Cognitive Therapy and Research, Vol. 25, No. 6, December 2001 ( c  2001), pp. 713–732 Marital Cognitions and Depression in the Context of Marital Discord 1 Steven L. Sayers, 2 Carolynn S. Kohn, 2 David M. Fresco, 3 Alan S. Bellack, 4 and David B. Sarwer 5 The cognitions of 63 couples were examined to explicate the link between marital conflict and depression. Following a laboratory-based marital problem solving discus- sion, spouses listed cognitions about these discussions and thoughts about the future of their relationship. Cognitions also were assessed using the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire and Marital Attitude Survey. Self-reported assessments of mood were obtained before and after the problem solving discussion. Depressed wives exhibited significantly more self-blame and hopeless thoughts than nondepressed wives. Self- blame, partner-blame, and hopelessness in reference to the problem solving discus- sions were associated with spouses’ mood states after a problem solving discussion, albeit in different ways. The results support the importance of hopelessness and blame in understanding the link between marital discord and depression. KEY WORDS: depression; marital cognition; marital discord; hopelessness; blame. The connection between marital discord and clinical depression is well estab- lished. Epidemiological and treatment outcome studies suggest that marital con- flict likely has a negative impact on the onset, course, and outcome of depression (O’Leary & Beach, 1990; Rounsaville, Weissman, Prusoff, & Herceg-Baron, 1979a, 1979b; Weissman, 1987; Whisman & Bruce, 1999). Because not all spouses are vul- nerable to depression some individual factor is needed to understand the differential 1 Portions of the results were presented at the November 1995 Annual Meeting of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New York. Previous studies from this database include Heyman, Sayers, and Bellack (1994) and Sayers and Bellack (2000). This study is based on results not previously published. 2 Department of Psychiatry, MCP Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 3 Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 4 Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. 5 Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 6 Correspondence should be directed to Steven L. Sayers, University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia VAMC, MIRECC/116, University and Woodland Avenues, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104; e-mail: ssayers@mail.med.upenn.edu. 713 0147-5916/01/1200-0713/0 C  2001 Plenum Publishing Corporation