Smith Timothy W, Berg Cynthia A, Florsheim Paul, Uchino Bert N, Pearce Gale, Hawkins Melissa, Henry Nancy J M, Beveridge Ryan M, Skinner Michelle A, Olsen-Cerny Chrisanna
Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Psychol Aging. 2009 Jun;24(2):259-73. doi: 10.1037/a0015609.
Prior theory and research regarding age differences in marital interaction suggest that older couples display and experience more positivity and less negativity than middle-aged couples. However, studies of overt behavior in older couples are relatively rare and have emphasized disagreement, neglecting other important contexts for older couples such as collaboration during everyday problem solving. Further, the affiliation or communion dimension of social interaction (i.e., warmth vs. hostility) is commonly assessed but not the control or agency dimension (e.g., dominance vs. submissiveness). The present study examined affect, cognitive appraisals, and overt behavior during disagreement (i.e., discussing a current conflict) and collaboration (i.e., planning errands) in 300 middle-aged and older married couples. Older couples reported less negative affect during disagreement and rated spouses as warmer than did middle-aged couples. However, these effects were eliminated when older couples' greater marital satisfaction was controlled. For observed behavior, older couples displayed little evidence of greater positivity and reduced negativity-especially women. During collaboration, older couples displayed a unique blend of warmth and control, suggesting a greater focus on emotional and social concerns during problem solving.
先前关于婚姻互动中年龄差异的理论和研究表明，与中年夫妇相比，老年夫妇表现出更多的积极情绪且消极情绪更少。然而，对老年夫妇公开行为的研究相对较少，并且这些研究主要强调分歧，而忽略了老年夫妇其他重要的情境，比如日常问题解决过程中的协作。此外，社会互动中的亲密或交融维度（即热情与敌意）通常会被评估，但控制或能动性维度（如主导与顺从）却未被评估。本研究调查了300对中年和老年已婚夫妇在分歧（即讨论当前冲突）和协作（即计划差事）过程中的情感、认知评价及公开行为。老年夫妇在分歧期间报告的消极情绪较少，并且对配偶的评价比中年夫妇更热情。然而，当控制了老年夫妇更高的婚姻满意度后，这些影响就消失了。对于观察到的行为，老年夫妇几乎没有表现出更多积极情绪和更少消极情绪的证据——尤其是老年女性。在协作过程中，老年夫妇展现出热情与控制的独特结合，这表明他们在解决问题时更关注情感和社会问题。
