Psychometric properties of the Marital Adjustment Scale during cognitive therapy for depression: New research opportunities.

Abstract

Poor dyadic adjustment in marital or similar relationships is common among patients seeking individual cognitive therapy (CT) for major depressive disorder (MDD). Here we examined the psychometric properties of the marital adjustment subscale (MAS) of the Social Adjustment Scale-Self-report (SAS-SR; Weissman & Bothwell, 1976). Among married or cohabiting patients receiving individual CT for recurrent MDD (N ϭ 306) in the context of two randomized controlled trials, the MAS demonstrated moderate internal consistency and test-retest reliability, strong convergence with the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976), and moderate relations with interpersonal problems and depressive symptoms. Controlling baseline depressive symptom severity, greater pre-CT relationship discord on the MAS predicted less reduction in depressive symptom severity and lower odds of depression remission during CT. These results support the reliability, validity, and potential utility of the MAS. Using the MAS may help investigators "mine" existing data sets including the SAS-SR to further understanding of dyadic functioning and its potential impact on depression treatment and other health outcomes. Public Significance StatementThis study provided evidence that the Marital Adjustment Scale is a useful measure of the quality of marital or similar relationships and helps predict whether patients with depression will have good outcomes if treated with cognitive therapy.

Psychometric functioning, measurement invariance, and external associations of the Relationship Assessment Scale in a sample of Polish Adults

“…Relationship satisfaction is associated with various outcomes for both individuals' and families' well-being 1 , 2 . Therefore, “[…] the importance of knowing more about how to measure adjustment in intimate partnerships” 3 , p 1029 as well as the psychometric properties of the research instruments used to measure relationship satisfaction is particularly crucial 2 , 4 . Among multiple research instruments designed to measure relationship satisfaction, the 7-item Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) 5 , 6 is one of the most widely and frequently used tools to assess satisfaction with marital and nonmarital relationships 7 , 8 and has been adapted for the assessment of satisfaction with other types of relationships, such as relationships with parents, friends, and other types of relatives 9 .…”

A new way to measure partner burden in depression: Construction, validation, and sensitivity to change of the partner burden in depression questionnaire

“…Further, common psychotherapy treatments have shown only small to medium effects on improvement in social functioning, which could not be fully explained by the improvement of depressive symptoms (Renner et al, 2014). It is helpful to measure marital adjustment in patients with depressive symptoms to improve their outcomes in individual psychotherapy (Vittengl et al, 2020). Partners are likely to play an important role in the cure, maintenance, or worsening of depression.…”