Two-thirds of """"""""baby boomers"""""""" are married, and the positive or negative impact of retirement on marriages will have consequences for physical health, particularly because the link between lower marital quality and poor health becomes stronger with age. Unfortunately, little is known about marriage and health, and the psychobiological mechanisms that explain the relationship between marital functioning and health, in adults during the retirement transition. Because links between marital functioning and health may become magnified within the dual context of aging and retirement, this project will study the impact of marital functioning on physiology and health during the retirement transition. This study will recruit 60 couples ages 60 - 67. One spouse must be expecting to retire for voluntary or non-voluntary (but not physical health related) reasons within 6 months of entry into the study. Spouses will undergo two laboratory assessments: Visit 1 will take place between 6 months and 1 month before retirement, and Visit 2 will take place 3 months after retirement. At each visit, we will assess marital functioning through self-report and observational coding of behaviors during spousal discussions about retirement and problems in the relationship;health outcomes by measuring recovery of skin barrier function after a minor disruption and health-related quality-of-life;and physiological mechanisms by measuring autonomic function and cortisol responses during the discussions. In addition, we will administer questionnaires at 6 months after retirement to assess marital satisfaction, retirement satisfaction, and health-related quality-of-life.
The specific aims of the proposed project are to: 1) Determine whether poor marital functioning predicts greater physiological changes during marital discussions, and slower skin barrier recovery in adults who are about to transition into retirement;2) Evaluate whether the relationship between marital functioning and health, and marital functioning and physiological mechanisms becomes stronger after retirement;3) Examine whether larger autonomic responses to marital discussions both before and after retirement predict larger decreases in marital quality, health-related quality-of-life, and skin barrier recovery during the retirement transition;and 4) Explore whether perceived partner responsiveness mediates the relationship between behaviors during marital discussions and physiological changes. This study will provide a greater understanding of the mechanisms and pathways through which the quality of marriages affect health, and the impact of life transitions during older adulthood on marriage, physiology, and health outcomes.
For approximately 53 million """"""""baby boomers"""""""" in the United States who are married, retirement will be an important life transition, with the potential to impact marriage and health for better or for worse. Unfortunately, we know little about links between marriage and health, and the biological pathways through which marital functioning influences health during a major life transition like retirement. Results from this longitudinal study will provide important data on how marital and physiological functioning influences marital quality, retirement satisfaction, and health throughout the retirement transition.
| Robles, Theodore F (2014) Marital quality and health: Implications for marriage in the 21(st) century. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 23:427-432 |
| Robles, Theodore F; Slatcher, Richard B; Trombello, Joseph M et al. (2014) Marital quality and health: a meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull 140:140-187 |
| Robles, Theodore F; Carroll, Judith E (2011) Restorative biological processes and health. Soc Personal Psychol Compass 5:518-537 |
