(PS10-A14) The Association Between Relationship Conflict and Depression: A Meta-analytic Review

Although the direct association between relationship conflict and depression is well-documented, there is limited understanding of which aspects of relationship conflict are most strongly related to depressive symptoms, and for whom this association is strongest. This meta-analytic study examined the cross-sectional association between relationship conflict and depression in adult romantic relationships. We further considered the extent to which this association differed based on the dimension of conflict assessed, partner sex, and conflict measurement. Effects from 134 studies were analyzed. There was a small, positive average weighted effect size, r = .27, indicating that higher levels of relationship conflict were related to higher levels of depressive symptoms. Heterogeneity analyses suggested there was a significant amount of variance between studies beyond what was explained by relationship conflict and depression, Q(133) = 1000000, p < .001. Analyses separated by conflict dimension indicated that this relation was significant for each dimension, and was strongest for conflict frequency, r = .29, and destructive conflict behaviors, r = .25. Further, relationship conflict measurement type was a significantly moderator, Q = 21.27 , p < .001, such that questionnaire measures of conflict were more strongly associated with depression, r = .30, than observational coding measures of conflict, r = .18. Depression was primarily measured through self-report questionnaires across studies. Partner sex was not a significant moderator, Q = 3.40 , p = .065.

These findings are consistent with existing theories including the diathesis stress model of depression (Coyne, 1976) and stress generation theory (Hammen, 1991), which propose mechanisms for the link between depression and broad relationship dysfunction. The findings considering the association between different dimensions of relationship conflict and depression are consistent with research on monomethod reporter biases and psychometric properties of questionnaire and observational measures (i.e., self-report measures typically have higher reliability than observational measures). The findings pertaining to gender challenge existing theory, including diathesis stress theories of depression and gender socialization theories suggesting that relationship conflict may be especially important for women, and therefore more strongly related to depression. Findings from this meta-analysis provide directions for future research by illustrating a need to further investigate moderators of the association between relationship conflict and depressive symptoms. Given the lack of theory considering the mechanisms underlying the link between dimensions of conflict and depression in adults, it is important to develop and test such theories to better understand these mechanisms and facilitate more efficient interventions. Additionally, given the large amount of heterogeneity present in the summary effect model, this study provides support for future research to further explore the variance in this relation in order to better understand these constructs and ultimately provide opportunities to intervene with couples most at risk for conflict and depression.