• 한국노년학
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.421-444
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• 2021

The purpose of this research is to examine the reciprocal relationships between depression and marital satisfaction among older couples. For longitudinal dyadic analysis, this study sets up a research model based on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, the Common Fate Model, and Autoregressive Cross-Lagged Model. Data came from four annual waves from the 10th year (2015) to the 13th year (2018) of the Korean Welfare Panel Survey and the final sample comprised a total of 1,383 married couples over 60 years of age in 2015. Structural Equation Modeling identified the reciprocal relationship between depression and marital satisfaction among older couples, with higher marital satisfaction of older couples leading to lower depression of husbands' and wives', and with higher depression of husbands' and wives' inducing lower marital satisfaction of the couples. Thus, this study suggested that longitudinal interplay between depression and marital satisfaction can lead to a vicious cycle. Based on these findings, the need to intervene at both the individual level and the couple level was discussed in order to reduce depression and improve marital satisfaction.