Psychological Resources, Constructive Conflict Management Behaviors, and Depressive Symptoms: A Dyadic Analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the longitudinal associations between mastery, conflict management behaviors, and depressive symptoms using an actor–partner interdependence model with 371 middle‐aged couples over a span of 24 years. Results indicated that for both husbands and wives, individuals who possessed higher levels of mastery generally displayed more constructive conflict management behaviors during marital conflicts in middle years. In turn, individuals with more constructive behaviors averaged fewer depressive symptoms in their later adulthood. A partner effect was also noted, as individuals’ constructive behaviors were linked to their spouse's depressive symptoms. This finding emphasizes the importance of utilizing a dyadic context to understand intra‐individual and inter‐individual (or crossover) influences between husbands and wives in enduring marriages. A better understanding of how couples affect each other's mental health can inform the development and implementation of health promotion interventions and prevention efforts targeting middle‐aged couples.

Longitudinal associations between chronic condition discordance and perceived control among older couples.

“…Pinpointing more proximal factors that have negative implications for health-related control and personal mastery among individuals and couples managing multiple chronic conditions would help to identify targets for personalized interventions. Previous research has found that control beliefs are positively associated between spouses (e.g., Howland et al, 2016; Lee et al, 2020), and that own and partner perceptions of control are linked to key health outcomes including depressive symptoms and adherence to diet and exercise regimens (e.g., Anderson et al, 2016; Windsor et al, 2009). Moreover, perceived control is often modifiable and has shown improvements over time among during individual-based (French et al, 2014; Lachman, 2006; Zautra et al, 2012) and couple-based (Li et al, 2015; Northouse et al, 2007) interventions.…”

“…According to interdependence theory, spouses influence one another’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2008). Indeed, spousal associations have been found for essential health behaviors such as physical activity and sleep (Monin et al, 2016; Revenson et al, 2016), along with various indicators of psychological well-being including perceived control (Anderson et al, 2016; Howland et al, 2016; Lee et al, 2020; Windsor et al, 2009). It is imperative to evaluate dyadic processes that shape perceived control in the context of chronic illness because spouses’ control beliefs are linked to life satisfaction and depressive symptoms (Windsor et al, 2009), as well as physical activity intentions (Howland et al, 2016) and dietary and exercise adherence (Anderson et al, 2016), over and above one’s own control beliefs.…”

Mastery and Marital Processes: Mechanisms Linking Midlife Economic Adversity and Later‐Life Loneliness for Husbands and Wives in Enduring Marriages

“…For example, if one spouse perceives a deficiency in social connections, this perception can be transmitted to their spouse, resulting in increased congruence in partners’ loneliness (a process termed “love sick”; Kiecolt‐Glaser & Wilson, 2017). Past research has provided evidence for such husband‐wife contemporaneous associations with respect to mastery beliefs (Lee et al, 2019) and loneliness (Wickrama et al, 2020). Further, recent research has provided evidence for spouses’ interdependence in relation to the association between spouses’ marital quality and their partners’ loneliness.…”

“…In addition, mastery has also been shown to positively contribute to spouses’ marital behaviors. Specifically, previous research has documented that mastery may have a positive influence on couples’ conflict resolution abilities, resulting in better marital functioning (Lee, King, Wickrama, & O’Neal, 2019; Lee, Wickrama, Futris, & Mancini, 2017). In the present study, we consider couples’ constructive conflict resolution as an indicator of positive marital functioning and expect that a lack of mastery may contribute to spouses’ poor conflict resolution and poor marital functioning.…”