Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021 Apr 23;76(5):933-943. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa023.
Disablement is a significant health problem and chronic stressor for older adults and is associated with negative mental health outcomes. Although some research has explored how disability extends beyond individuals to influence the mental health of their support networks, less population-based research has assessed the consequences of hearing impairment, a growing public health concern that affects 72.4% of people aged 65 and older. Moreover, although much research has examined the negative individual impact of hearing impairment, less population-based research has assessed its consequences on spouses. To fill this gap, the current study builds on gender, marriage, and stress proliferation research to examine (a) the association between own hearing impairment and spouses' depressive symptoms, and (b) whether this association varies by the gender of the spouse.
Fixed-effects regression models were conducted using data from 5,485 couples (10,970 individuals) from 10 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2016).
Wives' fair or poor hearing is significantly associated with an increase in husbands' depressive symptoms, net of controls. However, husbands' fair or poor hearing is not associated with an increase in wives' depressive symptoms.
These findings suggest that hearing impairment can proliferate from one spouse to the other, but that this proliferation depends on gender. Health care providers need to be aware of the implications for husbands when treating women with hearing impairment.
失能是老年人面临的一个重大健康问题和慢性压力源，与负面心理健康结果相关。尽管一些研究探讨了残疾如何超越个体，影响其支持网络的心理健康，但基于人群的研究较少评估听力损伤的后果，听力损伤是一个日益严重的公共卫生问题，影响着 72.4%的 65 岁及以上人群。此外，尽管大量研究考察了听力损伤对个体的负面影响，但基于人群的研究较少评估其对配偶的后果。为了填补这一空白，本研究基于性别、婚姻和压力传播研究，考察了（a）自身听力损伤与配偶抑郁症状之间的关联，以及（b）这种关联是否因配偶的性别而异。
利用来自健康与退休研究（1998-2016 年）的 10 个波次中 5485 对夫妇（10970 人）的数据，采用固定效应回归模型进行分析。
妻子的听力一般或较差与丈夫抑郁症状的增加显著相关，控制其他因素后依然如此。然而，丈夫的听力一般或较差与妻子抑郁症状的增加无关。
这些发现表明，听力损伤可以从一个配偶传播到另一个配偶，但这种传播取决于性别。医疗保健提供者在治疗听力损伤的女性时，需要意识到这对丈夫的影响。
