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Spousal social support and strain: impacts on health in older couples

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Abstract

Using a nationally representative sample of couples aged 51+ in the United States (N = 1,923 couples), the current study investigated whether both partners’ perceptions of relationship support and strain are associated with an individual’s self-rated health and functional limitations. The sample had an average age of 67.17 years (SD = 9.0; range 50–97). Actor–Partner Interdependence Models adjusting for couple interdependencies were applied using multilevel models. After accounting for age, education, gender, race, and couple differences in length of marriage, results indicate that individual perceptions of support were significantly associated with higher self-rated health and fewer functional limitations. These individual-level benefits increased if the spouse also perceived positive support and low strain. Finally, the negative association of an individual’s perceived support on functional limitations was greater in those with a spouse reporting low levels of perceived strain. Findings are discussed relative to theory on behavioral and psychological pathways between partners’ perceptions of support and health.

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Acknowledgements

The HRS (Health and Retirement Study) is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (Grant number NIA U01AG009740) and is conducted by the University of Michigan. The authors also acknowledge support from the National Institute on Aging (Grant number NIA 1R01AG040635) to conduct this research.

Conflict of interest

Authors Lindsay H. Ryan, Wylie H. Wan and Jacqui Smith declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson St. MISQ, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, USA

    Lindsay H. Ryan & Jacqui Smith

  2. University of Michigan, 530 Church St., 2012 East Hall, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Wylie H. Wan

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  1. Lindsay H. Ryan
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Correspondence to Lindsay H. Ryan.

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Ryan, L.H., Wan, W.H. & Smith, J. Spousal social support and strain: impacts on health in older couples. J Behav Med 37, 1108–1117 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-014-9561-x

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