Flying Solo at Midlife: Gender, Marital Status, and Psychological Well-Being
Flying Solo at Midlife: Gender, Marital Status, and Psychological Well-Being
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中年单飞：性别、婚姻状况和心理健康
DOI：
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发表时间：
1996
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
N. Marks
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
N. Marks
这项研究使用了1992年至1993年威斯康星州纵向研究(N=6876)中非西班牙裔白人中年成年人参与者的样本数据，在广泛的一系列测量中检验了性别和婚姻状况在心理幸福感方面的差异。还评估了选择和社会因果关系如何解释差异的证据。多变量分析揭示了几种性别交互作用，通常表明未婚男性比未婚女性更不利。按性别进行的单独分析显示了单身的积极和消极影响的复杂图景。与选择论证的假设相反，单身女性在相对持久的个性特征上得分更高，这与更好的心理健康相关。单身男性没有已婚男性那么有利。总体而言，选择没有考虑婚姻状况在幸福感方面的差异。家庭收入和有亲戚知己会对剩余的一些影响起到调节作用。关键词：性别、婚姻状况、中年、个性、心理健康。从历史上看，研究人员发现，已婚男性和女性比未婚同龄人的心理健康状况更好(例如，Gove，Hughes&Style，1983；Gove&Shin，1989；Gove，Style，&Hughes，1990；Lee，Seccombe，&Shehan，1991)。然而，尽管本世纪男性和女性的预期寿命都显著延长，但美国成年人中年轻出生的人群在成年后结婚的时间按比例减少。这是由于历史趋势：结婚年龄越晚，未婚率越高，离婚率越高，再婚率越低(Schoen，Urton，Woodrow，&Baj，1985)。更大比例的年轻出生人群现在更有可能在中年和老年期间单身(从未结婚、离婚或丧偶)。Uhlenberg，Cooney和Boyd(1990)预测，在1955年至1959年出生的队列中，近三分之一的白人女性将在50岁至54岁的中年未婚，一半的白人女性将在65岁至69岁进入年轻老年时未婚。如果婚姻与更好的心理健康相关，那么这些人口趋势是否预示着未来老龄化社会中心理健康问题的激增？或者，有没有其他证据表明，随着成年单身生活变得越来越普遍，它也变得不那么不利了，或者至少不是明确的问题？格伦和韦弗(1988)使用1977年至1986年进行的不同全国性调查的数据，报告称，在这段时间里，结婚和自我报告的幸福感之间的关系有所下降。大部分下降似乎与未婚男性幸福感的增加和已婚女性的幸福感下降有关。已婚人士和未婚人士之间的幸福感差异在年轻人(19-24岁)中的下降最为明显。最近对单身(包括未婚和未婚)中年女性的定性研究(Anderson&Stewart，1994；Gordon，1994)也表明，成熟的单身女性开始报告单身地位的优势，个人自主性和成长性等优势使“独自飞行”成为一种心理上有益的经历。以前评估性别、婚姻状况和心理健康的工作一直受到一套狭隘的结果衡量标准的限制。衡量抑郁的方法最常见，其次是单一项目的生活满意度或总体“幸福感”。然而，越来越清楚的是，心理健康是多维的，因为积极和消极的心理状态是负相关的，但不是两极连续体，所以在积极和消极的结果测量中都会得到高分是可以预期的(Bradburn，1969；Bryant&Veroff，1982；Ryff，1989,1995；Ryff&Essex，1991；Ryff&Kyes，1995)。…
This study examines gender and marital status differences in psychological well-being across an extensive array of measures using data from a sample of non-Hispanic, White, midlife adult participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, 1992-1993 (N = 6,876). Evidence for how selection and social causation might account for differences also is evaluated. Multivariate analyses reveal several gender interactions, usually indicating a greater disadvantage for unmarried men than for unmarried women. Separate analyses by gender show a complex picture of both positive and negative effects of being single. Contrary to what the selection argument hypothesizes, single women have higher scores on relatively enduring personality characteristics associated with better psychological well-being than married women. Single men do not compare so favorably with married men. Overall, selection does not account for marital status differences in well-being. Household income and having a kin confidant mediate some of the remaining effects. Key Words: gender, marital status, midlife, personality, psychological well-being. Historically, researchers have found that married men and women report better psychological wellbeing than their unmarried peers (e.g., Gove, Hughes, & Style, 1983; Gove & Shin, 1989; Gove, Style, & Hughes, 1990; Lee, Seccombe, & Shehan, 1991). Yet despite a significant lengthening of life expectancy during this century for both men and women, younger birth cohorts of American adults are spending proportionately less of their adult lives married. This is due to historical trends toward a later age at marriage, a higher rate of nonmarriage, a higher rate of divorce, and a lower rate of remarriage (Schoen, Urton, Woodrow, & Baj, 1985). Larger proportions of younger birth cohorts are now more likely to be single (never married, divorced, or widowed) during their midlife and older years. Uhlenberg, Cooney, and Boyd (1990) project that almost one third of White women in the 1955-1959 birth cohort will be unmarried at midlife between the ages of 50 and 54, and one half will be unmarried when they enter young old age between 65 and 69. If marriage is associated with better mental health, do these demographic trends portend a proliferation of mental health problems in our future aging society? Or is there any additional evidence that might indicate that as adult single life becomes more common, it is also becoming less disadvantaged or at least not unequivocally problematic? Glenn and Weaver (1988), using data from separate national surveys conducted from 1977 through 1986, reported that the relation between being married and self-reported happiness declined during this time. Most of the decline appeared to be related to an increase in the happiness of never-married males and a decrease in the reported happiness of married females. The decline in differences in happiness between the married and the nonmarried was most obvious for younger adults (ages 19-24). Recent qualitative studies of single (both never-married and formerly married) midlife women (Anderson & Stewart, 1994; Gordon, 1994) also have suggested that mature single women are beginning to report advantages to single status, advantages such as personal autonomy and growth that have made "flying solo" a psychologically rewarding experience. Previous work evaluating gender, marital status, and psychological well-being has been limited by a narrow set of outcome measures. Measures of depression most commonly are employed, followed by one-item measures of life satisfaction or overall "happiness." However, it has become increasingly clear that psychological well-being is multidimensional and that scoring high on both positive and negative outcome measures might be expected to occur because positive and negative psychological states are negatively correlated but are not a bipolar continuum (Bradburn, 1969; Bryant & Veroff, 1982; Ryff, 1989, 1995; Ryff & Essex, 1991; Ryff & Keyes,1995). …
测量误差掩盖了情感评级中的双极性。
影响因子：
7.6
作者：
Green,DP;Goldman,SL;Salovey,P
通讯作者：
Salovey,P
女性中年以后离婚。
DOI：
10.1093/geronj/45.1.s3
发表时间：
1990
期刊：
Journal of gerontology
影响因子：
--
作者：
Uhlenberg,P;Cooney,T;Boyd,R
通讯作者：
Boyd,R