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The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences Advance Access originally published online on July 16, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 2009 64B(5):586-596; doi:10.1093/geronb/gbp058
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Individual Well-being in Middle and Older Adulthood: Do Spousal Beliefs Matter?

Tim D. Windsor1, Lindsay H. Ryan2 and Jacqui Smith2,3

1 Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra
2 Institute for Social Research
3 Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Address correspondence to Tim Windsor, PhD, Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Building 63, Eggleston Road, Acton, ACT 0200, Australia. Email: Tim.Windsor{at}anu.edu.au


  Abstract

Associations between health, control beliefs, and well-being in later life are frequently conceptualized in terms of the characteristics of individuals. However, spousal interdependencies in psychosocial characteristics are also likely to be relevant for well-being. The present study investigated associations of self-rated health, control, and relationship closeness with life satisfaction and positive and negative affect in a sample of 2,235 spousal dyads. A significant proportion of variance in health, control, closeness, and well-being occurred between dyads. Individuals’ self-rated health, control, and relationship closeness were associated with higher well-being. Spouses’ self-rated health and control beliefs were consistently and positively associated with individuals’ well-being; however, effect sizes were small. Some evidence for individual’s control beliefs buffering the association between health and well-being emerged, whereas spouses’ perceived control was not a significant moderator of the health–well-being association. Results highlight the importance of couple interdependencies for contextualizing health and well-being in older adulthood.

Key Words: Dyads • Control • Positive affect • Negative affect • Life satisfaction

Received October 8, 2008; Accepted June 8, 2009

Decision Editor: Rosemary Blieszner, PhD


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