Intimate Partner Aggression Predicts Depressive Symptomatology Across the First 9 Years of Marriage

Objective: Extant literature has demonstrated a link between intimate partner aggression and depressive symptomatology. However, most research has been limited to designs that consider only one partner’s aggression within couples. Method: In the present study, newlywed couples (N = 634) who were at least 18 years old, spoke English, and did not have a previous marriage completed assessments consisting of self-reporting psychological and physical partner aggression and depressive symptomatology across six waves during the first 9 years of marriage. Results: Dyadic mixed-effect regression models indicated that, at the between-person level (i.e., individual differences), there were significant positive associations between husbands’ and wives’ experience of psychological aggression from a partner, husbands’ use of psychological aggression toward a partner, and wives’ experience of physical aggression from a partner with depressive symptoms. At the within-person level (i.e., time varying), in years when husbands or wives experienced more psychological aggression from their partner than typical for them, they also experienced more depressive symptoms. For husbands, this effect was stronger in years involving more bidirectional aggression. For wives, experiencing more psychological aggression from a partner in a given year predicted more subsequent depressive symptoms. However, this association was not significant following years with more bidirectional aggression. Conclusions: Overall, these findings show that both past and concurrent intimate partner aggression are positively associated with depressive symptoms during the first 9 years of marriage. Additionally, these effects vary by gender and the degree to which individuals use aggression toward their partner.