Negative relationship quality predicts mortality in older adults
Innovation in Aging(2018)
Abstract
Few studies have examined the quality of a marital or similar relationship during the late life years as a predictor of mortality risk (Antonucci et al., 2010; Bulanda et al., 2016; Zhu & Gu, 2010) and these have typically focused on either relationship satisfaction or conflict. We examined both positive and negative aspects of relationship quality with one’s spouse/partner as a predictor of mortality in a sample of older adults in the US (N=1,598) who participated in two waves of a national longitudinal study of social relationships and health. Two items rated on a 3-point scale (hardly ever or never, some of the time, often) were used to measure positive (frequency with which the participant could open up to the partner if s/he needed to talk about worries and could rely on the partner) and negative (frequency with which the participant felt the partner made too many demands on him/her and criticized him/her) aspects of relationship quality. Sociodemographic and health status variables were used as covariates; we also controlled for the quality of other close relationships. Logistic regression showed that negative relationship quality was associated with significantly higher odds for mortality five years later (OR=1.24, CI[95%]=1.06 to 1.45; p < .001), after adjusting for all covariates. Follow-up analyses revealed that criticism from one’s partner, in particular, was linked to a higher mortality risk (OR=1.41, CI[95%]=1.07 to 1.87, p < .001). Couple interventions that focus on decreasing negative interactions between partners, especially criticism, and future research identifying underlying pathways are recommended.
MoreTranslated text
Key words
relationship quality,mortality,older adults
AI Read Science
Must-Reading Tree
Example
![](https://originalfileserver.aminer.cn/sys/aminer/pubs/mrt_preview.jpeg)
Generate MRT to find the research sequence of this paper
Chat Paper
Summary is being generated by the instructions you defined