Is there something unique about marriage? The relative impact of marital status, relationship quality, and network social support on ambulatory blood pressure and mental health
Is there something unique about marriage? The relative impact of marital status, relationship quality, and network social support on ambulatory blood pressure and mental health
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DOI：
10.1007/s12160-008-9018-y
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发表时间：
2008-04-01
影响因子：
3.8
通讯作者：
Jones, Brandon Q.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Holt-Lunstad, Julianne;Birmingham, Wendy;Jones, Brandon Q.
背景有密切的社会关系，特别是已婚已可靠地与健康效益，包括较低的发病率和死亡率。目的本研究的目的是检查婚姻状况，关系质量，方法对204名已婚男性和99名单身女性（N= 100）进行动态血压（ABP）测定，并与100名健康体检者进行比较。结果婚姻状况和婚姻质量都是影响老年人婚姻质量的重要因素。已婚者的生活满意度（SWL）和血压下降比单身者更高。高婚姻质量与较低的ABP、较低的压力、较少的抑郁和较高的SWL相关。重要的是，对比那些未婚的人和那些低质量婚姻的人，我们发现单身的人有较低的ABP-这表明单身的人比他们不幸福的婚姻伴侣更好。同样，拥有一个支持性网络并没有缓和（即，缓冲）单身或婚姻不幸福的影响。结论研究结果表明，结婚本身并不是普遍有益的，相反，与这种关系相关的满意度和支持是重要的。然而，婚姻可能是独特的，因为有证据进一步表明，来自一个人的网络的支持并不能弥补单身的影响。这些结果突出了理解社会关系对长期健康影响的复杂性，它们可能有助于澄清这种关联存在的生理途径。
Background Having close social relationships and being married specifically have been reliably associated with health benefits including lower morbidity and mortality.Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of marital status, relationship quality, and network support on measures of psychological and cardiovascular health.Method We examined ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) among 204 married and 99 single males and females (N=303).Results We found that both marital status and marital quality were important. Married individuals had greater satisfaction with life (SWL) and blood pressure dipping than single individuals. High marital quality was associated with lower ABP, lower stress, less depression, and higher SWL. Importantly, contrasting those who are unmarried with those in low-quality marriages, we find that single individuals had lower ABP-suggesting that single individuals fare better than their unhappily married counterparts. Likewise, having a supportive network did not moderate (i.e., buffer) the effects of being single or unhappily married.Conclusions Findings indicate being married per se is not universally beneficial, rather, the satisfaction and support associated with such a relationship is important. However, marriage may be distinctive, as evidence further suggests that support from one's network does not compensate for the effect of being single. These results highlight the complexities in understanding the influence of social relationships on long-term health, and they may help clarify the physiological pathways by which such associations exist.