Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to submit your manuscript to SPPS

SAGETRACK

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cohen, S.
Right arrow Articles by O'Leary, K. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

The role of separation/divorce in relapse into and recovery from major depression

Shiri Cohen

Stony Brook University, shiri.cohen{at}stonybrook.edu, shcohen{at}challiance.org

Daniel N. Klein

Stony Brook University

K. Daniel O'Leary

Stony Brook University

This study examined the effects of marital dissolution on two potential outcomes, relapse into and recovery from major depression, within a sample that explicitly faces the recurring risk of depression. Among subjects who were depressed at the time of marital dissolution, Cox proportional hazards models revealed a five-fold increased probability of recovering from major depression for subjects who experienced a separation/ divorce relative to subjects who did not separate/divorce. Among subjects who were remitted/recovered at the time of marital dissolution, analyses did not reveal a significant probability of relapsing into major depression following a separation/divorce. These findings suggest that among individuals with a history of major depression and marital stressors, experiencing a separation/divorce may function to alleviate rather than precipitate depression.

Key Words: clinical psychology • depression • divorce • marital dissolution • mental health effects of divorce • separation

References

  • Aseltine, R.H., & Kessler, R.C. (1993). Marital disruption and depression in a community sample . Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 34, 237—251.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Brown, G.W., Adler, Z., & Bifulco, A. (1988). Life events, difficulties and recovery from chronic depression . British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 487—498.[Abstract]
  • Brown, G.W., & Harris, T.O. (1978). Social origins of depression: A study of psychiatric disorder in women. London: Tavistock.
  • Brown, G.W., Harris, T.O., & Hepworth, C. (1995). Loss, humiliation and entrapment among women developing depression: A patient and non-patient comparison . Psychological Medicine, 25, 7—21.[Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Bruce, M.L. (1998). Divorce and psychopathology. In B. P. Dohrenwend (Ed.), Adversity, stress, and psychopathology (pp. 219—234). New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Cano, A., & O'Leary, K.D. (2000). Infidelity and separations precipitate major depressive episodes and symptoms of nonspecific depression and anxiety . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 774—781.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Christian-Herman, J.L., O'Leary, K.D., & Avery-Leaf, S. (2001). The impact of severe negative events in marriage on depression . Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 25—44.
  • Coryell, W., Akiskal, H.S., Leon, A.C., Winokur, G., Maser, J.D., Mueller, T.I., & Keller, M.B. (1994). The time course of nonchronic major depressive disorder: Uniformity across episodes and samples . Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 405—410.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Coyne, J.C. (1976). Toward an interactional description of depression . Psychiatry, 39, 28—40.[Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Coyne, J.C., Kessler, R.C., Tal, M., Turnbull, J., Wortman, C., & Greden, J. (1987). Living with a depressed person: Burden and psychological distress . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 347—352.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Coyne, J.C., Pepper, C.M., & Flynn, H. (1999). Significance of prior episodes of depression in two populations . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 76—81.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Dew, M.A., & Bromet, E.J. (1991). Effects of depression on support in a community sample of women. In J. Eckenrode (Ed.), The social context of coping (pp. 189—210). New York: Plenum.
  • Green, R.G. (1983). The influence of divorce prediction variables on divorce adjustment: An expansion and test of Lewis and Spanier's theory of marital quality and marital stability . Journal of Divorce, 7, 67—81.[Web of Science]
  • Hammen, C. (1991). Generation of stress in the course of unipolar depression . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 555—561.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Hooley, J.M. (1986). Expressed emotion and depression: Interaction between patients and high- vs. low-expressed emotion spouses . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 237—246.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Hooley, J.M., & Teasdale, J.D. (1989). Predictors of relapse in unipolar depressives: Expressed emotion, marital distress and perceived criticism . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98, 229—35.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Judd, L.L. (1998). The clinical course of unipolar major depressive disorders . Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 989—991.[Web of Science]
  • Keller, M.B., Lavori, P.W., Friedman, B., Nielsen, E., Endicott, J., McDonald-Scott, P., & Andreasen, N.C. (1987). The Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation: A comprehensive method for assessing outcome in prospective longitudinal studies . Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 540—548.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Keller, M.B., Lavori, P.W., Lewis, C.E., & Klerman, G. (1983). Predictors of relapse in major depressive disorder. Journal of the American Medical Association, 250, 3299—3304.[CrossRef]
  • Kendler, K.S., Kessler, R.C., Walters, E.E., MacLean, C., Neale, M.C., Heath, A.C., & Eaves, L.J. (1995). Stressful life events, genetic liability, and onset of an episode of major depression in women . American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 833—842.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Kendler, K.S., Thornton, L.M., & Gardner, C.O. (2000). Stressful life events and previous episodes in the etiology of major depression in women: An evaluation of the "kindling" hypothesis . American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1243—1251.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Kessler, R.C., McGonagle, K.A., Zhao, S., Nelson, C.B., Hughes, M., Eshleman, S., Wittchen, H.U., & Kendler, K.S. (1994). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey . Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 8—19.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Kessler, R.C., Walters, E.E., & Forthofer, M.S. (1998). The social consequences of psychiatric disorders, III: Probability of marital stability . American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 1092—1096.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Klein, D.N., Norden, K.A., Ferro, T., Leader, J.B., Kasch, K.L., Klein, L.M., Schwartz, J.E., & Aronson,T.A. (1998). Thirty-month naturalistic follow-up study of early-onset dysthymic disorder: Course, diagnostic stability, and prediction of outcome . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 338—348.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Klein, D.N., Schwartz, J.E., Rose, S., & Leader, J.B. (2000). Five-year course and outcome of dysthymic disorder: A prospective, naturalistic follow-up study . American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 931—939.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Leenstra, A.S., Ormel, J., & Giel, R. (1995). Positive life change and recovery from depression and anxiety . British Journal of Psychiatry, 166, 333—343.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • McLeod, J.D., Kessler, R.C., & Landis, K.R. (1992). Speed of recovery from major depressive episodes in a community sample of married men and women . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101(2), 277—186.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Miller, I.W., Bishop, S., Norman, W.H., & Maddever, H. (1985). The Modified Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression: Reliability and validity . Psychiatry Research, 14, 131—142.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Paykel, E.S. (1997). The Interview for Recent Life Events . Psychological Medicine, 27, 301—310.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Ronalds, C., Creed, F., Stone, K., Webb, S., & Tomenson, B. (1997). Outcome of anxiety and depressive disorders in primary care . British Journal of Psychiatry, 171, 427—433.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Spitzer, R.L., Williams, J.B.W., Gibbon, M., & First, M.B. (1990). User's Guide for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
  • Surtees, P.G., & Barkley, C. (1994). Future imperfect: The long-term outcome of depression . British Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 327—341.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Tennant, C., Bebbington, P., & Hurry, J. (1981). The short-term outcome of neurotic disorders in the community: The relation of remission to clinical factors and to "neutralizing" life events . British Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 213—220.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Wheaton, B. (1990). Life transitions, role histories, and mental health . American Sociological Review, 55, 209—223.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Wortman, C.B., Silver, R.C., & Kessler, R.C. (1993). The meaning of loss and adjustment to bereavement. In M. Stroebe, W. Stroebe, & R. Hansson (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 349—366). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 24, No. 6, 855-873 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407507084187
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?



This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cohen, S.
Right arrow Articles by O'Leary, K. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?