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Marital Distress (marital + distress)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences57%
Medical Sciences28%

Selected Abstracts

Pathways Among Marital Distress, Parental Symptomatology, and Child Adjustment

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 2 2004
Lauren M. Papp
A community sample of 295 mothers, fathers, and children (M age = 11.14 years, SD = 2.32 years) rated marital distress, maternal and paternal psychological symptoms, and child adjustment. The predicted direct relations between these family and child variables were demonstrated for both fathers and mothers. Tests of pathways among these variables were conducted for separate but complementary mediation models. Maternal and paternal symptoms mediated the association between marital distress and child adjustment. Marital distress mediated the link between fathers' symptoms and child adjustment, but the direct pathway between mothers' symptoms and child adjustment remained. Pubertal status was modestly related to higher levels of family stressors. Joint implications of marital distress and parental symptoms for child adjustment are discussed. [source]

Associations Between Coerced Anal Sex and Psychopathology, Marital Distress and Non-Sexual Violence

THE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 7 2009
Parvaneh Mohammadkhani PhD
ABSTRACT Background., There is a dearth of scientific data on anal intercourse in heterosexual relationships. Likewise, anal sex within marital relationships has yet to be fully explored. Objectives., Among a representative sample of married women in the Iranian capital, Tehran, we aimed to determine the association of self-reported coerced anal sex with: (i) self-reported coerced vaginal sex; (ii) self-reported non-sexual violence; (iii) psychopathology; and (iv) marital attitude. Method., The data presented here were obtained from the Family Violence Survey conducted in Tehran in 2007. A total of 230 married Iranian women were selected via a multi-cluster sampling method from four different randomized regions. The subjects' sociodemographic data, psychological distress (Symptom Check List; SCL-90-R), personality, and relationship characteristics (Personal and Relationships Profile), and marital attitude (Marital Attitude Survey) were gathered. In addition, the participants' self-reported histories of lifetime victimization through all types of violence by the husband, including coerced anal and vaginal sex as well as psychological and physical assault (Conflict Tactic Scales-Revised; CTS-2), were collected. Results., There were associations between self-reported victimization through coerced anal and vaginal sex (P < 0.001), psychological (P < 0.001), and physical aggression (P < 0.001). Those reporting to have been forced into anal intercourse cited higher rates of paranoid and psychotic features, jealousy, attribution of problems to one's own behavior, conflict, and male dominance, as well as lower expectations of improvement in one's marital relationship. Conclusion., In marital relationships, women are at a higher risk of coerced anal sex if subjected to other types of sexual or non-sexual violence. Higher rates of psychopathology and poorer marital relationships are also allied to self-reported anal sexual coercion. Mohammadkhani P, Khooshabi KS, Forouzan AS, Azadmehr H, Assari S, and Lankarani MM. Associations between coerced anal sex and psychopathology, marital distress and non-sexual violence. J Sex Med 2009;6:1938,1946. [source]

Pathways Among Marital Distress, Parental Symptomatology, and Child Adjustment

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 2 2004
Lauren M. Papp
A community sample of 295 mothers, fathers, and children (M age = 11.14 years, SD = 2.32 years) rated marital distress, maternal and paternal psychological symptoms, and child adjustment. The predicted direct relations between these family and child variables were demonstrated for both fathers and mothers. Tests of pathways among these variables were conducted for separate but complementary mediation models. Maternal and paternal symptoms mediated the association between marital distress and child adjustment. Marital distress mediated the link between fathers' symptoms and child adjustment, but the direct pathway between mothers' symptoms and child adjustment remained. Pubertal status was modestly related to higher levels of family stressors. Joint implications of marital distress and parental symptoms for child adjustment are discussed. [source]

Marital quality and survivorship

CANCER, Issue 1 2009
Slowed recovery for breast cancer patients in distressed relationships
Abstract BACKGROUD: Although marital distress has been implicated in difficulties with adjustment to a breast cancer diagnosis, its long-term effects, especially on physical recovery, are unknown. METHODS: Longitudinal data from newly diagnosed breast cancer patients (N = 100) who were married or cohabiting were used. Patients were assessed after diagnosis and surgery (baseline) and then reassessed every 4 or 6 months for the next 5 years. Women in stable, distressed relationships (n = 28) were compared with those in stable, nondistressed relationships (n = 72). Stress, health behavior, and health outcomes were examined using mixed-effects modeling. RESULTS: Overall, marital distress was associated with slowed recovery trajectories and poor outcomes. At baseline, both groups had equivalent, high levels of stress, but diverged thereafter. Stress declined more slowly for the Distressed group, and by 5 years it remained significantly higher. Differential reductions in physical activity were also observed. With regard to health, the Distressed group was found to have a slower recovery in performance status and more symptoms/signs of illness and treatment side effects through 3 years. Finally, all the effects were observed above and beyond reductions occurring with depressive symptomatology, which was significantly higher in the Distressed group. CONCLUSIONS: Marital distress is not only associated with worse psychologic outcomes for breast cancer survivors, but poorer health and a steeper decline in physical activity. These novel data demonstrate recovery trajectories for breast cancer survivors to be constrained for those also coping with ongoing difficulties in their marriage. Cancer 2009. © 2008 American Cancer Society. [source]

Marital Research in the 20th Century and a Research Agenda for the 21st Century

FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 2 2002
John M. Gottman Ph.D.
In this article we review the advances made in the 20th century in studying marriages. Progress moved from a self-report, personality-based approach to the study of interaction in the 1950s, following the advent of general systems theory. This shift led, beginning in the 1970s, to the rapid development of marital research using a multimethod approach. The development of more sophisticated observational measures in the 1970s followed theorizing about family process that was begun in the decade of the 1950s. New techniques for observation, particularly the study of affect and the merging of synchronized data streams using observational and self-report perceptual data, and the use of sequential and time-series analyses produced new understandings of process and power. Research in the decades of the 1980s and 1990s witnessed the realization of many secular changes in the American family, including the changing role of women, social science's discovery of violence and incest in the family, the beginning of the study of cultural variation in marriages, the expansion of the measurement of marital outcomes to include longevity, health, and physiology (including the immune system), and the study of co-morbidities that accompany marital distress. A research agenda for the 21st century is then described. [source]

Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy and the Facilitation of Forgiveness

JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 1 2010
Leslie Greenberg
The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an emotion-focused couple therapy intervention for resolving emotional injuries. Twenty couples acting as their own waitlist controls were offered a 10,12-session treatment to help resolve unresolved anger and hurt from a betrayal, an abandonment, or an identity insult that they had been unable to resolve for at least 2 years. Treated couples fared significantly better on all outcome measures over the treatment period compared to the waitlist period. They showed a significant improvement in dyadic satisfaction, trust, and forgiveness as well as improvement on symptom and target complaint measures. Changes were maintained on all of the measures at 3-month follow-up except trust, on which the injured partners deteriorated. At the end of treatment, 11 couples were identified as having completely forgiven their partners and six had made progress toward forgiveness compared with only three having made progress toward forgiveness over the waitlist period. The results suggest that EFT is effective in alleviating marital distress and promoting forgiveness in a brief period of time but that additional sessions may be needed to enhance enduring change. [source]

PREDICTING 2-YEAR MARITAL SATISFACTION FROM PARTNERS' DISCUSSION OF THEIR MARRIAGE CHECKUP

JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 4 2002
Christina B. Gee
This study tested whether the observed marital interactions of partners follwing a marriage checkup predicted marital satisfaction 2 years later. In addition, this study examined whether recommendations to pursue therapy predicted subsequent treatment seeking and whether changes in marital distress follwing the checkup remained stable over 2 years. Results suggest that the affective tone of a couple's interaction predicts later marital satisfaction. Further, receiving a treatment recommendation predicted subsequent treatment seeking for wives. Finally, support was found for the hypothesis that changes in marital distress are self-sustaining. [source]

RELATIONSHIP STATISFACTION OF MEXICAN AMERICAN AND NON-HISPANIC WHITE AMERICAN INTERETHNIC COUPLES: ISSUES OF ACCULTURATION AND CLINICAL INTERVENTION

JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 3 2000
Charles Negy
Despite the increasing prevalence of interethnic marriages, remarkably little empirical literature exists for guiding clinical interventions offered to these couples. This study compared the marriages of 72 couples with one Mexican-American partner and one non-Hispanic White American partner, 75 Mexican-American couples, and 66 non-Hispanic White couples. Overall, the interethnic couples were more similar to non-Hispanic White couples than they were to Mexican-American couples across multiple domains, with the latter group indicating modestly higher levels of relationship distress. Among interethnic couples, Mexican-American wives' level of acculturation related significantly to both their own marital- and parental-role orientation and to distress in their relationships with children, as well as to their husbands' marital distress regarding child rearing and the couple's interactions regarding finances. Implications for clinical interventions with Mexican- and White-American interethnic couples are discussed. [source]

Pathways Among Marital Distress, Parental Symptomatology, and Child Adjustment

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 2 2004
Lauren M. Papp
A community sample of 295 mothers, fathers, and children (M age = 11.14 years, SD = 2.32 years) rated marital distress, maternal and paternal psychological symptoms, and child adjustment. The predicted direct relations between these family and child variables were demonstrated for both fathers and mothers. Tests of pathways among these variables were conducted for separate but complementary mediation models. Maternal and paternal symptoms mediated the association between marital distress and child adjustment. Marital distress mediated the link between fathers' symptoms and child adjustment, but the direct pathway between mothers' symptoms and child adjustment remained. Pubertal status was modestly related to higher levels of family stressors. Joint implications of marital distress and parental symptoms for child adjustment are discussed. [source]

Associations Between Coerced Anal Sex and Psychopathology, Marital Distress and Non-Sexual Violence

THE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 7 2009
Parvaneh Mohammadkhani PhD
ABSTRACT Background., There is a dearth of scientific data on anal intercourse in heterosexual relationships. Likewise, anal sex within marital relationships has yet to be fully explored. Objectives., Among a representative sample of married women in the Iranian capital, Tehran, we aimed to determine the association of self-reported coerced anal sex with: (i) self-reported coerced vaginal sex; (ii) self-reported non-sexual violence; (iii) psychopathology; and (iv) marital attitude. Method., The data presented here were obtained from the Family Violence Survey conducted in Tehran in 2007. A total of 230 married Iranian women were selected via a multi-cluster sampling method from four different randomized regions. The subjects' sociodemographic data, psychological distress (Symptom Check List; SCL-90-R), personality, and relationship characteristics (Personal and Relationships Profile), and marital attitude (Marital Attitude Survey) were gathered. In addition, the participants' self-reported histories of lifetime victimization through all types of violence by the husband, including coerced anal and vaginal sex as well as psychological and physical assault (Conflict Tactic Scales-Revised; CTS-2), were collected. Results., There were associations between self-reported victimization through coerced anal and vaginal sex (P < 0.001), psychological (P < 0.001), and physical aggression (P < 0.001). Those reporting to have been forced into anal intercourse cited higher rates of paranoid and psychotic features, jealousy, attribution of problems to one's own behavior, conflict, and male dominance, as well as lower expectations of improvement in one's marital relationship. Conclusion., In marital relationships, women are at a higher risk of coerced anal sex if subjected to other types of sexual or non-sexual violence. Higher rates of psychopathology and poorer marital relationships are also allied to self-reported anal sexual coercion. Mohammadkhani P, Khooshabi KS, Forouzan AS, Azadmehr H, Assari S, and Lankarani MM. Associations between coerced anal sex and psychopathology, marital distress and non-sexual violence. J Sex Med 2009;6:1938,1946. [source]

Marital quality and survivorship

CANCER, Issue 1 2009
Slowed recovery for breast cancer patients in distressed relationships
Abstract BACKGROUD: Although marital distress has been implicated in difficulties with adjustment to a breast cancer diagnosis, its long-term effects, especially on physical recovery, are unknown. METHODS: Longitudinal data from newly diagnosed breast cancer patients (N = 100) who were married or cohabiting were used. Patients were assessed after diagnosis and surgery (baseline) and then reassessed every 4 or 6 months for the next 5 years. Women in stable, distressed relationships (n = 28) were compared with those in stable, nondistressed relationships (n = 72). Stress, health behavior, and health outcomes were examined using mixed-effects modeling. RESULTS: Overall, marital distress was associated with slowed recovery trajectories and poor outcomes. At baseline, both groups had equivalent, high levels of stress, but diverged thereafter. Stress declined more slowly for the Distressed group, and by 5 years it remained significantly higher. Differential reductions in physical activity were also observed. With regard to health, the Distressed group was found to have a slower recovery in performance status and more symptoms/signs of illness and treatment side effects through 3 years. Finally, all the effects were observed above and beyond reductions occurring with depressive symptomatology, which was significantly higher in the Distressed group. CONCLUSIONS: Marital distress is not only associated with worse psychologic outcomes for breast cancer survivors, but poorer health and a steeper decline in physical activity. These novel data demonstrate recovery trajectories for breast cancer survivors to be constrained for those also coping with ongoing difficulties in their marriage. Cancer 2009. © 2008 American Cancer Society. [source]

Moderated validity of clinical informant assessment: use in depression and personality

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 2 2003
J. H. Kamphuis
Informant assessment or indirect assessment is often a valuable adjunct in clinical practice. Validity of informant assessment has typically been measured as the degree of agreement with self-report, and has generally been encouraging in both non-clinical and clinical samples. The present article describes two small-scale validity studies in an inpatient psychiatric setting and in the community at large, respectively. The first study in a depressed inpatient sample reports on self- and informant-ratings of depressive symptoms, and also examines the moderating influence of informant levels of depression. Results of this study indicate that partners are able to make fairly accurate estimates of the depressed patient's clinical status in terms of depressive symptoms. The second study reports on female participants' personality descriptions of their male partner, and examines to what extent marital distress moderates the agreement. Overall agreement between self- and spouse-ratings of personality traits was satisfactory to high, and the degree of marital distress was not a factor in the accuracy of judgment. Generally, agreement indices were solid and close to test,retest values. Clinical utility and directions for future applications of informant assessment are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]