Supportive, aversive, ambivalent, and indifferent partner evaluations in midlife and young-Old adulthood

Abstract

Age group differences in self-reported supportive, aversive, ambivalent, and indifferent partner relations were examined in a large sample of midlife (aged 40-44 at baseline, n = 1,719) and older (aged 60-64 at baseline, n = 1,675) married and partnered adults assessed on two occasions 4 years apart. Older adults, particularly older men, were more likely to rate their relationship as supportive and less likely to rate their relationship as aversive relative to midlife adults. Midlife adults were more likely to provide ambivalent or indifferent assessments (as opposed to supportive assessments) of their relationship relative to older adults. Results are discussed in the context of possible developmental changes in interpersonal and intimate relations occurring in middle and older adulthood. © The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved.