The depressive symptom contagion between romantic partners explained by anxious attachment.

Abstract

Depression can be contagious. This means that not only do depressed individuals experience depressive symptoms, but their romantic partners are also at risk of vicariously experiencing depressive symptoms. From an attachment lens, this vicarious transfer of depressive symptoms between romantic partners is expected to be exacerbated in the context of anxious attachment relationship instability, and verbal aggression. Using 571 German couples from the Panel Analysis on Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics, I tested how these three relationship factors may moderate the expression of depressive symptom contagion between men’s and women’s depressive symptoms at two time points. Results revealed that, generally, one partner’s depressive symptoms were associated with less depressive symptoms in the other partner—suggesting the opposite of a depressive symptom contagion. However, for both men and women, anxious attachment increased the risk of depressive symptoms contagion between partners cross-sectionally but not longitudinally. Together these results contribute to the literature by suggesting that the depressive symptom contagion did not occur among a general population of German couples, but would occur in the context of anxious attachment. Thus, in an effort to reduce depression contagion among couples, clinicians are advised to focus on reducing anxious attachment.