Testing a Comprehensive Model of Romantic Relationship Stability and Health at Mid-Late Life

• In Event: 30860 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 9. Social Determinants of Health Over the Life Course

Abstract

It is well known that romantic relationships are meaningful in predicting various well-being outcomes, including health behaviors, and self-reported mental and physical health, among others. However, much of this research focuses on young adults despite call from life course scholarship to consider those experiences of aging across the life course, including mid-late life. Even more, research that has met the call has largely considered marital relationships, overlooking changes in demographic trends in mid-late life romantic relationships following the gray divorce revolution. Finally, self-report measures of well-being while helpful are less reliable for individuals who are a part of disadvantaged social groups and may cloud our understanding in aging disparities, yet little to no research has considered more objective measures of aging (e.g., epigenetic aging) to elucidate such disparities associated with romantic relationships and aging. The current study fills these gaps in the literature by creating a comprehensive model of adult romantic relationship stability and health at mid-late life, a life-course sensitive, holistic model of relationships and (in)stability. Using a nationally representative, longitudinal study of middle-aged and older adults in the United States and latent class analysis the current study answers the following questions: 1) how are characteristics of mid-late life romantic relationships, as well as relationship (in)stability, working holistically to predict various well-being outcomes, including depressive symptoms, self-reported health, and epigenetic aging, among middle-aged and older adults in the United States, and (2) how do experiences of romantic relationships and health vary across gender and race? The reported findings inform and extend upon the current body of knowledge regarding romantic relationships and well-being for middle-aged and older adults in the United States. Even more, this research can inform practitioners concerned with the processes of delayed aging, as well as disparities in aging, on possible areas for intervention.

Author

• Stephanie Lovisiah Hanus-Knapp, University of Georgia