This study examined the relationship between physical health, social support, and depression in a married, middle-aged/older adult sample in which at least one partner has heart disease. The data was obtained from a national longitudinal study the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) and is composed of selected respondents and their spouses. The HRS Wave 1 data that was used for these analyses was collected in 1992 and 1993. This study tested a stress buffer model predicting the relationship between physical health, social support, and depression. For study inclusion, participants must have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and received treatment in the last year. A heart disease construct was developed by calculating the level of disease by the number of conditions and medical treatments received within the last year. A second health category for other chronic health conditions included diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and chronic pain. These constructs were combined into a total disease construct, which provided a broad measure of health problems typical of an older adult population. Social support was determined by respondents' satisfaction with friends, neighbors, family, their marriage, and enjoyable time spent with their spouse. Social support was subdivided into two constructs separating spousal support from social support sources outside the marriage. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression short-form (CES-D) calculated depression scores. Findings support a stress-buffering model among older married adults with chronic diseases. Hierarchical multiple regressions found the following main effects predicted Depression: Total Disease (Beta=. 03, p<. 000), Exercise (Beta=-.11, p<. 000), Smoking (Beta=. 04, p<. 001), General Support (Beta=-.21, p<. 000), Spousal Support (Beta=-.19, p<. 000). The Total Diseases by Spousal Support interaction was a significant predictor of Depression for men and women (Beta= -.04, p<. 000) and Total Disease by Spousal Support was also a significant predictor for men and women (Beta=-.03, plt;. 000). For men with Heart Disease, Total Disease by Spousal Support was a stronger predictor (Beta=-.03) than it was for women with Heart Disease (Beta=-.10). These results may partially explain gender differences in heart disease patients and suggests several psychological interventions that could be beneficial.

An attempt is made to determine whether marital interaction is related to the health and well-being of husbands and wives and, if such a relationship exists, to explore the nature of the relationship. The dimensions of marital interaction of interest include cohesion, companionship, cooperation, and consensus. Cohesion is manifest in the feelings a couple has about their relationship. Companionship and cooperation are seen in a couple's joint activities. A shared outlook on life represents consensus.

Proponents of marriage, both politicians and scholars, emphasize that marriage benefits health and empirical evidence supports the view that the married are healthier than the unmarried. While a significant body of work establishes the link between marital status and health, previous studies do not consider historical trends in this association. The main objective of the present study is to describe whether and how the association between marital status and health has changed over the past three decades in the United States. Given longstanding observations about gender and race differences in family and health processes, the second objective is to consider gender and race variation in marital status/health trends. Third, I consider whether those health trends by marital status can be attributed to change in family income--which is often viewed as an explanatory mechanism between marriage and health. Results based on three decades’ national health survey data show that over the span of the past three decades, the self-rated health of the never-married became more similar to that of the married; in contrast, over this same time span, the self-rated health of the widowed, divorced, and separated worsened over time, relative to the married. Analyses of two additional health measures (i.e. activity limitation and mortality) show that differences in both activity limitation status and general mortality between the married and each of the unmarried groups--including the widowed, divorced, separated and never married--have widened over recent decades. For each measure of health status, I find important gender and race variation in those health trends by marital status and challenge some long-held assumptions about gender, marital status, and health. Moreover, I find little evidence that family income explains those health trends by marital status. Potential explanations and implications of those trends in health and marital status are discussed. / text