Marital adjustment in major depression

The association between depression and marital adjustment is examined in 45 married inpatients with major depression as compared to 45 normal controls from the same community. The marriages of the depressed couples were significantly worse in all areas of functioning than were those of the normals. Two risk factors which distinguished the families of origin of the depressed and normal couples were history of divorce and/or separation in parents and death in the family. In addition, twice as many of the children of the depressives had serious medical or psychiatric illness compared to those of the normals.