Longitudinal Dyadic Associations Between Perceived Discrimination and Loneliness Among Midlife and Older Married Couples

Background and Objectives
Loneliness is a public health concern facing older adults. Although marriage protects against loneliness, a significant percentage of older married persons report feeling lonely. Perceived discrimination is associated with adverse physical and psychological outcomes across the life course among individuals, including loneliness. Limited attention has been paid to dyadic associations between perceived discrimination and loneliness in older populations.

Research Design and Methods
The sample included 1,429 mixed-gender dyads who participated in three consecutive waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2010/2012, 2014/2016, and 2018/2020). Longitudinal dyadic structural equation modeling was used to determine whether perceived discrimination was associated with loneliness in oneself and/or loneliness in one’s partner, and whether the “contagion” of loneliness may mediate the indirect effects of a partner’s experience of perceived discrimination on one’s own loneliness over time.

Results
Findings showed that (a) perceived discrimination predicted increases to loneliness over time for individuals, (b) partner’s loneliness predicted individuals’ own loneliness over time, and (c) the partner effect of loneliness significantly mediated an indirect effect of one spouse’s experiences of perceived discrimination at baseline with the other spouse’s loneliness eight years later, for both men and women.

Discussion and Implications
This work highlighted not only the influence of perceived discrimination on loneliness in oneself, but the dyadic implications of perceived discrimination for both partners. Future research should examine mechanisms for these effects, including whether perceived discrimination is experienced in isolation or as part of a couple, as well as its consequences for both partners.