During the five years of funding, three major research projects are proposed, all of which are currently supported by ROls: the completion of a research project examining the adjunctive effects of social learning-based marital therapy as a treatment for depression; a longitudinal study attempting to understand the evolution of marital violence as it occurs over time; and a component analysis of cognitive behavioral treatments for depression. The latter project is supported by a MERIT award in addition to the R01. These three research projects reflect the scope of my interests, which could be most broadly summarized as an attempt to better understand and more effectively treat marital problems and clinical depression. While the analysis and treatment of marital problems has always been a focus of my research, about five years ago I became interested in depression because of its association with marital problems. More recently, while I remain interested in the relationship between marital problems and depression, I've also become interested in depression independent of its relationship to marital problems and marital therapy. The RSDA would greatly enhance both the development of my research career and the completion of the proposed research. The latter two ROls are new as of April 1, 1989. So is the MERIT award. Currently, I'm a Professor of Psychology and a Director of the Clinical Psychology Program at the University of Washington. I have numerous responsibilities in addition to research. The RSDA award would free me from the bulk of these responsibilities. Moreover, the major thrust of my research until five years ago was on marital therapy and marital interaction. Now that the bulk of my time will be spent on two different problems (marital violence and depression), the full-time commitment to research would facilitate development of my expertise in these two areas. I would have considerably more time to read, visit senior people who are leaders in these areas, and develop collaborative relationships with other experts.
