Affect and well-being similarity among older Indian spouses

Abstract

Objectives: Previous work suggests that husbands and wives are likely to share affective states so that depression or happiness in one spouse is predictive of depression or happiness in the other. Studies that have examined spousal affect similarity, however, have been concentrated in the Western world where the meaning of marriage may be different than it is in other cultural contexts. Marriage in India, unlike that in the United States, is focused on the extended family so that love and intimacy between spouses are downplayed. This study examined affect and well-being similarity between 603 older married couples in India using pilot data from the Longitudinal Aging Study of India.

Method: We ran linear regression models to assess the relationship between the well-being states of husbands and wives using dyadic observations for four different measures: depressive symptoms, dissatisfaction with daily life, social isolation, and overall life satisfaction.

Results: Across all four measures, the well-being scores of one spouse were positively and significantly associated with the well-being scores of the other. These associations did not vary by marital satisfaction, but were slightly stronger for respondents reporting poor health.

Conclusion: Our increased understanding of social connectedness has prompted a shift from the consideration of single individuals to a broader understanding of individuals in the context of their social environments. The results of this study suggest that interventions designed to foster well-being among older adults in India might benefit from a focus on couples as a unit rather than individuals.

Keywords:

• depression – mood disorders, anxiety and trauma-related disorders
• social support – psychosocial and cultural aspects
• quality of life/well-being – psychosocial and cultural aspects
• cultural aspects – psychosocial and cultural aspects

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Sandy Chien and Kevin Feeney of the Rand Corporation for assisting with our understanding of the dataset.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation [grant number OPP1061499].