2007 Volume 21 Issue 2 Pages 134-145
This paper examines causal relationships between depressive symptoms and marital intimacy during transition to parenthood. A series of questionnaire survey was conducted, and 228 couples at pregnancy, 155 couples at 6 month postpartum and 142 couples at 1 year postpartum provided data regarding marital intimacy and depressive symptoms. Result showed that both wives and husbands exhibited depression throughout ante- and postnatal. Also, throughout the survey, decline of intimacy was evident in both husbands and wives. On the causal relationships, it was shown for both husbands and wives, that their own intimacy toward their partners at 6 month postpartum affected their own depression at 1 year postpartum. However, from pregnancy to 6 month postpartum, the causal relations differed. For wives, causal paths emerged from their depressive symptoms during pregnancy to their marital intimacy toward husbands at 6 month postpartum, whereas for husbands, wives' depression during pregnancy affected their depression at 6 month after child birth. Also, wives' intimacy toward husbands showed significant effect on husbands' intimacy toward wives at any time point. This suggested a causal direction within couples: wives' depression during pregnancy affects their intimacy toward husbands subsequently, and which decreases husbands' intimacy toward wives.
