A wealth of research indicates that high quality close relationships allow individuals to thrive both emotionally and physically. For instance, individuals who have a supportive relationship partner report higher self-esteem, greater self-efficacy, and are more likely to persist in and ultimately achieve their personal goals. In contrast, poor quality relationships are associated with elevated levels of emotional distress and depression. Moreover, poor quality relationships are a powerful predictor of important physical health outcomes, including cardiovascular problems, impaired immune functioning, and even greater mortality risk. In fact, the impact of poor quality relationships on health outcomes has been shown to be greater than the impact of a variety of other well-studied negative health behaviors, such as smoking, excessive drinking, and obesity. Thus, understanding how individuals can maintain better relationships has vital implications for improving happiness and health throughout the lifespan.

Although strong and supportive relationships are important at all stages of life, to date, theories and research on healthy relationship functioning has overwhelmingly focused on the relationship behaviors of younger couples (i.e., younger than age 50), which raises questions about whether existing knowledge adequately captures the relationship experiences of older adults. For example, the strategies that are most effective for navigating conflict and maintaining closeness among younger couples in the early stages of marriage may not be the strategies that are most effective for older couples who are facing different life circumstances (e.g., retirement, perhaps dating again after losing a spouse, etc.). Consequently, the overarching goal of this project was to better understand how the manner in which couples approach relationship challenges may change as we get older, as well as the implications of differing coping strategies for emotional and physical well-being.

To accomplish this goal, the current project collected data from almost 300 couples, ranging in age from 30 to 90. Notably, these couples varied in their relationship status; some couples were married and others were in exclusive dating relationships. All couples were asked to (a) complete a background questionnaire assessing factors such as their personality and their relationship history,  (b) attend a lab session in which we videotaped them discussing important relationship issues and (c) complete a survey every evening for 21 days, so that we could capture a snapshot of couples' day-to-day relationship dynamics. Thus, we collected a rich array of data from a very unique sample of participants which will allow us to examine many factors that may promote healthy relationship functioning. In other words, the data collected from this project will allow us to examine dozens of different research questions over the coming years. Again, given the importance of maintaining high quality relationships for emotional and physical health, the findings from this project will have important societal implications. Organizations such as the AARP have developed numerous resources intended to aid older adults' ability to maintain healthy, satisfying relationships. Yet, despite public demand for such information, the scientific literature frequently overlooks the unique experiences of older couples. By directly comparing the relationship experiences of older and younger couples, both dating and married, we have the potential to provide an important resource for these relationship education programs.

Last Modified: 06/30/2020
Modified by: Lisa Neff