The biopsychosocial associations between marital hostility and physical health of middle-aged couples.

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to investigate bio-psycho-behavioral associations between marital distress and the physical health of couples, with two different aspects of physical health outcomes receiving attention: physical illness and physical functional impairments over the middle years. Using an actor–partner interdependence model within a longitudinal approach and data from married heterosexual couples in enduring marriages (N = 370 dyads), we examined the mediating pathways which reflected biopsychosocial processes and addressed how trajectories spousal hostility may contribute to husbands’ and wives’ later health. The results indicated that hostile marital interactions in the early middle years could wear down couples’ regulatory systems through greater psychological distress, more health-risk behaviors, and a higher body mass index (BMI), which in turn increased vulnerability to later physical health problems for both husbands and wives. For both husbands and wives, their evolved psychological distress influenced by both their own and their spouse’s perceived spousal hostile behaviors, supported the stress-related dyadic process in the couples. The findings also emphasized the salient role of psychological distress in leading not only to an increased risk of physical illness directly but also to a higher risk of physical impairment through increased levels of BMI for both husbands and wives.

To put asunder: Are there perils of partialing in actor–partner interdependence models?

“…Despite recent discussions of the CFM (Galovan et al, 2017; Ledermann & Kenny, 2012), APIM analyses are often used for measures of what could be seen as couple-level constructs, such as dyadic adjustment (Brandão et al, 2019; Gilmour et al, 2021); hostile marital behavior (Lee et al, 2021); shared power (Leonhardt et al, 2020); and commitment, accommodation, and interdependence (Givertz et al, 2016; Hassan-Abbas & Ronen, 2022). Obvious questions arise in such instances.…”

Intimate Relationships and Coronary Heart Disease: Implications for Risk, Prevention, and Patient Management

“…A long tradition in couple research and clinical assessment utilizes direct observation of couple interactions, often accompanied by behavioral coding [ 182 ]. Such behavioral observation assessments can have incremental predictive utility above and beyond the information gleaned from self-report measures in studies predicting the presence and severity of CHD [ 192 – 194 ]. Observations of interactions about adherence and health behavior change may be useful in refining the management for high risk individuals and patients with established disease.…”

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

“…Cumulative physiological dysregulation is associated with low energy expenditure, elevated BMI, and premature aging (McEwen & Gianaros, 2010). Past research has also emphasized the salient role of psychological distress (e.g., depressive symptoms, Lee et al, 2021 in linking sustained stressful marital interactions and physical health outcomes. In addition to being a severe mental health condition, depressive symptoms have been linked to subsequent health risks, including obesity, diabetes, inflammation, and cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases (Goldston & Baillie, 2008; Kiecolt-Glaser & Glaser, 2002; Kiecolt-Glaser et al, 2015).…”