Personality and the Synthesis of Hassles, Depressive Symptoms, and Marital Satisfaction in Distressed Couples Before and After a Marital Intervention

Ian Gornall

Date of Award

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Ryan, Kimberly

Keywords

Intervention, Marriage, Personality, Stress, Depression

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

Components of stress and distress, hassles, depressive symptoms, and low marital satisfaction, are analyzed in relation to each other. These analyses are used to describe cycles of stress and distress, between hassles and depressive symptoms, between depressive symptoms and low marital satisfaction, and between hassles and low marital satisfaction mediated by depressive symptoms. Neuroticism is used as a variable for synthesis of components of stress and distress. Cyclical distress varied in relation to levels of neuroticism as predicted by stress-sensitization. Changes in cyclical distress from before to after the marital intervention demonstrated the effects of improved coping, social support, and judgment discontinuity. Relating these changes back to neuroticism demonstrated that, after the intervention, cycles of distress varied more profoundly in relation to synthesis. Future directions for expanding analyses of outcome studies beyond change in individual variables to analyses of interrelationships between domains of stress and distress, and interpreting these expansive analyses in relation to synthesis, are discussed.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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