Department of Social Psychology, Tilburg University.
Psychol Sci. 2019 May;30(5):798-803. doi: 10.1177/0956797619835147. Epub 2019 Mar 21.
Studies have shown that individuals' choice of a life partner predicts their life outcomes, from their relationship satisfaction to their career success. The present study examined whether the reach of one's spouse extends even further, to the ultimate life outcome: mortality. A dyadic survival analysis using a representative sample of elderly couples ( N = 4,374) followed for up to 8 years showed that a 1-standard-deviation-higher level of spousal life satisfaction was associated with a 13% lower mortality risk. This effect was robust to controlling for couples' socioeconomic situation (e.g., household income), both partners' sociodemographic characteristics, and baseline health. Exploratory mediation analyses pointed toward partner and actor physical activity as sequential mediators. These findings suggest that life satisfaction has not only intrapersonal but also interpersonal associations with longevity and contribute to the fields of epidemiology, positive psychology, and relationship research.
研究表明，个人对生活伴侣的选择可以预测他们的生活结果，从关系满意度到职业成功。本研究探讨了一个人的配偶的影响范围是否更广，甚至延伸到最终的生活结果：死亡率。一项使用代表性老年夫妇样本（N=4374）进行的对偶生存分析显示，配偶生活满意度每提高一个标准差，死亡率就会降低 13%。在控制了夫妻的社会经济状况（如家庭收入）、双方的社会人口特征和基线健康状况后，这一效应仍然稳健。探索性中介分析指出，伴侣和行为人的身体活动是连续的中介因素。这些发现表明，生活满意度不仅与个体内部有关，而且与长寿有关，这为流行病学、积极心理学和关系研究领域做出了贡献。
