Aging is influenced not only by individual perceptions but also by the dynamics within close relationships, especially in couples. A new study published in Psychology and Aging examined how older couples perceive their own aging processes and how these perceptions, when shared or diverging, affect their mental health.

Previous research has shown that self-perceptions of aging (SPAs) play a critical role in determining how individuals cope with age-related changes and maintain their health. However, little attention has been given to how these perceptions interact within a dyadic context, where partners; views and mental health are often interconnected. In this work, researchers Meng Huo and Kyungmin Kim filled this gap by examining how couples’ SPAs form distinct profiles and how these profiles relate to changes in depressive symptoms over time.

The researchers utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study which is a comprehensive nationally representative longitudinal study of Americans aged 50 and older. It includes measures of both positive and negative SPAs, demographic information, health status, and marital quality. This particular data was drawn from waves collected in 2012 and 2014, and follow-ups in 2014 and 2016. The final sample included 7,700 participants, comprising 3,850 heterosexual couples.

SPAs were assessed using an eight-item scale adapted from the Attitudes Toward Own Aging scale. Four items measured positive SPAs (e.g., “I am as happy now as I was when I was younger”), and four items measured negative SPAs (e.g., “Things keep getting worse as I get older”). Participants rated their agreement with each statement on a 6-point scale. Marital quality was measured using a seven-item scale assessing spousal understanding, reliability, openness, and negative interactions (e.g., criticism), rated on a 4-point scale.

Depressive symptoms were measured using the shortened version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Participants indicated whether they had experienced each of the eight symptoms (e.g., feeling depressed, restless sleep) during the past week (yes/no). Participants also reported demographic and health information.

Huo and Kim identified five distinct profiles of couples’ SPAs. About 20% of couples fell into the “similarly positive” profile, where both partners reported high positive SPAs and low negative SPAs. Another 6% of couples were in the “similarly negative” profile, with both partners reporting low positive SPAs and high negative SPAs.

The most prevalent profile, “similarly average,” comprised 38% of couples who reported SPAs around the sample’s average levels. In the “husband negative” profile, which included 20% of couples, wives reported average SPAs, while husbands had particularly high negative SPAs. Conversely, the “wife negative” profile included 17% of couples, where husbands reported average SPAs and wives had particularly high negative SPAs.

Key predictors of these profiles were minority status, health, and marital quality. Minority wives were more likely to be in the similarly positive profile and less likely to be in the similarly negative profile. Employed wives were more likely to fall into the husband negative profile, whereas the employment status of husbands had no significant effect.

Better self-rated health and fewer functional limitations were associated with the similarly positive profile and inversely related to the similarly negative profile for both spouses. Higher marital quality increased the likelihood of being in the similarly positive and similarly average profiles while decreasing the likelihood of being in profiles involving negative SPAs.

Couples in the similarly positive and similarly average profiles experienced the smallest increases in depressive symptoms over the two-year follow-up period. Conversely, couples in the similarly negative profile reported the greatest increases in depressive symptoms. Husbands in the husband negative profile experienced significantly greater increases in depressive symptoms compared to those in the wife negative profile. Wives in the wife negative profile reported greater increases in depressive symptoms over time compared to those in the similarly positive and similarly average profiles.

Overall, these findings emphasize the importance of shared positive self-perceptions of aging within couples as a protective factor for mental health.

A limitation is the focus on heterosexual couples, which limits the generalizability of the findings to same-sex couples. Further, the cross-sectional nature of the data used to derive dyadic profiles does not capture how SPAs might evolve over time within the same couples.

The study, “Dyadic Profiles of Couples’ Self-Perceptions of Aging: Implications for Mental Health”, was authored by Meng Huo and Kyungmin Kim.