scholarly journals Activity Limitations and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Couples: The Moderating Role of Spousal Care

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sae Hwang Han ◽  
Kyungmin Kim ◽  
Jeffrey A Burr
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Activity Limitations ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Spousal Caregiving ◽  
Living Related ◽  
Moderating Role ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Objectives Limitations in performing basic daily activities, as well as spousal caregiving that arises from activity limitations, are important factors that have ramifications for mental health among couples. The objective of this study was to investigate the interplay of these factors by focusing on whether the associations between activity limitations and depressive symptoms among coupled-individuals were moderated by receipt and provision of spousal care. Methods Longitudinal household data from the Health and Retirement Study (2004–2014; dyad N = 6,614) were analyzed to estimate within-person associations between one’s own and spousal activity limitations, receipt and provision of spousal care, and depressive symptoms. Results Findings showed a consistent link between one’s own activity limitations and depressive symptoms for both spouses, whereas spousal activity limitations were associated with depressive symptoms for wives only. We also found moderating effects of spousal care in the link between one’s own and spousal activity limitations and depressive symptoms. Discussion Receipt and provision of activities of daily living-related assistance may contextualize the association between activity limitations and depressive symptoms among older coupled-individuals in a direction that could alleviate or aggravate the risk of depression.

scholarly journals Spousal Activity Limitations and Depressive Symptoms: Benefits of Spousal Caregiving and Costs of Spousal Pain

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 354-354
Author(s):  
Sae Hwang Han ◽  
Kyungmin Kim ◽  
Jeffrey Burr
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Activity Limitations ◽  
Spousal Caregiver ◽  
Spousal Caregiving ◽  
Caregiver Role ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Experiencing difficulties in performing basic activities of daily living poses significant challenges for older adults living with such limitations and also for their spouses. A growing body of evidence demonstrates cross-spousal linkages between activity limitations and depressive symptoms. However, under what conditions these linkages may be strengthened or weakened has received little attention in the literature. We addressed this gap by examining whether a) providing spousal caregiving and b) spousal pain moderated the link between spousal activity limitations and one’s own depressive symptoms. We used seven waves of longitudinal household data from the Health and Retirement Study (2004-2016; N=12,369) to estimate within-person associations between spousal activity limitations and depressive symptoms, focusing on the moderating roles of caregiving behavior and spousal pain. In particular, asymmetric fixed effects models were used to estimate the unique effects of transitioning into a spousal caregiver role in the context of spousal activity limitations. Results from multilevel models were gendered. For wives (but not for husbands), transitioning into a caregiver role to provide spousal care alleviated depressive symptoms associated with spousal activity limitations, whereas depressive symptoms were increased when husbands with activity limitations also reported frequent, moderate to severe pain. Our findings indicate that the link between spousal activity limitations and depressive symptoms is not uniform, and that the cross-spousal association may best be understood when relevant contextual factors are considered. The findings are also in line with recent studies showing that caregiving may also lead to enhanced well-being and reduced mortality risk under some circumstances.

scholarly journals Activity Restriction and Depressive Symptoms in Older Couples

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1251-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong Eun Lee ◽  
Lynn M. Martire ◽  
Steve H. Zarit ◽  
Michael J. Rovine
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Activity Restriction ◽  
Actor Partner Interdependence Model ◽  
Moderating Role

Objective: The present study aimed to clarify the circumstances under which activity restriction (AR) is associated with depressive symptoms among patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and their spouses. Method: A total of 220 older adults with OA and their caregiving spouses participated in the study. The actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) was used to examine the associations between AR stemming from patients’ OA and the depressive symptoms of patients and spouses. The potential moderating role of marital satisfaction also was examined. Results: After accounting for pain severity, health, and life stress of both patients with OA and spouses, higher AR was associated with more depressive symptoms for both patients and spouses. In regard to partner effects, patients whose spouse had higher AR reported more depressive symptoms. In addition, the association of spouses’ and patients’ AR and their own depressive symptoms was moderated by their marital satisfaction. For both patients and spouses, the associations between their own AR and depressive symptoms were weaker for those with higher levels of marital satisfaction compared with those with lower levels of marital satisfaction. Discussion: This pattern of findings highlights the dyadic implications of AR and the vital role of marital satisfaction in the context of chronic illness.

Aging in Place With a Spouse in Need: Neighborhood Cohesion and Older Adult Spouses’ Physical and Mental Health

2020 ◽  
pp. 009141502097461
Author(s):  
Kyuho Lee ◽  
Patrik Marier
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Neighborhood Cohesion ◽  
Spousal Caregiving ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Retirement Study

This study examines the association of perceived neighborhood cohesion (NC) with older adults’ health and the buffering effects of NC against the negative effects of spousal caregiving on health. Data of 3329 community-living older adults living with a spouse in need of care from the Health and Retirement Study were collected at two time-points. Multiple regression analyses were computed for each of the four health outcomes. For men, NC predicted fewer depressive symptoms and better cognition. NC buffered the negative effect of providing activities of daily living (ADL) help to the wife on cognition. For women, NC predicted fewer depressive symptoms and better cognition. NC buffered the negative effect of providing ADL help to the husband on ADL difficulties. The results accentuate the importance of residency location for older adults’ physical and mental health. The health benefits of NC may have more implications for older adults providing spousal care.

scholarly journals SPOUSAL DRIVING CESSATION AND VOLUNTEERING: MODERATING ROLE OF CAREGIVING AND DEPRESSION

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S947-S947
Author(s):  
Angela L Curl ◽  
Christine M Proulx ◽  
Teresa M Cooney
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Driving Cessation ◽  
Informal Volunteering ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role ◽  
Retirement Study ◽  
Volunteer Engagement

Abstract Driving cessation is a normative transition in later adulthood, yet previous research shows that having a spouse who ceases to drive, even when you are still able to, negatively impacts one’s own engagement (i.e., formal and informal volunteering). Little is known about the conditions under which volunteer engagement might vary after a spouse stops driving. We used longitudinal data from 10 waves (1998–2016) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine whether depressive symptoms and caregiving demands moderate the association between a spouse’s driving cessation and one’s own formal and informal volunteering. Respondents were included if, at baseline, both spouses participated in HRS, both were age 65+, and both were still driving. Respondents were dropped at the time of their own driving cessation, to focus specifically on the impact of spousal driving cessation. Multilevel model results for 1,370 husbands and 1,368 wives show that moderation occurred only for wives who were still driving. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, physical health, and cognitive ability, husbands’ driving cessation negatively impacted formal volunteering but only for wives who were primary ADL and IADL caregivers for their spouses. Further, husbands’ driving cessation negatively impacted informal volunteering for wives who reported relatively high levels of depressive symptoms. Results suggest the importance of contextual factors like caregiving engagement/needs and psychological wellbeing, especially for wives, when examining the role of spousal driving cessation in partners’ volunteer engagement, and highlight the need for additional research on the relationship between spousal driving cessation and volunteering for husbands.

scholarly journals Older Couples Coping With Adverse Life Events: The Importance of Dyadic Personality Profiles

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 582-583
Author(s):  
Shuangshuang Wang ◽  
Kyungmin Kim ◽  
Jeffrey Burr
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Personality Profiles ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Adverse Life Events ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Health Decline ◽  
Couples Coping ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Personality can be an important resource as older couples cope with adverse life events. Analyzing 4,893 older couples from the Health and Retirement Study, this study examined how one’s own and spouse’s adverse life events (health decline, job exit, loss of wealth, family member’s death) occurring in the past two years are associated with changes in depressive symptoms. We further examined the moderating effects for this association of six dyadic personality profiles (combinations of spouses’ positive and negative personality characteristics). We found significant actor and partner effects of health decline for increases in both spouses’ depressive symptoms, and significant actor effects of a family death for husbands’ increased depressive symptoms. For wives, having positive personality profiles buffered negative effects of one’s own health decline and spouses’ family death, whereas having negative profiles intensified negative effects of husbands’ job exit and loss of wealth on the depressive symptoms for both spouses.

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