How Spouses Influence Each Other's Health in Same- and Different-Sex Marriages: A Dyadic and Longitudinal Assessment from Mid to Later Life

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Abstract Decades of population research show that married Americans are in better health and live longer than their unmarried peers and that there are gender differences in how spouses influence each other’s health. Until recently, however, this research was entirely based on marriages between women and men. In 2015, with NIA support (R21 AG0445850), we collected dyadic data to conduct the first in-depth analysis of marital processes and health comparing legally married midlife spouses in same-sex and different-sex marriages. Findings have highlighted differences in health-related marital dynamics for women and men in same- and different-sex unions. These dynamics likely impact both spouses’ long-term health, but due to a lack of longitudinal and dyadic data, scientists know little about how they do so. The major goal of this project is to construct a novel, longitudinal, dyadic data set to compare how same-sex and different-sex married partners influence each other’s health behaviors and mental and physical health from mid- to later life. In 2015, we collected survey data on relationship dynamics, relationship and health histories, and multiple health outcomes from both spouses (ages 35–65) in legally married same- and different-sex marriages (N=838 individuals, 419 dyads; 124 same-sex men couples, 171 same-sex women couples; 124 different-sex couples). We also collected 10 days of daily diary data to assess daily fluctuation in partner dynamics, stress exposure, health behaviors, and psychological and physical symptoms. We propose a Time 2 and Time 3 longitudinal follow-up to: (1) Advance scientific understanding of how relationship dynamics that influence long-term health trajectories may vary for women and men in same- and different-sex marriages; (2) Elucidate how patterns in daily experiences of health-related marital dynamics change across 3 occasions spanning 8 years and how these dynamics vary for women and men in same- and different-sex marriages; and (3) Link the daily diary and survey data to consider how short-term fluctuations in relationship processes affect longer-term change in multiple health outcomes. Based on results from the 2015 baseline survey and diary data, we expect that over time, women and men in same- and different- sex marriages will develop unique patterns of risk (e.g., health-damaging behaviors, stress and distress transmission) and resilience (e.g., emotional support, caregiving, emotion regulation) that affect health. Many of the most important questions about the cumulative effects of marital dynamics on health and how those dynamics change as spouses age require longitudinal data—data that do not currently exist for same-sex couples. The novel cross-sectional dyadic data collected through NIA R21 AG044585 provide a unique opportunity for a longitudinal data collection on aging same- and different-sex married couples. Analysis of these data will provide evidence-based knowledge about the processes that link marital dynamics to health as spouses age and how these processes vary for women and men in same- and different-sex marriages.