Marital support and remission of treated depression a prospective pilot study of mothers of infants and toddlers

Eighteen married mothers of infants and toddlers were evaluated before and after 12 weeks of antidepressant treatment for major depressive disorder. The women were assessed at baseline on Snyder’s marital disaffection and disharmony subscales and on selected clinical measures to evaluate these factors as correlates of remission. Remission was defined as a Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score <7 at week 12. Twelve women remitted; six did not. Nonremitted women reported high disaffection toward their husband, were in an episode of which the onset was not childbirth related (i.e., onset not within 3 months after giving birth), or their youngest child was older than 6 months. Results showed that initial symptom severity was no different for the nonremitted and remitted women. Thus, the relationships between low disaffection, late onset, and not having a child under 6 months and nonremission appear to be independent of initial severity of depressive symptoms.