Psychological and Physical Health in Widowhood: Does Marital Quality Make a Difference?

2021 ◽  
pp. 016402752198908
Author(s):  
Hyo Jung Lee ◽  
Sae Hwang Han ◽  
Kathrin Boerner
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Prospective Data ◽  
Spousal Loss ◽  
Direct Support ◽  
Retirement Study

We investigate how preloss marital quality is associated with changes in psychological distress and physical health among older widow(er)s. Using prospective data with a 2-year follow-up from the Health and Retirement Study, we selected 546 respondents who transitioned into widowhood. Respondents were classified as supportive, ambivalent, aversive, or neutral groups. The supportive and ambivalent group experienced greater increase in depressive symptoms compared to the aversive group, in widowhood. The aversive group showed greater increase in chronic conditions compared to the supportive group. Findings indicated that spousal loss may result in more psychological distress for those with supportive and ambivalent marital relationship. Yet, those with mostly negative accounts of their marriage may experience worsened physical health, albeit no increase in psychological distress. Understanding different benefits and challenges facing older individuals after a positive or negative marriage may help direct support and interventions efforts toward older couples during marriage and in widowhood.

scholarly journals DISCORDANT CHRONIC CONDITIONS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER COUPLES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S58-S58
Author(s):  
Courtney A Polenick ◽  
Kira S Birditt ◽  
Angela Turkelson ◽  
Benjamin Bugajski ◽  
Helen C Kales
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Minority Status ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Discordant chronic conditions (i.e., those with competing management requirements) have adverse consequences for well-being, yet little is known about their implications among couples. We evaluated how depressive symptoms are linked to discordant conditions within individuals and between spouses across an 8-year period. The U.S. sample included 1,116 middle-aged and older couples from five waves (2006 – 2014) of the Health and Retirement Study. Longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models controlled for age, minority status, education, depressive symptoms in the previous wave, and each partner’s report of baseline marital quality and number of chronic conditions in each wave. Wives and husbands with their own discordant conditions reported higher depressive symptoms, and this association intensified over time. Over and above this link, husbands had higher depressive symptoms when there were discordant conditions between spouses. Both individual-level and couple-level discordant chronic conditions appear to have enduring implications for depressive symptoms in middle and later life.

Psychological distress and frailty transitions over time in community-dwelling older adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. McHugh ◽  
M. Dowling ◽  
A. Butler ◽  
B. A. Lawlor
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Observational Study Design ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽  
Over Time

ObjectivesPhysical health and, in particular, frailty may be associated with psychological factors among older adults. We aimed to investigate the relationships between aspects of psychological distress and progression of frailty over time among older adults.MethodsWe used a longitudinal observational study design with 624 participants aged over 60 years (mean age=72.75, s.d.=7.21, 68% female) completing a baseline comprehensive biopsychosocial geriatric assessment, and 447 returning for a follow-up assessment 2 years later. Aspects of psychological distress, physical health, and frailty were analysed for the purposes of this study. We employed a series of logistic regression analyses to determine psychological predictors of changing states of aspects of frailty over time.ResultsWith individual components of frailty, neuroticism and age predicted negative transitions of exhaustion and grip strength, respectively, whereas age alone was a predictor of transitions in overall frailty scores based on four components.ConclusionWe conclude that neuroticism and age may impact upon physical frailty and its progression over time in an ageing population. These findings may reflect the tendency for those with high levels of neuroticism to endorse negative symptoms, or alternatively, neuroticism may result in exhaustion via worry in an older population. Further research is required to further elucidate this relationship.

scholarly journals MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH SEQUELAE OF BEREAVEMENT IN OLDER ADULTS: U.S. HEATH AND RETIREMENT STUDY ANALYSIS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S348-S348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Domingue ◽  
Laramie Duncan ◽  
Amal Harrati ◽  
Daniel Belsky
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Physical Health Outcomes ◽  
Repeated Measures Data ◽  
Data Tracking ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Health And Mortality ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Death of a spouse (bereavement) is associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes in older adults. But it is unknown how mental- and physical-health sequelae of bereavement are related and the clinical significance of bereavement-related depression has been questioned. We analyzed US Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data tracking mental and physical health of 36,034 older adults during 1992-2016. Post-bereavement data were available for N=4,985 participants with recorded date of spousal death. We analyzed longitudinal repeated-measures data on survivors’ depression, disease, disability, and mortality. Bereavement effects on depression were immediate, but short-lived, attenuating within the year. In contrast, bereavement effects on physical health and mortality persisted over follow-up. Critically, the magnitude of short-lived effects on depression correlated with the magnitude of longer-lasting effects on disease, disability, and mortality. Results reveal connections between mental and physical health and aging and suggest bereavement-related depression as a biomarker of enduring health risk.

scholarly journals Short-Term Mental Health Sequelae of Bereavement Predict Long-Term Physical Health Decline in Older Adults: U.S. Health and Retirement Study Analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin W Domingue ◽  
Laramie Duncan ◽  
Amal Harrati ◽  
Daniel W Belsky
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Spousal Death ◽  
Health Decline ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Objectives Spousal death is a common late-life event with health-related sequelae. Evidence linking poor mental health to disease suggests the hypothesis that poor mental health following death of a spouse could be a harbinger of physical health decline. Thus, identification of bereavement-related mental health symptoms could provide an opportunity for prevention. Methods We analyzed data from N = 39,162 individuals followed from 1994 to 2016 in the U.S. Health and Retirement Study; N = 5,061 were widowed during follow-up. We tested change in mental and physical health from prebereavement through the 5 years following spousal death. Results Bereaved spouses experienced an increase in depressive symptoms following their spouses’ deaths but the depressive shock attenuated within 1 year. Bereaved spouses experienced increases in disability, chronic-disease morbidity, and hospitalization, which grew in magnitude over time, especially among older respondents. Bereaved spouses were at increased risk of death compared to nonbereaved respondents. The magnitude of depressive symptoms in the immediate aftermath of spousal death predicted physical-health decline and mortality risk over 5 years of follow-up. Discussion Bereavement-related depressive symptoms indicate a risk for physical health decline and death in older adults. Screening for depressive symptoms in bereaved older adults may represent an opportunity for intervention to preserve healthy life span.

Who's to Blame? Perceived Responsibility for Spousal Death and Psychological Distress among Older Widowed Persons

2009 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Carr
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Sedentary Lifestyle ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Poor Health Care ◽  
A Prospective Study

I examine the ways that bereaved older adults attribute responsibility for their late spouses' deaths, and the consequences of such attributions for psychological adjustment to loss. Data are from the Changing Lives of Older Couples, a prospective study of married persons ages 65 and older. Bereaved persons whose late spouse smoked and had a sedentary lifestyle attributed higher levels of blame to the decedent. Persons who believe that their late spouse's stressful lifestyle and poor health care compliance contributed to the death report significantly lower levels of yearning, yet these effects are no longer statistically significant when marital quality is controlled. Bereaved spouses who believe health care providers contributed to the death report significantly more anger symptoms. The findings suggest that older adults adhere to a “secular morality”; deceased spouses who previously maintained unhealthy lifestyles are viewed as partly responsible for their own deaths.

scholarly journals Older Couples’ Marital Quality and Health Behaviors

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 348-348
Author(s):  
Angela Curl ◽  
Jennifer Bulanda ◽  
Amy Restorick Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Dyadic Data ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
Joint Activities ◽  
Unhealthy Behavior ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Health benefits of marriage may stem in part from spouses discouraging unhealthy behavior and encouraging healthy practices. Although studies show spousal effects on health behaviors, few have assessed whether spousal effects vary by the quality of the marital relationship. Spouses in low-quality marriages may be less likely to engage in joint activities that promote health (e.g., shared exercise), make fewer attempts at monitoring their spouse’s health behaviors, and be less successful in their attempts to intervene. Those in unhappy relationships may also use unhealthy behaviors as maladaptive coping strategies to deal with marital stress. We use dyadic data from couples over age 50 in the 2006 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine how both spouses’ ratings of positive and negative dimensions of marital quality are associated with their own and their spouses’ exercise and smoking (n=3,498 couples). Using HLM software, we estimated actor-partner interdependence models (APIM). Results indicate that both own and husbands’ ratings of positive marital quality are significantly associated with wives’ odds of smoking. Own perceptions of negative marital quality and wives’ perceptions of both positive and negative marital quality are associated with husbands’ odds of smoking. For wives, neither own nor spousal marital quality is significantly related to exercise. For husbands, however, wives’ higher positive marital quality and lower negative marital quality are associated with increased exercise. Strategies to improve marital quality may promote healthy behaviors among older adults, particularly for husbands.

scholarly journals THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SENSE OF PURPOSE IN LIFE AND REPEATED MEASURES OF HEALTH BEHAVIORS OVER TIME

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S813-S813
Author(s):  
Eric S Kim ◽  
Koichiro Shiba ◽  
Laura Kubzansky
Keyword(s):  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Prospective Data ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Sense Of Purpose ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Although a stronger sense of purpose in life has been associated with reduced risk of chronic conditions and mortality, potential pathways underlying these associations remain understudied. In the present study, we tested if a higher baseline sense of purpose in life was associated with maintenance of recommended levels of five health behaviors. Prospective data included 13,771 adults from the Health and Retirement Study, who were assessed up to six times across an average of 9 years. In mixed models that adjusted for sociodemographic factors, those in the highest quartile of purpose, compared to those in the lowest quartile, had a higher likelihood of not smoking (RR=1.04; 95% CI: 1.03–1.06), remaining physically active (RR=1.42; 95% CI: 1.33–1.51), drinking moderate amounts of alcohol (RR=1.21; 95% CI: 1.13–1.29), not suffering from sleep problems (RR=1.29; 95% CI: 1.24–1.34), and maintaining healthy BMI (RR=1.09; 95% CI: 1.06–1.11) over follow-up.

Childhood Abuse and Marital Quality: The Role of Psychological Distress

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly K. Espenschade ◽  
Kimberly Funk ◽  
Amanda Kras ◽  
David Dilillo ◽  
Andrea Perry
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Marital Quality
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