Attachment theory is useful for understanding how couples cope with stress across the lifespan. This study used the the Actor Partner Interdependence Model to examine the extent to which attachment related to one's own (actor effect) and one's partner's (partner effect) depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction among older, married couples with a musculoskeletal condition. Pain and support were also examined as mediators. A group of 77 couples completed self-report measures as part of a larger study in which support was manipulated. Results revealed that, when one or both partners were insecurely attached, both partners reported greater depressive symptoms and lower satisfaction; however, pain and support were not significant mediators. Findings have implications for targeted, dyadic interventions to improve psychological health of couples coping with pain.
Aging is associated with an increase in need for assistance. Preparation for future care (PFC) is related to improved coping ability as well as better mental and physical health outcomes among older adults. We examined the association of optimism with components of PFC among older adults. We also explored race differences in the relationship between optimism and PFC. In Study 1, multiple regression showed that optimism was positively related to concrete planning. In Study 2, optimism was related to gathering information. An exploratory analysis combining the samples yielded a race interaction: For Whites higher optimism, but for Blacks lower optimism was associated with more planning. High optimism may be a barrier to future planning in certain social and cultural contexts.
The current study examined predictors of individual differences in the magnitude of practice-related improvements achieved by 87 older adults (meanage 63.52 years) over 18-weeks of cognitive practice. Cognitive inconsistency in both baseline trial-to-trial reaction times and week-to-week accuracy scores was included as predictors of practice-related gains in two measures of processing speed. Conditional growth models revealed that both reaction time and accuracy level and rate-of-change in functioning were related to inconsistency, even after controlling for mean-level, but that increased inconsistency was negatively associated with accuracy versus positively associated with reaction time improvement. Cognitive inconsistency may signal dysregulation in the ability to control cognitive performance or may be indicative of adaptive attempts at functioning.