Spousal Goals, Affect Quality, and Collaborative Problem Solving: Evidence from a Time-Sampling Study With Older Couples

Christiane A. Hoppmann, Denis Gerstorf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study utilized up to 27 simultaneous daily-life assessments from 49 husbands and wives (M age = 72 years, M = marriage length = 42 years). Progress on self-focused goals was associated with concurrent increases in positive affect and decreases in negative affect. Progress on joint goals was associated with decreases in negative affect only. Spouses with many joint goals used more collaborative problem-solving strategies, which were rated as very effective. Findings demonstrate the benefits of combining time-varying and stable person-level characteristics when investigating how older spouses navigate their daily lives with implications for aging outcomes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)70-87
Number of pages18
JournalResearch in Human Development
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Social Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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