Memory and depressive symptoms are dynamically linked among married couples: Longitudinal evidence from the AHEAD study.

Gerstorf, Denis; Hoppmann, Christiane A.; Kadlec, Kelly; McArdle, John J.

doi:10.1037/a0016346

Cited by 54 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…In addition, older couples share a long history of joint experiences typically originating from several decades of life [7,40] . Figure 1 illustrates past research which points to spousal similarities and interrelations in cognitive functioning [41][42][43] , well-being, and health [29,44,45] .…”

Section: Spousal Interrelations In Old Age: Findings From Three Domaimentioning

confidence: 99%

Spousal Interrelations in Old Age – A Mini-Review

2009

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We review findings on spousal interrelations in old age in such key domains as cognition, well-being, and health. Therein, we demonstrate that spousal interrelations may extend developmental options but may also make an individual vulnerable to the experience of loss. We address theoretical questions concerning possible underlying mechanisms, e.g. individual and spousal goal-related processes. Furthermore, we draw attention to important methodological challenges such as identifying processes that operate along different time scales and employing adequate data analytic tools. We propose that aging research may benefit from an examination of interrelations in developmental pathways of multiple co-developing individuals such as spouses and point to the need to disentangle individual from relationship-specific effects.

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Section: Spousal Interrelations In Old Age: Findings From Three Domaimentioning

confidence: 99%

Spousal Interrelations in Old Age – A Mini-Review

2009

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“…3–5 Of particular importance to older adults’ mental health is cognitive functioning, with studies showing that older adults’ cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms are reciprocally and dynamically related over time. 6–8 The current study examines the longitudinal associations between cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms among older adult spouses in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). 9 The present study is novel in the following ways: First, while there is a small body of research examining longitudinal associations between spouses’ cognitive functioning and mental health, past studies have either examined specific cognitive factors, such as episodic memory and perceptual speed, or less precise global measures of cognition (e.g., the Mini-Mental State Exam 10 or the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire 11 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using 10-year longitudinal data of 1,599 married couples in the study of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), Gerstorf et al 6 found that husbands’ better episodic memory, as measured with a composite of performances on the immediate and delayed free recall tests, 14 was associated with less subsequent memory decline among wives. In the AHEAD study, wives’ depressive symptoms predicted husbands’ subsequent depressive symptoms and memory decline, 6 The opposite was found in the Yale Health and Aging Project, where wives’ cognitive decline predicted husbands’ greater depressive symptoms. 15 More recently, a study of 2,684 married couples in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging found that spouses’ cognitive functioning was related and depressive symptoms were related, but depressive symptoms did not predict a partner’s cognitive functioning or vice versa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Associations Between Cognitive Functioning and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adult Spouses in the Cardiovascular Health Study

Monin

Doyle

Ness

et al. 2018

The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

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Objective To examine the bidirectional associations between older adult spouses’ cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms over time. Design Longitudinal, dyadic path analysis with the actor-partner interdependence model. Setting Data were from visit 5 (1992/1993), visit 8 (1995/1996), and visit 11 (1998/1999) of the Cardiovascular Health Study, a multisite, longitudinal, observational study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adults 65 years or older. Demographic information was from the 1989/1990 original and 1992/1993 African American cohort baseline visits. Participants Husbands and wives from 1,028 community-dwelling married couples (N = 2,065). Measurements Cognitive functioning was measured with the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam. Depressive symptoms were measured using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Age, education, and disability (activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living) were included as covariates. Results Cross-partner associations (partner effects) revealed that one spouse’s greater depressive symptoms predicted the other spouse’s lower cognitive functioning, but a spouse’s lower cognitive functioning did not predict the other spouse’s greater depressive symptoms over time. Within-individual associations (actor effects) revealed that an individual’s lower cognitive functioning predicted the individual’s greater depressive symptoms over time, but greater depressive symptoms did not predict lower cognitive functioning over time. Effects did not differ for husbands and wives. Conclusion Having a spouse who is depressed may increase one’s risk of cognitive decline as well as one’s risk of depression. Interventions for preventing cognitive decline and depression among older adults may be enhanced by considering the marital context.

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“…Conceptual notions suggest that late-life individual development does not occur in isolation but is considerably influenced by contextual factors such as marriage [for review, see 3 ]. Accordingly, spousal interrelations have been documented across several domains, including social activities [4] , cognition [5,6] and SWB (typically including depressive symptoms) [7][8][9][10] . Against this backdrop, we extend the current literature by examining a novel aspect of SWB, morale [11] , which taps into satisfaction with, acceptance of and agitation about personal aging.…”

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confidence: 99%

Subjective Well-Being Dynamics in Couples from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging

et al. 2010

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Background: There is growing evidence for spousal associations in late-life development among key functional domains. Spousal interrelations in subjective well-being (SWB) have primarily been discussed in the context of a model of ‘transmission’, an indicator of well-being. Typically, depression is used to mark this, but few studies have examined if such transmission can be found over the long term in older couples’ SWB. Objective: We aimed to determine whether longitudinal dyadic interrelations exist among older couples in the SWB domain, as indicated by morale. Methods: We applied dynamic models to 11-year longitudinal data of 316 couples from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging (median age = 75 years at baseline) to explore whether the levels of SWB for one partner predict change in SWB for the other. Results: Spousal interrelations emerged and were found to be gender-specific with wives predicting subsequent change among husbands, but not the reverse pattern of influence. Husbands whose wives reported higher initial SWB showed a relatively shallower decline over time relative to husbands whose wives reported lower initial SWB levels. These associations were robust after covarying for differences in age, education, health and marital characteristics (number of children and length of marriage). Conclusion: Our study is consistent with, and illustrates empirically that close relationships shape individual developmental outcomes. The findings suggest that wives play an important role in setting the affective tone in older couples. We discuss possible factors underlying such interrelations.

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Memory and depressive symptoms are dynamically linked among married couples: Longitudinal evidence from the AHEAD study.

Cited by 54 publications

References 86 publications

Spousal Interrelations in Old Age – A Mini-Review

Spousal Interrelations in Old Age – A Mini-Review

Longitudinal Associations Between Cognitive Functioning and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adult Spouses in the Cardiovascular Health Study

Subjective Well-Being Dynamics in Couples from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging

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