Cynical Hostility and Loneliness in Older Adult Married Couples: An Indirect Effect Through Friendships

Abstract

Objectives Cynical hostility is a cognitive schema according to which people cannot be trusted, and it has associations with individuals’ loneliness. The present study takes a dyadic approach to examine whether cynical hostility is related to one’s own and their spouse’s loneliness. We further explore whether friendship factors serve as a mediator between individuals’ and spouses’ cynical hostility and loneliness. Method We used two waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N=1065 couples) and Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIMs) with Mediation to examine the proposed model. Mediation was tested with the construction of path models and significance levels were reached using bootstrapping. Results For both husbands and wives, cynical hostility was significantly associated with loneliness. Husband’s loneliness was also significantly associated with his wife’s cynical hostility, but wife’s loneliness was not associated with her husband’s cynical hostility. We further found that the association between wife's own cynical hostility and loneliness was mediated by lower levels of contact with, and support from friends. Friendship factors did not serve as mediators for husbands. Discussion Husbands and wives who have higher levels of cynical hostility may be more vulnerable to loneliness. High levels of cynical hostility in women may be related to deficits in their quantity and quality of friendship, and thus be associated with loneliness. Men who are married to women with a higher level of cynical hostility may experience increased loneliness, but this relationship is not explained by men’s friendships.

The relationship between fall and loneliness among older people in China: the mediating role of personality trait

“…They could communicate and interact with each other to create a good family atmosphere. This can relieve loneliness to some extent (37)(38)(39)(40).…”

Optimism, pessimism and support in older couples: A longitudinal study

“…The subsequent negative prospective (between waves) effect of husbands' decreases in perceived marital support on husbands' pessimism points to a harmful reinforcing cycle for men and suggests husbands' dependence on their wives' support (Segel‐Karpas & Ermer, 2021). This effect echoes a recent finding that for husbands, but not wives, increased levels of depression predicted a decrease in perceived marital intimacy (Yan et al., 2020).…”

“…Interestingly, wives' future expectations were not prospectively associated with perceived marital support in either direction (i.e., actor effect). Some studies have suggested that husbands are more strongly dependent on their wives' support than vice versa (Fuhrer & Stansfeld, 2002), especially in older adulthood (Hoppmann & Gerstorf, 2009; Segel‐Karpas & Ermer, 2021). This could explain why in our sample, husbands', but not wives', pessimism increased following a decrease in perceived support.…”

“…For example, an increase in wives' optimism can be expressed in greater perceived support by husbands in the short run, but after a while, husbands habituate to the change in the relationship and return to their previous perceived marital patterns. Although more proximate measurements could lead to a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between future expectations and marital processes and perhaps suggest the minimal and maximal time‐frame for changes in a personal disposition to affect marital outcomes, other studies examining dispositions and social or health related outcomes (e.g., see Chopik et al., 2015; Gawronski et al., 2016; Segel‐Karpas & Ayalon, 2020; Segel‐Karpas & Ermer, 2021) have used similar time intervals.…”

The effect of parental regulatory focus on the loneliness stigma of college children

“…For example, Rousseau et al revealed that both actor and partner effects of the mother’s regulatory focus held for the Helicopter parenting style; however, for fathers, only the partner effect of the prevention focus was significant [ 43 ]. In a study by Segel-Karpas et al, it was discovered that cynical hostility can affect the loneliness of individuals and their spouses [ 44 ]. Consequently, drawing on the findings of prior APIM-driven studies on regulatory focus and interpersonal relationships, it is postulated that the partner effects of both fathers’ and mothers’ regulatory focus are indeed present and influential.…”