Individual well-being in middle and older adulthood: do spousal beliefs matter?
Associations between health, control beliefs, and well-being in later life are frequently conceptualized in terms of the characteristics of individuals. However, spousal interdependencies in psychosocial characteristics are also likely to be relevant for well-being. The present study investigated associations of self-rated health, control, and relationship closeness with life satisfaction and positive and negative affect in a sample of 2,235 spousal dyads. A significant proportion of variance in health, control, closeness, and well-being occurred between dyads. Individuals' self-rated health, control, and relationship closeness were associated with higher well-being. Spouses' self-rated health and control beliefs were consistently and positively associated with individuals' well-being; however, effect sizes were small. Some evidence for individual's control beliefs buffering the association between health and well-being emerged, whereas spouses' perceived control was not a significant moderator of the health-well-being association. Results highlight the importance of couple interdependencies for contextualizing health and well-being in older adulthood.
Windsor
Tim D
TD
Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 0200, Australia. Tim.Windsor@anu.edu.au
Ryan
Lindsay H
LH
Smith
Jacqui
J
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*