Interpersonal Complementarity and Cardiovascular Reactivity in Younger, Middle-Aged, and Older Adult Couples

Objective: Marital distress confers risk for poor cardiovascular outcomes, largely through cardiovascular reactivity. The complementarity principle, which highlights reciprocity of behavior during interpersonal interactions, may improve our understanding of behavioral patterns that confer decreased cardiovascular disease risk. As such, when romantic partners demonstrate matched levels of affiliation and opposite levels of control, they may show better tolerance of conflict and therefore reductions in cardiovascular reactivity. Due to age-based differences in cardiovascular functioning, coping, and relationship dynamics, there could be age-based differences in the impact of complementarity on cardiovascular reactivity. This study used structural equation models to test associations of complementarity of affiliation and control with cardiovascular reactivity (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate) in two differently aged samples (i.e., younger adults and middle-aged and older adults). Method: A sample of both members of 120 younger (age men M= 30.1, SD=X; age women M = 28.5, SD=X) and 298 middle-aged (age men M= 53.16, SD=9.23; age women M = 50.90, SD=8.91) and older adult different-sex couples (age men M= 69.33, SD=2.98; age women M = 67.43, SD=1.81) engaged in a laboratory-based conflict task while their heart rate and blood pressure were measured. Post conflict task, each participant rated their partners' behaviors during the task along the dimensions of affiliation and control. Results: Complementarity of control, but not affiliation, may significantly predict changes in heart rate (HR; β= 0.248, p=.012) for younger men, such that increases in husband control predicted smaller increases in husbands' HR at lower levels of wife control (-2SD: b=-2.47, 95% CI = [-4.75, -0.19]), while increases in husband control predicted larger increases in husbands' HR at higher levels of wife control (+2SD: b=2.63, 95%CI=[0.36,4.89]). For middle-aged and older adult men, non-complementarity interactions predicted changes in HR (β= 0.157, p=.011), such that increases in husband control predicted larger increases in husbands' HR at higher levels of wife control (+1SD: b=0.69, 95%CI=[0.18, 1.19]; +2SD: b=0.99, 95% CI=[0.20,1.78]). At lower levels of wife control, husband control did not significantly predict changes in husbands' HR (-2SD: b=-0.22, 95% CI=[-1.23,0.78]; -1SD: b=0.08, 95% CI=[-0.59,0.75]; 0SD: b=0.38, 95% CI=[-0.06,0.83]). Conclusions: This study did not conclusively find that complementarity interactions predict cardiovascular reactivity during marital conflict. Instead, age and gender-based differences may influence which types of interaction patterns are most protective for cardiovascular health, with levels of affiliation and control being most important for women across adulthood, and interactions of husband and wife control being most significant for men.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Alabama Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Decker, Andrea Nicole

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cribbet, Matthew R

Contributors dc:contributor

• Cundiff, Jeanne M
• Hart, Will
• Jacobs, M. Lindsey
• McDonough, Ian M
• Totenhagen, Casey J

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US, English

Dc Identifier Other

1162687

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ir.ua.edu:123456789/17026