Hochgraf Anna K, McHale Susan M
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
J Soc Pers Relat. 2020 Mar;37(3):865-884. doi: 10.1177/0265407519880961. Epub 2019 Oct 15.
The majority of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, and yet Western ideals of beauty mean that low body fat composition is a component of physical attractiveness. In turn, perceived discrepancies between actual and ideal body shape and weight mean that many adults experience weight concerns-- and they also may be dissatisfied with their spouse's weight. This study examined whether weight concerns were linked to romantic relationship quality, an important domain of adult development. Specifically, we applied the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to test how wives' and husbands' weight concerns and perceptions of their spouses' overweight contributed to their own and their spouse's reports of marital satisfaction and conflict over time. The sample was 197 heterosexual married couples ( age = 40.85 and 42.81 years for wives and husbands, respectively; length of marriage = 18.6 years at Time 1) with children, who participated in a short-term longitudinal study of family relationships and adolescent development. Two-way interactions between partner perceptions of spouses' weight and gender indicated that husbands' perceptions that their wives were overweight predicted decreases in wives' marital satisfaction and increases in wives' reports of marital conflict across one year. In contrast, wives' perceptions of husbands' weight were not associated with changes in husbands' marital satisfaction or conflict. A two-way interaction between actor and partner weight concerns indicated that individuals reported more marital conflict when there was a discrepancy between their own and their spouse's weight concerns. Finally, a two-way interaction between actor and partner perceptions of spouse's weight indicated that, for individuals whose spouses rated them as below ideal weight, their perceptions of the spouse's overweight predicted their own lower marital satisfaction. Findings suggest that concerns about one's own and one's spouse's weight have negative ramifications for marital relationships.
美国大多数成年人超重或肥胖，然而西方的审美观念意味着低体脂构成是身体吸引力的一个要素。相应地，实际体型和体重与理想体型和体重之间的认知差异意味着许多成年人担心体重——他们也可能对配偶的体重不满意。本研究调查了体重担忧是否与浪漫关系质量相关，浪漫关系质量是成人发展的一个重要领域。具体而言，我们应用了行为者-伴侣相互依赖模型来测试妻子和丈夫的体重担忧以及他们对配偶超重的认知如何随着时间的推移影响他们自己和配偶对婚姻满意度和冲突的报告。样本为197对有孩子的异性已婚夫妇（妻子年龄 = 40.85岁，丈夫年龄 = 42.81岁；在时间1时婚姻长度 = 18.6年），他们参与了一项关于家庭关系和青少年发展的短期纵向研究。配偶对对方体重的认知与性别之间的双向交互作用表明，丈夫认为妻子超重预示着妻子的婚姻满意度在一年内会下降，妻子报告的婚姻冲突会增加。相比之下，妻子对丈夫体重的认知与丈夫的婚姻满意度或冲突变化无关。行为者和伴侣的体重担忧之间的双向交互作用表明，当自己和配偶的体重担忧存在差异时，个体报告的婚姻冲突更多。最后，行为者和伴侣对配偶体重的认知之间的双向交互作用表明，对于配偶将其评为低于理想体重的个体，他们对配偶超重的认知预示着他们自己较低的婚姻满意度。研究结果表明，对自己和配偶体重的担忧会对婚姻关系产生负面影响。
