Dyadic Associations Between Self-Perceptions of Aging and Health Behaviors Among Middle-Aged and Older Couples

Abstract

Background and Objectives

Research and theory suggest that older adults’ self-perceptions of aging (SPA) are associated with their health behavior engagement. Likewise, romantic partners often play a key role in shaping each other’s health behaviors. This study aims to explore the longitudinal dyadic associations between SPA and health behaviors among couples in midlife and older adulthood.

Research Design and Methods

Data were drawn from 3,330 couples ages 50–96 (M_men = 67.22 [9.43]; M_women = 65.42 [8.96]) from the Health and Retirement Study, using pooled samples from 2010/2012 to 2012/2014. We estimated actor–partner interdependence models with moderation to assess whether and to what extent a partner’s SPA moderated the links between positive and negative SPA and engagement in preventive and risky health behaviors two years later.

Results

Women’s SPA moderated the association between men’s SPA and men’s risky health behaviors only when women reported extreme levels of negative or positive SPA. In contrast, men’s SPA did not moderate the associations between women’s SPA and women’s health behaviors.

Discussion and Implications

This study’s findings emphasize that links between SPA and health behaviors operate within the broader social environment and in the context of romantic relationships. The results highlight how couples’ perceptions of aging relate to their own and their partners’ health behaviors. This work contributes to the literature on the gendered and social nature of health behaviors and has implications for designing interventions targeting SPA.

Dyads, Physical activity, Subjective aging, Views on aging