Stress in Marital Interaction and Change in Depression: A Longitudinal Analysis

The research undertakes a longitudinal analysis of a model of the effects of stress in marital interaction on change in depressive symptoms as mediated by unfavorable reflected appraisals, low competency, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. The participants were 98 randomly selected married couples interviewed at two separate points in time. The data supported the proposed model. Stressors in marital interaction are associated with unfavorable reflected appraisals that have a direct effect on self-efficacy and an indirect effect on self-esteem. These two self-assessments have a direct effect on depressive symptoms after controlling for lagged level of depressive symptoms. A key variable is self-efficacy, which mediates the effect of reflected appraisals on self-esteem and has a direct effect on change in depressive symptoms.