Aging Together in Enduring Couple Relationships: A Life Course Systems Perspective

Wickrama

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

et al. 2022

Self Cite

Conflictual marital and parental relationships mutually reinforce each other generating family-level stress. The cumulative experiences of stressful family conflictual circumstances (a family-level construct of family conflictual circumstances (FCC), based on marital and parental conflictual behaviors) affect a couple’s well-being. The present study, utilizing longitudinal data of 370 couples in enduring marriages and a person-centered approach, examined: a) the existence of heterogeneous groups of couples with FCC trajectory patterns, b) whether individual and contextual factors are associated with FCC trajectory patterns, and c) differential later-life health and relational consequences of these groups. We identified four heterogeneous groups of couples with distinct FCC trajectory patterns in the early middle years (from 1990 to 1994; approximately age 40 for both husbands and wives). Personal (neurotic vulnerability) and contextual factors (family financial hardship) influenced the development of the FCC trajectories, and FCC trajectory patterns were consequential for spouses’ later mental, physical, and relational health (2001). Two features of the longitudinal synchrony in FCC trajectory patterns (severity and synchrony) were utilized to explain the differential impacts of the trajectory patterns on spouses’ later health and relational outcomes.

Section: Co-occurrence Of Marital and Parental Conflictual Behaviors ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Individual and Contextual Factors And Multiple Family Relati...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Conjoint trajectories of couples’ marital and parental conflictual behaviors and later-life mental, physical, and relational health

Wickrama

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

et al. 2022

Self Cite

Journal of Family Psychology

“…A life course systems perspective (Wickrama et al, 2020) suggests a dynamic dyadic process that may include both a parallel change processes and a time-sequential process simultaneously. A D-LGM-SR (Curran et al, 2014) is an analytical tool to estimate both time-sequential and parallel change processes simultaneously.…”

Section: Dyadic Latent Growth Model With Structured Residualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consistent with the life course systems perspective (Wickrama et al, 2020), a D-LGM-SR allows researchers to examine dynamic dyadic processes, which is a combination of time-sequential dyadic processes and parallel change processes. Thus, a D-LGM-SR can address similar research aims or questions as a CLAM and D-LGM.…”

Section: D-lgm-srmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This process may involve both intra-individual change (e.g., maturation) of both members and their rank-order associations. The life course systems perspective (Wickrama et al, 2020), a theoretical alliance of the family systems theory and life course development perspective, suggests that dynamic dyadic processes can occur as both parallel change processes and time-sequential processes simultaneously. This process includes both intra-individual change and time-specific deviation (from intra-individual change).…”

Section: Theoretical Motivationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Modeling longitudinal dyadic processes in family research.

Lee¹,

Wickrama²,

O’Neal³

2021

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In this article, several dyadic analyses are applied to illustrate how they can be used to answer distinct research questions regarding associations between dyad members over time (longitudinal interdependence). This article focuses on how to conceptualize and empirically assess distinct dyadic processes, including time-sequential processes involving change in rank-order, parallel change processes involving intraindividual changes, dynamic dyadic processes involving both intra-individual changes and time-specific deviations (from intra-individual change), and accelerated dyadic processes involving acceleration of intraindividual change. These dyadic processes are depicted by four different dyadic models; a cross-lagged autoregressive model, a dyadic latent growth model (with and without structured residuals), and a dyadic latent change score model, respectively. These four longitudinal dyadic models are illustrated using a sample of 251 husbands and wives in enduring marriages. Each model focuses on a different dyadic process demonstrating distinct ways to empirically assess longitudinal interdependence; thus, when analyzing data, dyadic researchers must weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each and select the modeling approach that is most appropriate for the research question.

Journal of Family Psychology

Continuity in hostile family relationships mediated by family psychopathology: An application of systems perspective.

Lee¹,

Wickrama²,

O’Neal³

2023

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Grounded in the family systems theory within the life course systems perspective, this study sought to investigate (a) long-term transmission processes of hostility from interparental relationships to parentyoung adult relationships and (b) the mediational roles of parents' and adolescents' psychopathology in these long-term processes. Research has examined the long-term transmission of hostility from interparental relationships to young adults' relationships with their parents. However, less is known about how this transmission process differs for father-young adult and mother-young adult relationships and if psychopathology is a mechanism that contributes to the transmission of hostility. Utilizing a structural equation model and prospective, longitudinal data from couples in enduring marriages and their offspring (n = 345 families), we examined long-term associations between interparental hostility when offspring were adolescents and young adults (1990 and 2001), adolescents' hostile relationships with their fathers and mothers (1991), and young adults' hostile relationships with their fathers and mothers ( 2003) as well as the mediating roles of fathers ', mothers', and adolescents' psychopathology (1992 and 1994). Interparental hostility was more strongly linked to hostility between mothers (rather than fathers) and their young adult offspring. Fathers', mothers', and adolescents' psychopathology uniquely mediated the transmission processes. This study elucidated transmission processes of interparental hostility to young adults' relationship hostility with their parents and offers insights into the unique mediational roles of each family member's psychopathology.