Transactional Relations between Marital Functioning, Spouses' Depressive Symptoms and Children's Adjustment

Marital dysfunction has been implicated in the development of psychopathology among spouses and their children. The present study investigates (1) changes in depressive symptoms among married adults and the transactional relationship between husbands' and wives' symptoms, (2) changes in two dimensions of marital functioning (namely, marital satisfaction and conflict), as well as the transactional relationship between husbands' and wives' relationship satisfaction, (3) the dynamic, longitudinal associations between depressive symptomatology and marital processes both within and between spouses, and (4) transactional relationships between parental depressive symptoms, marital functioning, and children's adjustment. Results from latent difference score (LDS) structural equation models revealed that having a spouse with high levels of depressive symptoms predicted subsequent elevations among wives' symptoms over time. Changes in husbands' depressive symptoms were proportional to their previous levels of symptomatology. Transactional associations between marital processes and depressive symptoms were found separately for husbands and wives; however, different domains of marital functioning related to husbands' versus wives' symptomatology. For husbands, bivariate LDS models revealed longitudinal coupling between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms. For wives, high levels of depressive symptoms predicted subsequent elevations in marital conflict over time. No evidence was found for longitudinal coupling between marital functioning and symptoms across spouses. Transactional relations between parental depression, marital functioning, and children's adjustment were not in the expected direction: increased levels of paternal depression and marital conflict predicted subsequent decreases in children's externalizing problems over time. Results are discussed with regard to theoretical perspectives on the marital functioning-depression link and directions for future research are outlined.