@article {11109, title = {Hostility and Loneliness in Older Adult Married couples: An Indirect Effect through Friendships.}, journal = {The Journal of Gerontology, Series B }, volume = {76}, year = {2021}, pages = {306-316}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Cynical hostility is a cognitive schema according to which people cannot be trusted, and it has associations with individuals{\textquoteright} loneliness. The present study takes a dyadic approach to examine whether cynical hostility is related to one{\textquoteright}s own and their spouse{\textquoteright}s loneliness. We further explore whether friendship factors serve as a mediator between individuals{\textquoteright} and spouses{\textquoteright} cynical hostility and loneliness.

METHOD: We used two waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N=1065 couples) and Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIMs) with Mediation to examine the proposed model. Mediation was tested with the construction of path models and significance levels were reached using bootstrapping.

RESULTS: For both husbands and wives, cynical hostility was significantly associated with loneliness. Husband{\textquoteright}s loneliness was also significantly associated with his wife{\textquoteright}s cynical hostility, but wife{\textquoteright}s loneliness was not associated with her husband{\textquoteright}s cynical hostility. We further found that the association between wife{\textquoteright}s own cynical hostility and loneliness was mediated by lower levels of contact with, and support from friends. Friendship factors did not serve as mediators for husbands.

DISCUSSION: Husbands and wives who have higher levels of cynical hostility may be more vulnerable to loneliness. High levels of cynical hostility in women may be related to deficits in their quantity and quality of friendship, and thus be associated with loneliness. Men who are married to women with a higher level of cynical hostility may experience increased loneliness, but this relationship is not explained by men{\textquoteright}s friendships.

}, keywords = {cynical hostility, dyads, friendship, Loneliness, marital relationships}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbaa170}, author = {Dikla Segel-Karpas and Ashley E. Ermer} } @article {11246, title = {PATTERNS OF FRIENDSHIP SUPPORT AND STRAIN OVER TIME AMONG MARRIED OLDER ADULTS: THE ROLE OF DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL, AND WELL-BEING FACTORS}, journal = {Research in Human Development}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The present study examines older adult married couples? friendship support and strain trajectories. Friendship is essential across the life course. However, most studies examining friendship within the context of long-term marriages have not examined how friendship quality develops over time and have not treated the dyad as the unit of analysis. Growth mixture modeling and 3,608 married couples across three waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used. Support and strain trajectories were assessed separately and spouses were assessed together in each analysis. Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) were used to examine whether well-being and demographic factors distinguished classes. Three classes of friendship support trajectories and two classes of friendship strain trajectories were identified. The support classes were characterized by husbands? friendship support stability, with the Spouses? High, Stable Support serving as the optimal support trajectory class. The strain classes were characterized by relatively low levels of strain, with the Spouses? Low, Decreasing Strain class serving as the optimal strain trajectory class. Both support and strain trajectories were distinguished by demographic, social, and well-being factors. The results provide evidence for the gendered nature of friendship support and strain patterns, and contributes to knowledge regarding factors associated with distinct longitudinal friendship patterns among married older adults. The findings also have implications for programmatic efforts and interventions aimed to strengthen friendships.}, keywords = {Couples, friendship, Marriage, strain, support}, isbn = {1542-7609}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2020.1852048}, author = {Ashley E. Ermer and Kanter, Jeremy B.} }