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Longitudinal Dyadic Associations Between Perceived Discrimination and Loneliness Among Midlife and Older Married
Heather R Farmer1, Jeffrey E Stokes2
1Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA.
The Gerontologist
|March 8, 2025
Summary
Perceived discrimination increases loneliness in older adults. This loneliness can spread between spouses, impacting both partners over time, even years later.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Social Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Loneliness is a significant public health issue for older adults.
- Marriage offers protection against loneliness, yet many older married individuals experience it.
- Perceived discrimination is linked to negative health outcomes, including loneliness, but its dyadic impact in older couples is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between perceived discrimination and loneliness in older married individuals.
- To examine the dyadic effects of perceived discrimination and loneliness within couples.
- To explore the potential "contagion" of loneliness between partners.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of longitudinal data from 1,429 mixed-gender married dyads from the Health and Retirement Study (2010-2020).
- Application of longitudinal dyadic structural equation modeling.
- Assessment of perceived discrimination's impact on individual loneliness and partner's loneliness over time.
Main Results:
- Perceived discrimination was found to predict increased loneliness over time for individuals.
- A partner's loneliness also predicted an individual's own loneliness over time.
- Loneliness contagion significantly mediated the indirect effect of one spouse's perceived discrimination on the other's loneliness over an 8-year period.
Conclusions:
- Perceived discrimination affects an individual's loneliness and has dyadic implications for both partners in a marriage.
- Future research should explore the mechanisms behind these effects, such as how discrimination is experienced within couples.
- Understanding these dyadic impacts is crucial for addressing loneliness in older married populations.
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