A multidimensional examination of marital conflict and subjective health over 16 years

Abstract

Guided by stress process perspectives, this study conceptualizes marital conflict as a multidimensional stressor to assess how three aspects of conflict—frequency of disagreements, breadth of disagreements, and cumulative disagreements—impact subjective health. Longitudinal data of married couples spanning 16 years (n = 373 couples) were analyzed using multilevel modeling. For husbands, more frequent disagreements than usual within a given year were associated with poorer subjective health. For wives, the greater cumulative effects of disagreements over 16 years were harmful for subjective health. We discuss how gendered self‐representations and relationship power issues help explain the findings. This research demonstrated the importance of examining multiple aspects of marital conflict to reveal that their subjective health consequences function differently for wives and husbands.

Socially connected and COVID-19 prepared: The influence of sociorelational safety on perceived importance of COVID-19 precautions and trust in government responses

“…These findings are consistent with other research highlighting the importance of having high quality relationships for other personal outcomes such as health and well-being. For example, although people in romantic partnerships categorically are physically healthier and live longer than their single counterparts (Holt-Lunstad et al, 2010;Johnson et al, 2000), these health advantages disappear when they are in high conflict partnerships (Shrout et al, 2019). The current findings suggest that identifying ways to improve satisfaction with existing relationships may therefore benefit both individuals and the broader social collective.…”

The health consequences of stress in couples: A review and new integrated Dyadic Biobehavioral Stress Model

“…Conflict has been associated with heightened depressive and anxiety symptoms, poorer subjective health, and increased functional impairment cross-sectionally and over time ( Wright and Loving, 2011 ; Loving and Slatcher, 2013 ). Using longitudinal data from a diverse sample of Black and White American couples over the first 16 years of marriage, my colleagues and I showed conflict impacted wives' and husbands' subjective health in different ways ( Shrout et al., 2019 ). Husbands had worse subjective health in the years the couples argued more often than usual, whereas disagreeing about several topics over 16 years predicted wives' poorer health.…”

“…Because women tend to think about their relationships more than men do, they are generally more reactive to relational stress than men ( Kiecolt-Glaser and Newton, 2001 ). Recent research has shown more nuanced gender differences: more frequent conflict from year-to-year was related to husbands' poorer subjective health, whereas the pile up of conflict over 16 years was linked to wives' poorer subjective health ( Shrout et al., 2019 ).…”

“…Newly formed couples may be less comfortable discussing personal issues and have less experience navigating stress together compared to longer-term couples ( Berg and Upchurch, 2007 ). However, stress can accumulate over time, particularly among more hostile and less supportive couples, straining partners' relationships and health ( Bodenmann, 2005 ; Shrout et al., 2019 ). Addressing partners' connections across these developmental and contextual features is important to understand how, when, and under what conditions partners improve or impair each other's health.…”

Relational turbulence and health‐compromising behaviors: Integrating relational turbulence and stress theories

“…The purpose of this study is to test an integrated conceptual model to explain the potential connection between relational turbulence and engagement in health‐compromising behavior. Much research has demonstrated the interconnections between intimate relationships and health (Loving & Slatcher, 2013; Shrout, Brown, Orbuch, & Weigel, 2019; Slatcher, 2010). In the present study, based on an integration of relational turbulence (Solomon et al, 2016; Solomon & Knobloch, 2004) and stress and coping theories (e.g., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; McCubbin & McCubbin, 1996), we propose that a heightened sense of turbulence and turmoil in a relationship may drain partner's abilities to successfully cope with the ongoing stress, resulting in negative psychological and behavioral health outcomes, including stress, depression, and health‐compromising behavior.…”