Psychology
Document Type
Article
Abstract
In the United States, 21 million adults are diagnosed with depression. Couple therapy effectively treats depression, however, couples encounter access barriers. The Relationship Checkup is an assessment and feedback intervention delivered in participants' homes. The current study examines changes in relationship satisfaction and depressive symptoms, and moderators and mechanisms of change in a community sample (N = 85 couples). Changes in depressive symptoms and satisfaction, and the association between changes in satisfaction and depressive symptoms were examined with multilevel modeling. Depressive symptoms (Cohen's d = 0.36) and satisfaction (d = 1.43) improved from baseline to 1-month follow-up, with greater declines in depression (d = 0.44) for those with more severe symptoms. Increases in satisfaction were associated with decreases in depressive symptoms (d = 0.23), and decreases in depressive symptoms were associated with increases in satisfaction (d = 0.33). Individuals with depression and relationship distress may be well served by this intervention. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
Publication Title
Journal of Marital and Family Therapy
Publication Date
1-2024
Volume
50
Issue
1
First Page
120
Last Page
135
ISSN
0194-472X
DOI
10.1111/jmft.12673
Keywords
brief intervention, couples, depressive symptoms, relationship satisfaction
Repository Citation
Mitchell, Erica A.; Roberson, Patricia N.E.; DiPillo, Michaela; Cordova, James V.; and Coop Gordon, Kristina, "Improvements in depressive symptoms following a brief relationship intervention" (2024). Psychology. 817.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_psychology/817
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.