What's love got to do with it? Social functioning, perceived health, and daily happiness in married octogenarians

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Daily links between stressors and negative affect are stronger for older individuals (up to age 74) than for younger individuals.

“Mroczek and Almeida (2004) found that daily links between stressors and negative affect were stronger for older individuals (up to age 74) than younger individuals.”

• cites Mroczek and Almeida (2004) sourceSupported

May combine two claims.

Adults' peripheral social networks shrink with age while the quality of their close relationships improves.

“Research suggests that adults’ peripheral social networks shrink as they age but that the quality of their close relationships improves (Cornwell, Laumann, & Schumm, 2008; Lang & Carstensen, 1994).”

• cites Cornwell, Laumann, & Schumm, 2008 sourcePartly supported

  The Introduction says research suggests networks shrink with age and older adults have more higher-quality relationships, supporting the sentence as a summary of prior research. But it does not establish that the quality of existing close relationships improves: the paper’s own Conclusions report that the oldest adults are less close to their network members than the young-old. (LLM, conf=0.85)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
• cites Lang & Carstensen, 1994Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Tugade and Fredrickson (2004) showed that positive emotions can reverse lingering after-effects of negative reactivity and restore cardiovascular balance after negative arousal.

“Tugade and Fredrickson (2004) demonstrated that positive emotions can undo the lingering after-effects of negative emotional reactivity and restore cardiovascular equilibrium after negative emotional arousal.”

• cites Tugade and Fredrickson, 2004 sourceSupported

The quote only partly states this claim.

For both men and women, spending more time with others on a given day is associated with greater happiness on that day.

“For both men and women, hierarchical linear modeling revealed daily links between more time spent with others and greater happiness.”

May combine two claims.

Across the 8 days, the average man's daily hours with others varied by 6.6 hours, and the average woman's by more than 5 hours.

“The average man in our sample varied in the number of daily hours spent with others across the 8 days by 6.6 hours; and the average woman’s time with others varied by more than 5 hours per day across the 8 days.”

May combine two claims.

Across the 8 days, the average man's physical hindrance varied by 2.4 points and the average woman's by 1.3 points on a 5-point scale.

“The average man in our sample varied in the extent to which his daily activities were hindered by his health by 2.4 points on the 5-point physical hindrance scale over 8 days, and the average women varied by 1.3 points (in each case more than 2 standard deviations).”

May combine two claims.

Across the 8 days, the average man's pain varied by 2.6 points and the average woman's by 1 point on an 11-point scale.

“Similarly, the average man in our sample varied in his level of pain across the 8 days by 2.6 points on the 11-point pain scale, and the average woman varied in her level of pain across the 8 days by 1 point (in each case slightly less than 1 standard deviation).”

May combine two claims.

Married octogenarians spent over 70% of waking time with others and over half with spouses.

“These older men and women spent a large majority (more than 70%) of their waking hours with others and over 50% of their waking hours with their spouses.”

• Also stated in: § Discussion · plain

  “We found that these married octogenarians were quite social, spending on average more than 70% of their waking hours with others and more than half of their waking hours with their spouses, but that there was significant daily variation in extent of their social connections.”

May combine two claims.

Women's average time with other people exceeded men's, but the gap was only 5% of waking hours.

“Although women spent more time on average with other people than did men, the difference amounted to only 5% of waking hours.”

May combine two claims.

Participants spent less time with non-family members in volunteer activities or with neighbors, and relatively little time with non-family caregivers.

“Participants spent less time each day with non-family members in volunteer activities or with neighbors, and relatively little time with non-family caregivers.”

May combine two claims.

On average, participants spent over 8 hours of waking time with their partners, with significant variation across individuals.

“On average, both men and women reported spending over 8 hours of their waking time with their partners, but there was significant variation across individuals.”

May combine two claims.

Typical time with others and time with partner did not moderate the daily health-happiness links.

“In contrast to the consistent moderating influence of marital satisfaction, analyses examining typical levels of time spent with others as a moderator revealed no effects (bottom of Table 4).”

• Also stated in: § Do time spent with others and marital satisfaction moderate the daily association of perceived health and happiness? · plain

  “That is, generally spending more or less time with others was not associated with differences across individuals in the degree to which perceived health covaried on a daily basis with reports of happiness.”

• Also stated in: § Do time spent with others and marital satisfaction moderate the daily association of perceived health and happiness? · hedged

  “As with time spent with others in general, there was no indication that time spent with partner moderated links between perceived health and happiness.”

May combine two claims.

For women, both daily pain and physical limitation covaried significantly with happiness; on days with more pain or limitation, happiness was lower.

“For women, reports of both perceived pain and physical limitation covaried significantly with happiness on a daily basis.”

• Also stated in: § Do time spent with others and marital satisfaction moderate the daily association of perceived health and happiness? · plain

  “As expected, increases in pain and physical limitation on a given day were associated with less happiness on that same day.”

May combine two claims.

Marital satisfaction consistently moderated the daily health-happiness connections, with no gender differences and large effects.

“As shown in the top half of Table 4, marital satisfaction was a consistent moderator of daily connections between perceived health and happiness.”

• Also stated in: § Do time spent with others and marital satisfaction moderate the daily association of perceived health and happiness? · plain

  “There were no gender differences in these moderating effects (pain: χ2 [1, N=47] = 2.38, p = .12; physical limitation: χ2 [1, N=47] = 0.08, p > .5), which were large in magnitude.”

May combine two claims.

For both genders, lower marital satisfaction went with a stronger negative day-to-day link between pain or physical limitation and happiness, whereas higher satisfaction showed no such daily link.

“For both men and women, lower marital satisfaction was associated with a stronger daily negative covariation between pain and happiness and between physical limitation and happiness.”

• Also stated in: § Do time spent with others and marital satisfaction moderate the daily association of perceived health and happiness? · plain

  “The daily happiness of men (coefficient = −0.142, t(45) = 2.36, p=.02) and women (coefficient = −0.283, t (45) = 5.78, p<.001) who reported marital satisfaction 1 S.D. below the average significantly decreased on days when they also reported pain.”

• Also stated in: § Do time spent with others and marital satisfaction moderate the daily association of perceived health and happiness? · plain

  “Similarly, simple slopes analysis of daily hindrance-happiness covariation revealed a negative connection (Men: coefficient = −0.246, t (45) = 2.92, p<.01; Women: coefficient = −0.462, t (45) = 5.27, p<.001) for more maritally dissatisfied men and women but not for individuals in more satisfying relationships (Men: coefficient = 0.061, t (45) = 0.693, p=.49; Women: coefficient = −0.089, t (45) = 1”

May combine two claims.

Marital satisfaction strongly moderated the day-to-day link between partner time and happiness for both genders (γ = .019, p < .001, reffect = .65), with no gender differences; more satisfied individuals showed a more positive association.

“Significant and strong moderation was found for both men and women (γ = .019, p < .001, reffect = .65), with no gender differences, χ2 (1, N=47) = 1.28, p = .26.”

• Also stated in: § Is time spent with others linked with happiness on a daily basis? · plain

  “Individuals who were more satisfied with their marriages, as compared to those less satisfied, displayed a more positive association across days between time spent with partner and their reported happiness.”

May combine two claims.

For men, the daily physical limitation-happiness link approached significance (p = .07), while daily pain was not significantly associated with happiness.

“For men, link between reports of daily physical limitation and happiness approached statistical significance (p = .07).4”

• Also stated in: § Discussion · plain

  “There was no significant association for men between daily reports of pain and levels of happiness.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

Physical health and social functioning are important determinants of happiness in old age.

“Physical health and social functioning are widely believed to be important determinants of happiness in old age (Jopp & Rott, 2006).”

• cites Jopp & Rott, 2006 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Social relationships may moderate the impact of stressors such as physical health problems on emotional well-being.

“Studies also suggest that social relationships may moderate the impact of stressors such as physical health problems on emotional well-being (Cohen, 2004).”

• cites Cohen, 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Relationship satisfaction may moderate links between health and well-being.

“There is evidence that relationship satisfaction may also moderate links between health and well-being.”

• cites Bookwala and Franks (2005) sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

In late life, health challenges are more prevalent and daily fluctuations in perceived health are common.

“Late life is a time when health challenges are more prevalent and daily fluctuations in perceived health quite common (Yorgason, Almeida, Neupert, Spiro, & Hoffman, 2006).”

• cites Yorgason, Almeida, Neupert, Spiro, & Hoffman, 2006Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Levels of happiness show both long-term and short-term shifts.

“Yet studies have documented both long- and short-term shifts in levels of happiness (Lucas, 2007; Luo & Inoue, 2000).”

• cites Lucas, 2007 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Luo & Inoue, 2000 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

In the Aging in Manitoba Study of adults age 67-95, social activity is the strongest correlate of happiness.

“In the Aging in Manitoba Study of adults age 67–95 (Menec, 2003), social activity was found to be the strongest correlate of happiness.”

• cites Menec, 2003 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Single-item measures of pain have adequate validity and reliability.

“Single item measures of pain have been found to have adequate validity and reliability (for a review, see Stinson, Kavanagh, Yamada, Gill, & Stevens, 2006).”

• cites Stinson, Kavanagh, Yamada, Gill, & Stevens, 2006Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

When multivariate tests indicated no gender differences, the study constrained parameters to be equivalent across gender to achieve a more parsimonious and statistically precise model.

“If a multivariate test indicated no gender difference in the estimated parameters, we re-estimated the model while constraining all of the parameters to be equivalent across gender. This approach leads to a more parsimonious and statistically precise model.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

In younger adults, health and positive affect are linked on a daily basis.

“Research on younger adults suggests that health and the experience of positive affect are linked on a daily basis (e.g., Watson, 1988), yet studies of day-to-day associations between health and positive affect among older adults are lacking.”

• cites Watson, 1988Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

The telephone interviews insured a high rate of questionnaire completion.

“The telephone interviews insured a high rate of questionnaire completion.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Interactions with others have positive short-term influences, including promoting more positive psychological states.

“Research has also pointed to positive short-term influences of interactions with others, including the promotion of more positive psychological states (Cohen, 1988, 2004; Thoits, 1983).”

• cites Cohen, 1988, 2004Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

• cites Thoits, 1983 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

People who report more social connectedness in general tend to be better off physically and emotionally than those who are more socially isolated.

“For example, studies indicate that people who report more social connectedness in general tend to be better off physically and emotionally than those who are more socially isolated (e.g., House, Landis, & Umberson, 1988; Lee & Ishii-Kuntz, 1987).”

• cites House, Landis, & Umberson, 1988 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Lee & Ishii-Kuntz, 1987 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Participants were assured confidentiality and asked to be in a location where responses could not be overheard.

“Participants were assured that their responses would remain confidential (including from their spouses), and participants were asked to be in a location during telephone interviews where their responses could not be overheard by others.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Telephone interviewers were unaware of all prior data on participants, including previous days' responses and partner's responses.

“Telephone interviewers were unaware of all prior data on participants, including responses on previous days of telephone interviewing and of their partner’s responses in interviews.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Scores below 100 on the Short Marital Adjustment Test indicate clinically significant marital distress.

“Scores below 100 are considered to be indicative of clinically significant marital distress (Christensen & Heavey, 1999; Gottman, 1994).”

• cites Christensen & Heavey, 1999 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Gottman, 1994Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The mean number of interviews completed by participants was 7.6 (SD = 0.73).

“The mean number of interviews completed by participants was 7.6 (SD = 0.73).”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Older adults in more conflictual marriages show a stronger association between physical disability and depressed affect.

“For example, in a study of marital satisfaction and depressed mood in late life, Bookwala and Franks (2005) found that older adults who reported being in more conflictual marriages showed a stronger association between levels of physical disability and depressed affect.”

• cites Bookwala and Franks (2005) sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Very happy undergraduate students spend significantly less time alone each day and more time socializing than very unhappy students.

“In a study comparing very happy and very unhappy undergraduate students, Diener and Seligman (2002) found that very happy people spent significantly less time alone each day and more time socializing than their unhappy counterparts.”

• cites Diener and Seligman (2002) sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

The study used a multivariate extension of hierarchical linear modeling to analyze husbands' and wives' data simultaneously because their daily experiences are likely related.

“Because husbands’ and wives’ experiences each day are likely to be related, we implemented a multivariate extension of Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) so that data for husbands and wives could be analyzed simultaneously (Raudenbush, Brennan, & Barnett, 1995; O'Brien & Peyton, 2002).”

• cites Raudenbush, Brennan, & Barnett, 1995 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites O'Brien & Peyton, 2002Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

In a study of 96 older couples, day-to-day variability in one partner's health was related to fluctuations in the other partner's emotional well-being.

“Recently, in a study of 96 older couples, Yorgason and colleagues (2006) found that day-to-day variability in one partner’s health was related to fluctuations in the other’s emotional well-being.”

• cites Yorgason and colleagues (2006)Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

May combine two claims.

There was a strong correlation between spouses' daily reports of time spent with each other (r[285] = .52), supporting the validity of these assessments.

“There was a strong correlation between spouses’ daily reports of time spent with each other (r[285] = .52), providing support for the validity of these assessments.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Among older adults age 50-68, greater social integration and broader social networks are associated with greater happiness.

“Among older adults age 50–68, Cacioppo and colleagues (2008) found that those who were more socially integrated (e.g., married, attended church, belonged to organizations) were happier, as were those with broader social networks as measured by the number of people to whom an individual speaks at least once every two weeks.”

• cites Cacioppo and colleagues (2008)Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

May combine two claims.

Being married has health benefits, but marital status alone explains only a modest amount of variability in subjective well-being (as low as 2% in a meta-analysis).

“Numerous studies have documented the health benefits of being married, but typically the variability in subjective well-being explained by marital status alone is modest – as low as 2% in the meta-analysis conducted by Haring-Hidore, et al. (1985).”

• cites Haring-Hidore, et al. (1985)Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

The analysis controlled for previous-day happiness when testing whether time spent with others and happiness were linked each day.

“Following the recommendations of Larson and Almeida (Bolger, Zuckerman, & Kessler, 2000; Larson & Almeida, 1999) we accounted for previous day’s level of happiness when examining the daily association between time spent with others and happiness.”

• Also stated in: § Discussion · plain

  “We used recommended procedures to control for previous day’s level of happiness (Larson & Almeida, 1999) in our analyses investigating the daily associations among these variables.”

• cites Larson & Almeida, 1999 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Bolger, Zuckerman, & Kessler, 2000Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

The Short Marital Adjustment Test has good internal reliability, test-retest stability, and discriminant validity.

“The measure has good internal reliability, test-retest stability, and discriminant validity (Freeston & Plechaty, 1997).”

• cites Freeston & Plechaty, 1997 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Marital satisfaction was measured using the Short Marital Adjustment Test, a widely used 16-item self-report questionnaire.

“Marital satisfaction was measured at the start of the study using the Short Marital Adjustment Test (Locke & Wallace, 1959), a widely-used 16-item self-report questionnaire.”

• cites Locke & Wallace, 1959 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

There is evidence for the validity and reliability of single-item measures of happiness and related constructs using Likert-type scales.

“Happiness and related constructs (e.g., quality of life) are often measured with single items using Likert-type scales (Diener, 2000; Sandvik, Diener, & Seidlitz, 1993), and there is evidence for the validity and reliability of such single item measures (Kalmijn & Veenhoven, 2005; Yang, 2008; Zimmerman & Arunkumar, 1994).”

• cites Kalmijn & Veenhoven, 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Yang, 2008 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Zimmerman & Arunkumar, 1994 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Participants were socioeconomically advantaged and mostly grew up during World War II.

“The study sample consisted of socioeconomically advantaged men and women, most of whom came of age in the WW II era.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

The study's strengths include repeated daily measurements and multi-level analyses of within-person associations over time.

“Important strengths of this study are its collection of repeated daily measures and its use of multi-level analyses to examine within-person associations across time.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Mood might have systematically biased daily self-ratings of pain and physical limitation, confounding them with happiness ratings.

“It is also possible that daily subjective ratings of pain and physical limitation were systematically biased by mood and therefore confounded with ratings of happiness.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

Cohen and Wills (1985) reported that being integrated into a wide social network is directly tied to well-being, while believing support is available buffers people from stressors' adverse effects.

“For example, Cohen and Wills (1985) found that the degree to which an individual is integrated into a broad social network is directly linked with well-being, whereas the perception that support is available in time of need buffers individuals from the potential adverse effects of stressors.”

• cites Cohen and Wills, 1985Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

May combine two claims.

Stable traits like personality may moderate the daily social time-happiness covariation, but they cannot alone explain the short-term processes.

“However, although more temporally stable variables such as personality might moderate (i.e., strengthen or weaken) this daily covariation, they cannot by themselves account for the processes underlying such short-term associations.”

May combine two claims.

This sample's physical limitation levels are low and might not represent all octogenarians.

“For example, the levels of physical limitations reported in this sample are relatively low and may not be representative of all octogenarians.”

May combine two claims.

With only 47 couples, statistical power is limited, which may explain some null or marginal results.

“The modest sample size of 47 couples restricts statistical power and may be responsible for some of the null and marginally significant findings.”

May combine two claims.

If satisfying marriages involve more positive and less negative emotion despite health problems, then daily interactions in those marriages might lower overall emotional and physiological strain.

“To the extent that satisfying marriages are associated with more positive and less negative emotion even in the face of health difficulties, day-to-day interactions in such marriages may help to reduce overall emotional and physiological strain.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Social desirability concerns might have affected how participants answered interviewers.

“It is possible that responses to interviewers’ questions were influenced by concerns about social desirability (Diener, 2000).”

• cites Diener, 2000Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Unexamined personality traits such as neuroticism might affect how strong the daily associations are.

“There are also personality dimensions (e.g., neuroticism) that we did not examine that might influence the strength of the daily associations we found in this study.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

Prior work has documented health benefits of marriage, and relationship satisfaction is increasingly viewed as a key determinant of those benefits.

“A number of studies have documented the health benefits of being married (Waite & Gallagher, 2000), but it is becoming increasingly clear that relationship satisfaction is a key determinant of the health benefits of marriage (Bookwala & Franks, 2005; Gallo et al., 2003; Kiecolt-Glaser & Newton, 2001).”

• cites Waite & Gallagher, 2000Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

• cites Bookwala & Franks, 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Gallo et al., 2003 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

May combine two claims.

The results add to prior work by showing that marital satisfaction protects daily happiness from physical health fluctuations, unlike time spent with others, which showed no such moderation.

“Results of this study extend existing findings by documenting the role of marital satisfaction in protecting happiness from the daily ups and downs of physical health and by contrasting this protective role with the absence of any moderating influence by time spent with others.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Happiness might also influence whether people seek contact with others or report health concerns.

“It is possible that happiness also shapes the likelihood that one will seek contact with others and the likelihood that one will report health concerns.”