Li Tianyuan, Fung Helene H
a Department of Psychological Studies , The Hong Kong Institute of Education , Hong Kong.
Aging Ment Health. 2014;18(1):4-10. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2013.775639. Epub 2013 Mar 1.
Intimate relationship is a significant factor that influences older adults' subjective well-being. Avoidant attachment reflects a basic working model regarding interpersonal relationships. The current study aims to test how age and gender moderate the effect of avoidant attachment to spouse on subjective well-being. Fifty-six married couples aged from 20 to 79 years in Hong Kong were recruited for the study. Their avoidant attachment to spouse and subjective well-being were measured by questionnaires. In general, avoidant attachment to spouse was found to undermine subjective well-being. More importantly, age significantly moderated the negative association between avoidant attachment and subjective well-being, but the direction of the moderating effect was opposite for husbands and wives. Compared with their younger counterparts, the detrimental effect of avoidant attachment on subjective well-being was weaker for older wives but stronger for older husbands. The results suggest that marital relationship may play different roles in different life stages for the two genders. In later adulthood, males may become more dependent on the marital relationship to maintain subjective well-being, whereas females can be relatively independent.
亲密关系是影响老年人主观幸福感的一个重要因素。回避型依恋反映了一种关于人际关系的基本工作模式。本研究旨在检验年龄和性别如何调节对配偶的回避型依恋对主观幸福感的影响。研究招募了香港56对年龄在20至79岁之间的已婚夫妇。通过问卷调查测量他们对配偶的回避型依恋和主观幸福感。总体而言，发现对配偶的回避型依恋会损害主观幸福感。更重要的是，年龄显著调节了回避型依恋与主观幸福感之间的负相关，但调节效应的方向在丈夫和妻子中相反。与年轻的同龄人相比，回避型依恋对老年妻子主观幸福感的有害影响较弱，而对老年丈夫则较强。结果表明，婚姻关系在两个性别不同的生命阶段可能发挥不同的作用。在成年后期，男性可能变得更加依赖婚姻关系来维持主观幸福感，而女性则相对独立。
