Partnership and Extended Family Relationship Quality Moderate Associations Between Lifetime Psychiatric Diagnoses and Current Depressive Symptoms in Midlife

Abstract

Adult close relationships, both in marriage and extended family, are hypothesized to be foremost among potential supports and influences on adult development, and the quality of these close relationships has been associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. In a socioeconomically diverse sample of 182 midlife Black/African American and White/European American men and women, we examined whether close relationship quality moderated the association between lifetime diagnosis of mood and/or anxiety disorder and current symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results supported a buffering hypothesis, such that adults with these lifetime diagnoses and higher quality, supportive, and reciprocal extended family relationships had low depressive symptoms, comparable to those who had no lifetime history of mood/anxiety disorders. Further evidence for a buffering effect of close relationships was seen when both marital and extended family relationships were examined together. When the three risk factors were considered together, that is, lifetime diagnoses, extended family quality, and marital quality, they were additive with respect to predicting depressive symptoms.