CONCORDANCE FOR DEPRESSIVE-DISORDERS AND MARITAL QUALITY

Depressed patients and their spouses consistently report poor marital quality relative to couples in which neither spouse is depressed However, the potentially unique contribution of depressive concordance-when both spouses are depressed-to marital quality has not yet been examined In this paper, we use network analysis techniques to evaluate whether or not depressive concordance has an effect on marital quality above and beyond the effects of individual spouses' depressions. Whereas our results confirm prior research which documents the deleterious effects of depression on marriage, they do not support an independent effect (either positive or negative) for concordance. As such, they provide further evidence against the general hypothesis that homogamy influences marital quality.