HIGH HAPPINESS VARIABILITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER MEAN HAPPINESS IN OLDER ADULT COUPLES

• Published in: Innovation in aging Vol. 2; no. suppl_1; p. 867
• Main Authors: Michalowski, V I, Gerstorf, D, Ashe, M C, Madden, K M, Hoppmann, C A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 11.11.2018
• Subjects: Abstracts
• ISSN: 2399-5300; 2399-5300
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.3237

Positive affect variability is associated with worsening mental and physical health outcomes (Ong & Ram, 2017). Less is known about the mechanisms underlying such associations. This study uses 21 simultaneous momentary assessments of target happiness and perceiver ratings from both partners in 119 older couples (M age = 71.0 years; M relationship duration = 40.1 years). In line with previous research, targets with high happiness variability also show lower mean happiness than those who are less variable. Further analyses will examine if high variability helps or hinders partner accuracy in detecting target happiness, a key question for partners to understand when support is needed. Preliminary analyses show that partners are more accurate in detecting changes in happiness for targets with high happiness variability. Spousal perceptions represent an important extension of individual research, because they shed light on the social context and consequences of happiness variability in older age.