Marital Adjustment as a Predictor of Outcome in Individual Treatment of Depression

Abstract

Based on the data from the NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program, this study examined the impact of marital adjustment on depressed married patients in the context of individual treatment. Results indicated that patients' level of marital adjustment at termination and the extent of marital improvement over the course of treatment significantly predicted treatment outcome at follow-up in terms of both depressive symptoms and social functioning. However, patients' marital adjustment at pretreatment, stating marital improvement as a treatment goal by patients or therapists, treatment modality, and gender, did not predict treatment outcome.