title: Perceived Partner Responsiveness Predicts Diurnal Cortisol Profiles 10 Years Later.
abstract: Several decades of research have demonstrated that marital relationships have a powerful influence on physical health. However, surprisingly little is known about how marriage affects health--both in terms of psychological processes and biological ones. Over a 10-year period, we investigated the associations between perceived partner responsiveness--the extent to which people feel understood, cared for, and appreciated by their romantic partners--and diurnal cortisol in a large sample of married and cohabitating couples in the United States. Partner responsiveness predicted higher cortisol values at awakening and steeper (i.e., healthier) cortisol slopes at the 10-year follow-up. These associations remained strong after we controlled for demographic factors, depressive symptoms, agreeableness, and other positive and negative relationship factors. Furthermore, declines in negative affect over the 10-year period mediated the prospective association between responsiveness and cortisol slope. These findings suggest that diurnal cortisol may be a key biological pathway through which social relationships affect long-term health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wayne State University slatcher@wayne.edu.
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Slatcher
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University.
authors.forename: Emre
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Selcuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development, Cornell University.
authors.forename: Anthony D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Ong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003863:Depression; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: MIDUS; cortisol; health; marriage; open data; open materials; perceived partner responsiveness; social relationships