Chronic Stress and Negative Marital Quality Among Older Couples: Associations With Waist Circumference.
More than a third of the U.S. population of older adults is obese. The present study tests the Dyadic Biopsychosocial Model of Marriage and Health, which hypothesizes that, among married couples, individual and partner chronic stress predicts increased waist circumference and these links are exacerbated in negative quality marriages.



Participants were from the nationally representative longitudinal Health and Retirement Study (HRS). A total of 2,042 married individuals (in 1,098 married couples) completed psychosocial and waist circumference assessments in 2006 and 2010. Analyses examined whether negative marital quality and chronic stress in Wave 1 (2006) were associated with changes in waist circumference over time.



Actor-partner interdependence models revealed that greater partner stress, rather than individuals' own reports of stress, was associated with increased waist circumference over time. Higher perceived negative marital quality among husbands and lower negative marital quality among wives exacerbated the positive link between partner stress and waist circumference.



Consistent with the Dyadic Biopsychosocial Model of Marriage and Health, partner stress has direct associations with waist circumference among couples and this link is moderated by negative marital quality. Thus, dyadic perceptions of stress and negative marital quality are important to consider for understanding marriage and obesity.
Life Course Development Program, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Kira S
KS
Birditt
Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Nicky J
NJ
Newton
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Jim A
JA
Cranford
Life Course Development Program, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Noah J
NJ
Webster
D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055105:Waist Circumference
Psychol Bull. 2014 Jan;140(1):140-187
23527470
J Clin Epidemiol. 2008 Jul;61(7):646-53
18359190
Am J Public Health. 2011 Aug;101(8):1474-80
21680928
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2014 Mar;69(2):188-98
23275499
BMC Public Health. 2011 Mar 17;11:169
21414225
Perspect Biol Med. 2003 Summer;46(3 Suppl):S74-86
14563076
J Health Soc Behav. 2014 Dec;55(4):403-23
25413802
Psychol Bull. 2001 Jul;127(4):472-503
11439708
Psychol Bull. 1985 Sep;98(2):310-57
3901065
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Apr;19(4):771-8
20948519
J Marriage Fam. 2014 Oct 1;76(5):930-948
25221351
J Fam Psychol. 2010 Jun;24(3):367-70
20545410
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015 Feb;52:239-50
25506778
NCHS Data Brief. 2012 Sep;(106):1-8
23102091
Health Psychol. 2013 Jul;32(7):824-7
23477578
J Health Soc Behav. 2010;51 Suppl:S41-53
20943582
Clin Psychol Sci. 2016 May;4(3):363-375
27186446
Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Jul 15;170(2):181-92
19465744
Ann Epidemiol. 1996 Sep;6(5):442-51
8915476
J Intern Med. 1991 Sep;230(3):195-201
1895041
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010 Sep;35(1):2-16
19822172
Science. 1988 Jul 29;241(4865):540-5
3399889
Soc Sci Med. 2008 Oct;67(8):1291-9
18662845
Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Mar 1;179(5):567-75
24389018
J Intern Med. 2002 Jan;251(1):35-43
11851863
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2016 Jan;71(1):177-87
26329115
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jan;64(1):16-22
19654593
Health Psychol. 2003 May;22(3):300-9
12790258
Arch Intern Med. 2005 May 9;165(9):1022-7
15883241
Am J Community Psychol. 1990 Jun;18(3):423-38
2264558
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Oct;15(10):2380-3
17925462
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jan;64(1):6-15
19738633
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2016 Sep;71(5):775-85
25852106
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Apr;28(4):525-35
14770188
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2009 Dec;17(12):2223-31
19300431
Obes Res. 2002 Aug;10(8):809-15
12181390
Int J Obes (Lond). 2010 Apr;34(4):614-23
19949415
Physiol Behav. 2007 Jul 24;91(4):449-58
17543357
Obes Rev. 2001 May;2(2):73-86
12119665
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 May;15(5):1061-7
17495180
Health Psychol. 2012 Jan;31(1):80-6
22004463