The Dynamic Interplay Between Satisfaction With Intimate Relationship Functioning and Daily Mood in Low‐Income Outpatients

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12402
• Author: Molly R. Franz,Rebecca L. Brock,Erika Lawrence,Jessica J. O'Bleness
• Published date: 01 December 2019
• Date: 01 December 2019

The Dynamic Interplay Between Satisfaction With

Intimate Relationship Functioning and Daily Mood in

Low-Income Outpatients

REBECCA L. BROCK*

MOLLY R. FRANZ*

JESSICA J. O’BLENESS

†

ERIKA LAWRENCE

‡

Substantial research supports bidirectional links between intimate relationship discord

and individual psychopathology, including depressive symptoms. However, few studies

have utilized daily diary methods to capture the micro-level processes underlying the asso-

ciation between couple discord and depression, particularly among populations that are at

elevated risk for both interpersonal and individual dysfunction. To address this gap, we

examined whether daily changes in satisfaction with relationship functioning were associ-

ated with daily changes in negative affect and positive affect over the span of 2 weeks

among mental health outpatients of low socioeconomic status. Participants were 53 low-

income outpatients from community mental health clinics who completed a semi-struc-

tured interview about the quality of their intimate relationships followed by 14 da ily

reports of positive and negative mood and satisfaction with relationship functioning across

several domains. Growth curve analytic techniques revealed the hypothesized bidirectiona l

relations. Decline in satisfaction with relationship functioning predicted escalation in neg-

ative affect and deterioration in positive affect over 2 weeks, and deterioration of mood pre-

dicted declining satisfaction with relationship functioning. This study extends existin g

knowledge about couple dysfunction and individual psychopathology by highlighting the

immediate nature of this dynamic process as it unfolds over time.

Keywords: Intimate Relationship Satisfaction; Negative Affect; Positive Affect; Daily

Diary; Low-Income; Outpatients

Fam Proc 58:891–907, 2019

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide (World Health Organization,

2017) and is associated with notable distress and functional impairment (L€

owe et al.,

2008). A Couple and Family Discord Model of Depression (CFDM; Beach, 2014) recognizes

the central role of intimate relationships in the onset and course of depressive disorders,

and there is robust empirical support for this association (see Whisman & Baucom, 2012,

*University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE.

†

The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.

‡

The Family Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Rebecca Brock University of Nebraska-

Lincoln, Lincoln, NE. Rebecca Brock, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Psychology, 238

Burnett Hall, 68588-0308 E-mail: rebecca.brock@unl.edu

The first two authors are co-first authors and are listed in alphabetical order. We thank Gabby Perez,

Kassi Pham, Jaci Rolffs, Brittany Urbane, and Katie Collins for assistance with data collection and

manuscript preparation

The first two authors are co-first authors.

891

Family Process, Vol. 58, No. 4, 2019 ©2018 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12402

and Pilkington, Milne, Cairns, Lewis, & Whelan, 2015, for reviews). However, few studies

have conducted microscopic investigations of the dynamic link between intimate relation-

ships and depression as it unfolds from 1 day to the next. The primary aim of the present

study was to examine the association between changes in satisfaction with intimate rela-

tionship functioning over 2 weeks and changes in mood states closely tied to depression

(negative affect and low positive affect; Watson, 2005). This aim was pursued in a sample

of low-income individuals who were seeking mental health services, a population that

tends to be underrepresented in research despite being at elevated risk for both interper-

sonal and individual distress and impairment (e.g., Conger, Conger, & Martin, 2010; Gur-

man, 2010; Unger et al., 2013). An in-depth analysis of intimate relationship functioning

was conducted via semi-structured interviews and 14 consecutive daily reports of dyadic

interactions and satisfaction across several relationship domains.

The Role of Intimate Relationships in Depression

Substantial research demonstrates that depression is robustly associated with inti-

mate relationship maladjustment (e.g., Brock, Kroska, & Lawrence, 2016; Whisman,

2007). In a meta-analysis of 26 studies, researchers found that 44% of the variance in

depressive symptoms is explained by concurrent intimate relationship dissatisfaction

(Whisman, 2001). Further, several longitudinal studies demonstrate temporal prece-

dence of intimate relationship discord as a predictor of later depression (Beach, Katz,

Kim, & Brody, 2003; Giallo et al., 2017; Whisman & Bruce, 1999). Taken together, this

research suggests that couple dysfunction may be a driving force in the onset and

course of depressive disorders.

This link between intimate relationship discord and depression is consistent with

Coyne’s (1976) interpersonal theory of depression, which identified excessive reassur-

ance seeking and lowered social support as key contributors to depression. In an exten-

sion of this early work, Joiner et al. have found heightened rates of corumination,

reassurance seeking, and negative feedback seeking occurring in relationships with one

or more depressed partners (Joiner & Metalsky, 1995). For example, depressed individ-

uals tend to seek confirmation from their partners that they are valued, loved, and

worthy (Joiner, Metalsky, Katz, & Beach, 1999), but also solicit disapproval and criti-

cism (Joiner, 1995). These behaviors contribute to increased hostility and stress (e.g.,

Pettit & Joiner, 2006; Timmons & Joiner, 2008) which ultimately increase symptoms

(Starr, 2015). Partners of depressed individuals are more likely to demonstrate hostility

directed toward the depressed person (e.g., blaming, attacking, ignoring), and research

has demonstrated that such displays of expressed emotion by loved ones are associated

with relapse in mood disorders (see Butzlaff & Hooley, 1998, for a meta-analysis).

Thus, dyadic processes are central to understanding the complex link between intimate

relationships and depression (Knobloch-Fedders, Knobloch, Durbin, Rosen, & Critch-

field, 2013).

Focusing on low-income, treatment-seeking populations

The bulk of research investigating processes contributing to depression has relied on

student or community samples of higher functioning individuals (Tennen, Hall, &

Affleck, 1995). Researchers have questioned whether college students endorsing symp-

toms of depression on self-report questionnaires are truly manifesting clinically signifi-

cant levels of distress frequently seen among treatment-seeking populations (Tennen

et al., 1995), an argument that extends to research with community samples. Further,

treatment-seeking populations are at elevated risk for relationship dysfunction (Gur-

man, 2010) and could be more sensitive to the effects of interpersonal stress (Rounsav-

ille, Weissman, Prusoff, & Herceg-Baron, 1979). Alternatively, consistent with a

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