Family emotional climate and health: Testing conveyance of effects via psychobiological mediators

Abstract

Using the Biobehavioral Family Model and data from five Midlife in the United States projects (N = 793), this study tests whether allostatic load and negative affect reactivity convey the effects of categorizations of family emotional climate on health appraisal and morbidity (chronic conditions) across 20 years. Results indicated that negative family emotional climate (high strain, low support/parental affection) was indirectly associated with health appraisal 20 years later via negative affect reactivity at 10 years. Ambivalent family emotional climate (high strain/support) was directly associated with greater morbidity. Allostatic load did not serve as a significant mediator in the models tested. Findings suggest that family emotional climates marked by strain and intensity may be especially problematic for health, partly by exacerbating negative affect reactivity.