Subjective well-being dynamics in couples from the Australian longitudinal study of aging
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence for spousal associations in late-life development among key functional domains. Spousal interrelations in subjective well-being (SWB) have primarily been discussed in the context of a model of 'transmission', an indicator of well-being. Typically, depression is used to mark this, but few studies have examined if such transmission can be found over the long term in older couples' SWB. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine whether longitudinal dyadic interrelations exist among older couples in the SWB domain, as indicated by morale. METHODS: We applied dynamic models to 11-year longitudinal data of 316 couples from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging (median age = 75 years at baseline) to explore whether the levels of SWB for one partner predict change in SWB for the other. RESULTS: Spousal interrelations emerged and were found to be gender-specific with wives predicting subsequent change among husbands, but not the reverse pattern of influence. Husbands whose wives reported higher initial SWB showed a relatively shallower decline over time relative to husbands whose wives reported lower initial SWB levels. These associations were robust after covarying for differences in age, education, health and marital characteristics (number of children and length of marriage). CONCLUSION: Our study is consistent with, and illustrates empirically that close relationships shape individual developmental outcomes. The findings suggest that wives play an important role in setting the affective tone in older couples. We discuss possible factors underlying such interrelations.
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A growing body of evidence indicates that partners' emotional states mutually influence one another.
“A growing body of evidence indicates that partners’ emotional states mutually influence one another [56,61–64].”
From Fathers at risk: Effects of threatened and actual preterm birth on the course of paternal peripartum depression and anxiety (2026) · cites this paper as [64]
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“A growing body of indicates that partners’ emotional states mutually one another [56,61–64].”
- Authors
- Walker, R., Luszcz, M., Gerstorf, D., & Hoppmann, C.
- Affiliations
- Flinders University (AU)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Venue
- Gerontology
- Publisher
- S. Karger AG
- Published
- 2010-07-08
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 153-160
- ISSN
- 0304-324X (ISSN-L)
- 1423-0003
- OpenAlex
- W2005369913
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Gerontology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
- Keywords
- subjective well-being, older couples, spousal transmission, morale, late-life development, gender differences, spousal influence, emotional tone, marital relationships
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Australia, Depression, Family Health, Family Relations, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Models, Psychological, Spouses
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