Abstract
We investigated linkages between spousal support satisfaction and affective, cortisol, and blood pressure responses to conflict in two samples, 85 newlyweds and 31 older couples, married an average of 42 years. Couples were admitted to a hospital research unit and provided self-reports regarding the support received from their spouses. After a baseline period, couples engaged in a 30-min conflict discussion during which time blood was drawn for cortisol assessment. After the conflict, newlyweds' blood pressure was measured. Among newlywed wives, greater spousal support satisfaction was associated with smaller changes in negative affect and cortisol responses to conflict. Notably, newlywed wives and husbands demonstrated lower blood pressure after conflict when spousal support satisfaction was higher. In contrast, older husbands (but not wives) exhibited greater cortisol responses when spousal support satisfaction was lower. These relationships provide a window on mechanisms linking marriage and health for men and women across the life span.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acitelli, L. K. (1996). The neglected links between marital support and marital satisfaction. In Pierce, G. R., Sarason, B. R., and Sarason, I. G. (Eds.), Handbook of Social Support and the Family, Plenum, New York, pp. 83-103.
Acitelli, L. K., and Antonucci, T. C. (1994). Gender differences in the link between marital support and satisfaction in older adults. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 67(4): 688-698.
Antonucci, T. C. (1994). A life-span view of women's social relations. In Turner, B. F., and Troll, L. E. (Eds.), Women Growing Older: Psychological Perspectives, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 239-269.
Antonucci, T. C., and Akiyama, H. (1987). An examination of sex differences in social support among older men and women. Sex Roles 17(11/12): 737-749.
Antonucci, T. C., Akiyama, H. (1994). Convoys of attachment and social relations in children, adolescents, and adults. In Nestmann, F., and Hurrelmann, K. (Eds.), Social Networks and Social Support in Childhood and Adolescence, Walter De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 37-52.
Baron, R. M., and Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 51: 1173-1182.
Burman, B., and Margolin, G. (1992). Analysis of the association between marital relationships and health problems: An interactional perspective. Psychol. Bull. 112: 39-63.
Carels, R. A., Blumenthal, J. A., and Sherwood, A. (1998). Effect of satisfaction with social support on blood pressure in normotensive and borderline hypertensive men and women. Int. J. Behav. Med. 5(1): 76-85.
Carstensen, L. L., and Charles, S. T. (1998). Emotion in the second half of life. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 7(5): 144-149.
Cohen, S., and Herbert, T. B. (1996). Health psychology: Psychological factors and physical disease from the perspective of human psychoneuroimmunology. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 47: 113-142.
Coyne, J. C., Rohrbaugh, M. J., Shoham, V., Sonnega, J. S., Nicklas, J. M., and Cranford, J. A. (2001). Prognostic importance of marital quality for survival of congestive heart failure. Am. J. Cardiol. 88: 526-529.
Cutrona, C. E., and Suhr, J. A. (1994). Social support communication in the context of marriage: An analysis of couples' supportive interactions. In Burleson, B. R., Albrecht, T. L., and Sarason, I. G. (Eds.), Communication of Social Support: Messages, Interactions, Relationships, and Community, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 113-135.
Dehle, C., Larsen, D., and Landers, J. E. (2001). Social support in marriage [Special issue]. Am. J. Fam. Ther. 29(4): 307-324.
Dixon, D., Cruess, S., Kilbourn, K., Klimas, N., Fletcher, M. A., Ironson, G., Baum, A., Schneiderman, N., and Antoni, M. H. (2001). Social support mediates loneliness and human herpesvirus Type 6 (HHV-6) antibody titers. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 31(6): 1111-1132.
Esterling, B. A., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Bodnar, J. C., and Glaser, R. (1994). Chronic stress, social support, and persistent alterations in the natural killer cell response to cytokines in older adults. Health Psychol. 13(4): 291-298.
Ewart, C. K. (1993). Marital interaction–The context for psychosomatic research. Psychosom. Med. 55: 410-412.
Ewart, C. K., Taylor, C. B., Kraemer, H. C., and Agras, W. S. (1991). High blood pressure and marital discord: Not being nasty matters more than being nice. Health Psychol. 10: 155-163.
Glynn, L. M., Christenfeld, N., and Gerin, W. (1999). Gender, social support, and cardiovascular responses to stress. Psychosom. Med. 61(2):234-242.
Gove, W. R., Hughes, M., and Style, C. B. (1983). Does marriage have positive effects on psychological well-being of the individual? J. Health Soc. Behav. 24: 122-131.
Izard, C. E., and Bartlett, E. S. (1972). Patterns of Emotions: A New Analysis of Anxiety and Depression, Academic Press, Oxford, England.
Julien, D., and Markman, H. J. (1991). Social support and social networks as determinants of individual and marital outcomes. J. Soc. Pers. Relationships 8(4): 549-568.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Dura, J. R., Speicher, C. E., Trask, O. J., and Glaser, R. (1991). Spousal caregivers of dementia victims: Longitudinal changes in immunity and health. Psychosom. Med. 53: 345-362.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Glaser, R., Cacioppo, J. T., MacCallum, R. C., Snydersmith, M., Kim, C., and Malarkey, W. B. (1997). Marital conflict in older adults: Endocrinological and immunological correlates. Psychosom. Med. 59: 339-349.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Glaser, R., Cacioppo, J. T., and Malarkey, W. B. (1998). Marital stress: Immunologic, neuroendocrine, and autonomic correlates. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 840: 649-655.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Malarkey, W. B., Chee, M., Newton, T., Cacioppo, J. T., Mao, H., and Glaser, R. (1993). Negative behavior during marital conflict is associated with immunological down-regulation. Psychosom. Med. 55: 395-409.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., and Newton, T. (2001). Marriage and health: His and hers. Psychol. Bull. 127: 472-503.
Kirschbaum, C., Klauer, T., Filipp, S.-H., and Hellhammer, D. H. (1995). Sex-specific effects of social support on cortisol and subjective responses to acute psychological stress. Psychosom. Med. 57(1): 23-31.
Krokoff, L. J. (1989). Predictive validation of a telephone version of the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test. J. Marriage Fam. 51: 767-775.
Levenson, R. W., Carstensen, L. L., and Gottman, J. M. (1993). Long-term marriage: Age, gender, and satisfaction. Psychol. Aging 8(2): 301-313.
Locke, H. J., and Wallace, K. M. (1959). Short marital adjustment and prediction tests: Their reliability and validity. Marriage Fam. Living 21: 251-255.
Lovallo, W. (1997). Stress and Health: Biological and Psychological Interactions, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Malarkey, W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Pearl, D., and Glaser, R. (1994). Hostile behavior during marital conflict alters pituitary and adrenal hormones. Psychosom. Med. 56: 41-51.
Margolin, G., Burman, B., and John, R. S. (1989). Home observations of married couples reenacting naturalistic conflicts. Behav. Assess. 11: 101-118.
Martire, L. M., Stephens, M. A. P., Druley, J. A., and Wojno, W. C. (2002). Negative reactions to received spousal care: Predictors and consequences of miscarried support. Health Psychol. 21(2): 167-176.
McNair, D. M., Lorr, M., and Dropelman, L. F. (1981). Profile of Mood States, Educational and Testing Service, San Diego.
Pasch, L. A., Bradbury, T. N., and Davila, J. (1997a). Gender, negative affectivity, and observed social support behavior in marital interaction. Personal Relationships 4(4): 361-378.
Pasch, L. A., Bradbury, T. N., and Sullivan, K. T. (1997b). Social support in marriage: An analysis of intraindividual and interpersonal components. In Pierce, G. R., Lakey, B., et al. (Eds.), Sourcebook of Social Support and Personality, Plenum, New York, pp. 229-256.
Saab, P. G., and Schneiderman, N. (1993). Biobehavioral stressors, laboratory investigation, and the risk of hypertension. In Blascovich, J. J., and Katkin, E. S. (Eds.), Cardiovascular Reactivity to Psychological Stress and Disease, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, pp. 49-82.
Sarason, I. G., Levine, H. M., Basham, R. B., and Sarason, B. R. (1983). Assessing social support: The Social Support Questionnaire. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 44: 127-139.
Seeman, T. E., Berkman, L. F., Blazer, D., and Rowe, J. W. (1994). Social ties and support and neuroendocrine function: The MacArthur studies of successful aging. Ann. Behav. Med. 16(2): 95-106.
Steptoe, A., Lundwall, K., and Cropley, M. (2000). Gender, family structure and cardiovascular activity during the working day and evening. Soc. Sci. Med. 50(4): 531-539.
Uchino, B. N., Uno, D., and Holt-Lunstad, J. (1999). Social support, physiological processes, and health. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 8(5): 145-148.
Wills, T. A., and Shinar, O. (2000). Measuring perceived and received social support. In Cohen, S., Underwood, L. G., and Gottlieb, B. H. (Eds.), Social Support Measurement and Intervention: A Guide for Health and Social Scientists, Oxford Press, Oxford, pp. 86-135.
Xu, Y., and Burleson, B. R. (2001). Effects of sex, culture, and support type on perceptions of spousal social support: An assessment of the “support gap” hypothesis in early marriage. Hum. Commun. Res. 27(4): 535-566.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heffner, K.L., Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Loving, T.J. et al. Spousal Support Satisfaction as a Modifier of Physiological Responses to Marital Conflict in Younger and Older Couples. J Behav Med 27, 233–254 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOBM.0000028497.79129.ad
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOBM.0000028497.79129.ad