Psychological resilience mediates the depressive effects of poor dyadic interaction in rural Australians: implications for couples counselling

To identify any mediating effects which psychological resilience may have upon depression arising from poor dyadic interaction, 111 community volunteers responded to standardized measures of dyadic interaction, depression and psychological resilience. There was a significant inverse correlation between dyadic interaction and depression. Psychological resilience had a significant mediating effect upon that correlation, reducing it to non-significance, but only one aspect of psychological resilience was responsible for the significant mediating effect. When examined at an individual item level, the key behaviours associated with the mediating effect were 'feeling in control over one's life', and 'having a sense of purpose'. Suggestions are made for the application of these findings within couples' therapy settings.