서울여자대학교 특수치료전문대학원 심리치료학과
Department of Psychotherapy, Seoul Women's University Graduate School of Professional Therapeutic Technology, Seoul, Korea
Successful marital life is an important part of experiencing happiness. Marital problems and issues may lead to depressiveness, and many psychological factors involving the family history have been suggested regarding the conflicts. This study aims to provide a structural explanation for the relationship between marital conflicts and depressiveness by applying the object relation theory. Object relation theory emphasizes that the initial relational structure between mother and child continuously influences the quality of adult object relation. Therefore, the maturity of one's object relation may be closely related marital satisfaction or depressiveness. The study aims to provide a realistic analysis of the current rate of marital conflicts for couples in Korea and their correlation to depressiveness. The study further investigates if the level of object relation mediates the correlation. The study have conducted self reported questionnaire that consists of Martial Adjustment Scale, Beck's Depression Scale, and Separation Individuation Scale. Especially, the level of Separation Individuation has been found to be a significant variable that moderates the correlation between marital conflicts and depressiveness. The results of the study suggest that martial conflicts and depressiveness are influenced not just by ostensible reasons but by a long-held internal object relation of an individual. The results also suggest significant implications in therapeutic intervention. (Korean J Str Res 2013;21:293∼302)