Depressive Symptoms,Sex and Perceptions of Intimate Relationships

Abstract

Empirical evidence indicates that depression in one partner is negatively associated with marital variables, and suggests that the marital relationship may be critical to the course and outcome of the depressive episode. Two exploratory studies of intimate relationships addressed: (a) gender differences in dysphoric individuals' perceptions of themselves and their intimate partners, and (b) whether depressive symptomatology had differential effects on non-dysphoric partners depending on the gender of the dysphoric partner. Study 1 examined 145 female and 99 male university students. No evidence was found for sex differences in the perceptions of dysphoric students. Dysphoric students perceived both themselves and their partners as behaving more coldly, and perceived their relationships to be less complementary, than did non-dysphoric students. Study 2 examined 136 cohabiting heterosexual couples. No striking sex differences were found in the perceptions of dysphoric partners, although husband-dysphoric and wife-dysphoric couples showed subtle differences. The gender of the dysphoric person was also associated differentially with depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction in the partner. Implications for therapy with depressed couples and for future research are discussed.