Spousal neuroticism moderates everyday problem--wellbeing associations in older couples

Marriage partners exert a special influence on each other's health and wellbeing, potentially even more so in old age, when social networks shrink and spouses become ever more important resources for dealing with everyday problems. This study extends past research by examining associations between spousal levels of neuroticism, a key trait tied to wellbeing and health, and everyday fluctuations in positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), physical symptoms, and responses to everyday problems.

Forty-nine wives and 49 husbands aged 60-83 years (M marriage duration = 42.5 years) provided independent neuroticism self-reports. Spouses then simultaneously reported their PA and NA, physical health symptoms, and everyday problems 3 times daily for 9 days (up to 27 daily life assessments in total) using handheld computers.

Hierarchical linear models replicate past research by linking higher individual neuroticism with lower overall PA, higher overall NA, and more severe overall physical symptoms. Interestingly, although individual neuroticism did not affect associations between everyday problems and affect and physical symptoms, spousal neuroticism did moderate these relationships. Individuals with spouses higher in neuroticism (compared with those with spouses lower in neuroticism) reported less pronounced elevations in NA and physical symptoms, and less pronounced reductions in PA, when number of problems was greater, even when controlling for partner presence and various individual- and couple-level covariates.

Findings are discussed in the context of evolutionary psychology and suggest that spousal neuroticism may serve adaptive functions by increasing vigilance and preparing older spouses to deal with everyday problems.