were instructed to discuss two conflict topics,
identified by the depressed partner and non-depressed partner, respectively. Participants were
21 heterosexual couples in which one partner met the criteria for major depressive disorder or
dysthymic disorder. The behavior of the depressed patients and non-depressed partners was
analyzed separately across the two conditions using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior
(SASB) coding system (Benjamin, 1996). Results indicate that depressed patients exhibited
more submissive behavior in the partner conflict discussion than in the patient conflict
discussion. This finding suggests that the interpersonal behavior of couples with a depressed
partner does change across situations, something that the current interpersonal theories of
depression fail to acknowledge.
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v, 66 p.
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