Christensen A, Heavey C L
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, USA.
Annu Rev Psychol. 1999;50:165-90. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.50.1.165.
A substantial body of empirical research has documented both the promise and the shortcomings of psychological interventions for preventing or ameliorating marital distress. Couple therapy reduces relationship distress and may affect individual psychopathology, such as depression. However, some couples are unresponsive and others improve but relapse later. Interventions to prevent marital distress usually produce short-term changes in behavior and relationship satisfaction, but little evidence exists demonstrating a longer-term prevention effect. Furthermore, these interventions have yet to be examined on a diverse population of couples or with a diverse set of outcome criteria (e.g. effects on children). Concern about the negative impact of marital discord and divorce will continue to provide the impetus for research on more effective means of intervening with couples. Future research could benefit from a focus on a more diverse population of couples, treatment in natural settings, the development of more powerful interventions, and the examination of those interventions over longer periods of time and with more comprehensive outcome measures.
大量实证研究记录了心理干预在预防或缓解婚姻困扰方面的前景与不足。夫妻治疗可减轻关系困扰，并可能影响个体精神病理学状况，如抑郁症。然而，一些夫妻没有反应，另一些夫妻虽有改善但后来又复发。预防婚姻困扰的干预措施通常会在行为和关系满意度方面产生短期变化，但几乎没有证据表明有长期预防效果。此外，这些干预措施尚未在不同类型的夫妻群体中进行检验，也未采用多样化的结果标准（如对子女的影响）。对婚姻不和与离婚负面影响的担忧将继续推动对更有效夫妻干预手段的研究。未来的研究可以通过关注更多样化的夫妻群体、在自然环境中进行治疗、开发更有效的干预措施，以及在更长时间内使用更全面的结果测量方法来检验这些干预措施而受益。
