In search of a marital distress model of depression in older marriages

Traditional models of depression in later life describe the illness in terms of intra-physiologic and intra-psychic processes. In an effort to investigate and describe the interpersonal nature of depression, data on levels of depression, stress, health, and marital distress in 535 married couples was analyzed. Specifically, the results showed that marital distress was significantly associated with levels of depression for both partners and that wives' distress was also significantly related to husbands' depression. Results also showed, with a few exceptions, that levels of stress and/or health in either partner were directly and indirectly associated with depression for husbands and wives. Implications for clinical practice with and future research on later life couples experiencing depression are discussed.