title: The role of relationship biography in advance care planning.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examine the ways that romantic relationship biographies are related to whether, how, and with whom individuals complete advance care planning (ACP), preparations for end-of-life medical care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data are from an Internet survey of 2,144 adults aged 18 to 64, all of whom were either married to or cohabiting with an opposite-sex partner.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cohabitors were less likely than married people to complete ACP. Relationship quality was an important influence on ACP, but did not account for the differences between married and cohabiting persons. Differences were largely explained by the age composition of the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Couples who foresee a long and stable future together are those most likely to engage in end-of-life planning, a preventative health behavior with long-term consequences for well-being.
authors.affiliation: Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA moormans@bc.edu.
authors.forename: Sara M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moorman
authors.affiliation: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: Jewish Home Lifecare, New York, NY, USA Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boerner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D032722:Advance Care Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000367:Age Factors; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cohabitation; commitment; health behaviors; medical decision making; multilevel models