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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy pp 635–640Cite as

Couple Distress in Couple and Family Therapy

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Name of Concept

Couple Distress in Couple and Family Therapy

Synonyms

Couple distress; Relationship dissatisfaction; Relationship distress

Introduction

Couple distress has a markedly high prevalence, has a strong linkage to emotional and physical health problems in the adult partners and their offspring, and is among the most frequent primary or secondary concerns reported by individuals seeking assistance from mental health professionals.

In the United States, the most salient indicator of couple distress remains a divorce rate of 40–50% among married couples, with about half of these occurring within the first 7 years of marriage. Independent of divorce, many, if not most, marriages experience periods of significant turmoil that place partners at risk for dissatisfaction, dissolution, or symptom development (e.g., depression or anxiety); roughly one-third of married persons report being in a distressed relationship. Couple distress covaries with overall life dissatisfaction even more...

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References

  • Epstein, N. B., & Baucom, D. H. (2002). Enhanced cognitive-behavioral therapy for couples: A contextual approach. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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  • Snyder, D. K., Heyman, R. E., Haynes, S. N., & Balderrama-Durbin, C. (in press). Couple distress. In J. Hunsley & E. Mash (Eds.), A guide to assessments that work (2nd ed., pp. xxx–xxx). New York: Oxford University Press.

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  • Vaez, E., Indran, R., Abdollahi, A., Juhari, R., & Mansor, M. (2015). How marital relations affect child behavior: Review of recent research. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 10, 321–336.

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  • Whisman, M. A. (2007). Marital distress and DSM-IV psychiatric disorders in a population-based national survey. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116, 638–643.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Douglas K. Snyder

  2. Family Translational Research Group, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Richard E. Heyman

  3. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Stephen N. Haynes

  4. Binghamton University – State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, USA

    Christina Balderrama-Durbin

Authors
  1. Douglas K. Snyder
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  2. Richard E. Heyman
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  3. Stephen N. Haynes
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  4. Christina Balderrama-Durbin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Douglas K. Snyder .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Jay L. Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Anthony L. Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. Colorado State University, Marriage and Family Therapy Program, Human Development and Family Studies, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Kelley Quirk

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Adam Fisher

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© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Snyder, D.K., Heyman, R.E., Haynes, S.N., Balderrama-Durbin, C. (2019). Couple Distress in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_192

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