The Ryle Marital Patterns Test as a predictor of symptoms of anxiety and depression in couples in the community

The associations between marital relationships, as measured by the Ryle Marital Patterns Test, and symptoms of anxiety and depression as measured by the Interval General Health Questionnaire (I-GHQ), were assessed in 98 married couples in the community. Logistic regression analyses showed that symptoms of anxiety and depression in wives were best predicted by low ratings of affection exchange. Occupational class interacted with husbands' affection ratings, suggesting that in the nonmanual class only lower affection ratings were significantly associated with more symptoms. Anxiety in men was best predicted by low affection ratings while depression was best predicted by unemployment, by an affection discrepancy score indicating that more affection is given than received, and by a marriage which was rated as relatively more wife-dominated by wives and as relatively more husband-dominated by husbands.