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Abstract
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Aims: Marital disillusionment captures both the decline in positive emotion and the increase in negative emotion around perception of a spouse, and in newlyweds, marital disillusionment predicts divorce. Previous studies have revealed an association between depression and marital disillusionment, but this study expanded the association to include gender along with depression and marital disillusionment. Methods: Participants (N = 1,404; 269 men and 1,135 women), who responded to an online questionnaire, had to be married for fewer than five years, be aged 30 or under, have no children, and be heterosexual. The study evaluated depression levels (none, moderate, or serious) and marital disillusionment among newlyweds. Two-way analysis of variance was performed to analyze effects of depression and gender on marital disillusionment. Results and Conclusions: Results revealed statistically significant differences in the depression effect (F (2, 1398) = 74.26, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.10) and interaction effects (F (2, 1398) = 5.58, p < 0.01, partial η2 = 0.01). Simple slope analysis revealed that more serious depression increased marital disillusionment for both men and women, but it increased marital disillusionment more for men than for women, and when depression was moderate or serious, men were more likely to feel marital disillusionment than women. These results show that when evaluating marital disillusionment, considering depression and gender is essential.
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