Time-varying associations between everyday affect and cortisol in older couples.

Objective: Positive as well as negative emotional experiences fluctuate and they may be shared between romantic partners. Everyday emotion dynamics in couples may relate to physiological stress responses, with accompanying cortisol secretion being one pathway through which emotional dynamics can "get under the skin." We examined time-varying relationships of one's own as well as one's partner's sadness and contentment with salivary cortisol.

Joint Goals in Older Couples: Associations With Goal Progress, Allostatic Load, and Relationship Satisfaction.

Older adults often have long-term relationships, and many of their goals are intertwined with their respective partners. Joint goals can help or hinder goal progress. Little is known about how accurately older adults assess if a goal is joint, the role of over-reporting in these perceptions, and how joint goals and over-reporting may relate to older partners' relationship satisfaction and physical health (operationally defined as allostatic load).

Cortisol Synchrony in Older Couples: Daily Socioemotional Correlates and Interpersonal Differences.

Objective: Social relationships can have positive and negative influences, and these associations are particularly pronounced in old age. This study focuses on everyday interpersonal physiological dynamics (cortisol synchrony) in older couples and investigates its associations with partner presence, positive daily partner interactions, and empathy.

Methods: We conducted coordinated multilevel analyses using data from two samples of older couples from Vancouver, Canada, and Berlin, Germany (study 1: n = 85 couples aged 60-87 years; study 2: n = 77 couples aged 66-85 years), who completed questionnaires and provided salivary cortisol samples five to seven times daily for 7 days.

Linked Lives: Exploring Gender and Sedentary Behaviors in Older Adult Couples.

We explored associations between co-habiting partners for sedentary behavior (type and time, via accelerometry and self-report), gender, and a surrogate health measure (inflammatory biomarker: C-reactive protein, CRP). Participants completed activity questionnaires and the Timed Up and Go (mobility), wore an accelerometer for 7 days, and provided samples for high-sensitivity (hs) CRP. We used multilevel modeling (partners within couples) to investigate associations between independent variables and (a) sedentary behavior and (b) hsCRP.

Moving in Sync: Hourly Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior are Synchronized in Couples.

Background: Overall time spent in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior are both correlated in couples. Knowledge about the nature and psychosocial correlates of such dyadic covariation could inform important avenues for physical activity promotion.

Purpose: The present study investigates hour-by-hour covariation between partners (i.

Everyday associations between older adults' physical activity, negative affect, and cortisol.

Objective: Experimental research has demonstrated that individuals with higher physical activity levels show reduced cortisol responses to psychosocial stress. The present study takes this research out of the lab and it extends these findings by investigating whether older adults' physical activity also moderates everyday-life within-person associations between momentary negative affect and concurrent salivary cortisol.

Methods: A sample of 162 older adults aged 60 to 87 years (M age = 71 years; 50% women; 57% Caucasian) completed affect assessments and provided concurrent salivary cortisol samples 4 times per day over 7 consecutive days.

Associations Between Perceived Support in Older Adult Marriages and Dyadic Covariations in Momentary Affect and Aches.

Objectives: Spousal support within marriage may be particularly important in old age when spouses become more likely to rely on each other's help. However, spousal support does not have to be unanimously positive. In fact, very little is known about covariations in spousal affect and aches as couples engage in their daily routines and environments.