Research strongly supports the phenotypic association between marital satisfaction and psychiatric disorders, particularly mood and anxiety disorders (Whisman & Uebelacker, 2003). Both large-scale epidemiological surveys (Goering, Lin, Campbell, Boyle, & Offord, 1996; Whisman, 1999; Whisman, 2007; Whisman, Sheldon, & Goering, 2000) and studies examining specific disorders (e.g., Markowitz, Weissman, Ouelette, Lish, & Klerman, 1989; McLeod, 1994; Whisman, 2001) show a clear and substantial link between psychiatric disorders and marital distress. Marital discord is also associated with subclinical levels of depression and anxiety and overall psychological distress (e.g., Barnett, Raudenbush, Brennan, Pleck, & Marshall, 1995; Fincham, Beach, Harold, & Osborne, 1997; Horowitz, McLaughlin, & White, 1998; Whisman, Uebelacker, & Weinstock, 2004). Finally, neuroticism is one of the strongest intrapersonal predictors of poor marital relationship quality and stability (see Karney & Bradbury, 1995, for a review).
