Perceived partner responsiveness moderates the association between received emotional support and all-cause mortality.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether perceived partner responsiveness (PPR) moderates the association between received partner emotional support (RPES) and all-cause mortality in a national U.S. sample. Method: Data were from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, a national probability survey of health and aging. Participants included respondents who were married or cohabiting with a romantic partner. Results: Hierarchical logistic regression analyses indicated that after adjusting for demographics, physical health status, health behaviors, psychological symptoms, and personality traits, high RPES was associated with increased mortality risk among participants who reported low PPR, but it was unrelated to mortality risk among participants who reported high PPR. Conclusions: This study is the first to document that perceived partner responsiveness moderates the association between received partner emotional support and mortality risk, thus contributing to the literature on the contextual factors altering the effects of received support on health outcomes.

Perceptions of romantic partners’ responsiveness during a period of stressful uncertainty.

“…Consistent with the large and growing literature on the benefits of perceived responsiveness (Laurenceau et al, 1998;Maisel & Gable, 2009;Selcuk & Ong, 2013;Selcuk et al, 2016), we found evidence suggesting benefits of perceived responsiveness for sleep (and marginally for subjective health), positive and negative emotions, and subjective coping.…”

“…Regarding the relationship between perceived responsiveness and people's health and well-being while they await uncertain news, accumulating evidence supports the benefits of perceived responsiveness for lowering distress and improving physical health and sleep quality (Selcuk & Ong, 2013;Selcuk et al, 2016). Therefore, we anticipated that the well-established benefits of perceived responsiveness would extend to waiting periods as well.…”

“…Greater perceived responsiveness is also associated with health benefits such as greater longevity, faster post-surgical recovery, better sleep quality, and other positive physiological markers even after controlling for demographic factors (Selcuk & Ong, 2013;Selcuk, Stanton, Slatcher, & Ong, 2016;Slatcher, Selcuk, & Ong, 2015;Khan et al, 2009). …”

Older adults’ preferences for formal social support of autonomy and dependence in pain: development and validation of a scale

“…Indeed, research has shown that received social support that is not responsive to individuals' basic and circumstantial needs is often associated with poorer healthrelated outcomes (Ibarra-Rovillard and Kuiper 2011;Maisel and Gable 2009;Selcuk and Ong 2013). Being able to assess whether older adults prefer receiving social support for functional autonomy or dependence when in pain would contribute to increase formal social support responsiveness.…”

Perceived Partner Responsiveness Predicts Diurnal Cortisol Profiles 10 Years Later

“…For instance, among patients undergoing knee surgery, partner responsiveness during recovery predicted fewer knee limitations 3 months later (Khan, et al, 2009). Recently, it was shown that perceived partner responsiveness interacted with social support to predict longevity in a large sample of married and cohabitating couples from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study (Selcuk & Ong, 2013). We propose that a critical pathway through which perceived partner responsiveness positively impacts health and longevity is through its effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its hormonal product, cortisol.…”