Romantic relationship distress, gender, socioeconomic status, and inflammation: A preregistered report.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Jaremka LM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9364962 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Romantic relationship distress, gender, socioeconomic status, and inflammation: A preregistered report.
Jaremka Lisa M LM Kane Heidi S HS Sunami Naoyuki N Lebed Olga O Austin Kathryn A KA
Personal Relationships 20200922 3
Poor quality romantic relationships increase risk for health problems; elevated systemic inflammation is one promising underlying mechanism. This registered report utilized data from 3 publicly available datasets with large sample sizes (Add Health, MIDUS, NSHAP) to test this possibility. An internal meta-analysis across all 3 studies determined that romantic relationship distress was unrelated to inflammation (assessed via C-Reactive Protein levels). In addition, this link was not moderated by ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:Romantic development is a distinctive characteristic of puberty. However, a significant proportion of adolescents present with avoidant romantic attachment (ARA) tendencies, which have significant impact on their general adaptation. ARA variations have been suggested in relation to age, gender, engagement with a romantic partner and Excessive Internet Use (EIU) behaviours. In this longitudinal, two-wave study of a normative sample of 515 Greek adolescents at 16 and 18 years, ARA was assessed with the relevant subscale of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised and EIU with the Internet Addiction Test. A three-level hierarchical linear model found ARA tendencies to decrease between 16 and 18 while engagement in a romantic relationship and EIU were associated with lower and higher ARA tendencies respectively. Gender did not differentiate ARA severity either at the age of 16 or its changes over time. Results highlight the need of adopting a longitudinal-contextualized approach and provide implications for prevention and intervention initiatives in relation to the romantic development of adolescents.
| S-EPMC6063419 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThe current study examined the unique influences of romantic relationship status and episodic and chronic stress associated with relationships in predicting changes in alcohol consumption and drinking motivations from college to post-college life.MethodModerate to heavy college student drinkers reported their drinking level and drinking motives using an Internet-based daily diary for 30 days in college and again 5 years later. At the post-college wave, participants also completed a semi-structured phone-based interview to assess romantic relationship stress.ResultsMultiple regression analysis indicated that chronic relationship stress and relationship dissolution stress were uniquely related to mean daily levels of post-college drinking to cope (DTC) motivation, but not to mean daily levels of enhancement motivation. Some evidence was found for the effect of relationship status, but not stress, on mean daily heavy drinking levels. We also found evidence that chronic stress moderated the effect of relationship dissolution stress, with individuals showing higher mean daily chronic stress levels displaying a stronger positive association between relationship dissolution and post-college DTC motivation.ConclusionsResults are discussed in terms of how negative reinforcement processes might be an important mechanism underlying commonly found associations between romantic relationship status and problematic drinking during young adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
| S-EPMC8484339 | biostudies-literature
Project description:AIMS: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the relation between responsibility for domestic work and psychological distress was influenced by perception of gender inequality in the couple relationship and relative socioeconomic position. METHODS: In the Northern Swedish Cohort, all pupils who studied in the last year of compulsory school in a northern Swedish town in 1981 have been followed regularly until 2007. In this study, participants living with children were selected (n = 371 women, 352 men). The importance of relative socioeconomic position and perception of gender inequality in the couple relationship in combination with domestic work for psychological distress was examined through logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Two combinations of variables including socioeconomic position ('having less than half of the responsibility for domestic work and partner higher socioeconomic position' and 'having more than half the responsibility for domestic work and equal socioeconomic position') were related to psychological distress. There were also higher ORs for psychological distress for the combinations of having 'less than half of the responsibility for domestic work and gender-unequal couple relationship' and 'more than half the responsibility for domestic work and gender-unequal couple relationship'. Having a lower socioeconomic position than the partner was associated with higher ORs for psychological distress among men. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that domestic work is a highly gendered activity as women tend to have a greater and men a smaller responsibility. Both these directions of inequality in domestic work, in combination with experiencing the couple relationship as gender-unequal, were associated with psychological distress There is a need for more research with a relational approach on inequalities in health in order to capture the power relations within couples in various settings.
| S-EPMC3374813 | biostudies-other
Project description:ObjectivesIn the general population, the lower socioeconomic status (SES) associates with greater systemic and arterial inflammation and a greater risk of cardiovascular disease. Because arterial inflammation is heightened in individuals living with HIV, we tested the hypothesis that SES associates with arterial inflammation in this population.SettingsProspective cohort study.MethodsMen living with HIV were recruited. Arterial inflammation and leukopoietic activity (ie, bone marrow activity) were measured using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Zip code-level SES measures were derived from the US Census Bureau. Linear regression and mediation analyses were used to assess associations between SES, arterial inflammation, leukopoietic activity, C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6.ResultsThirty-nine virologically suppressed men living with HIV were studied (mean ± SD age 50.5 ± 11.1 years). The median CD4 count was 663 cells/mm3 (interquartile range: 399-922); 82% were receiving antiretroviral therapies. Local median income inversely associated with arterial inflammation [standardized β (95% confidence interval): -0.42 (-0.76 to -0.08)] after adjusting for age, Framingham risk score, statin use, antiretroviral use, and nadir CD4 count. The high-school graduation rate independently associated with arterial inflammation [-0.45 (-0.78 to -0.12)] and CRP [-0.49 (-0.86 to -0.012)]. Mediation analysis demonstrated the impact of SES on arterial inflammation was partially mediated by heightened circulating inflammatory levels: ↓SES (as high school graduation rate) →↑CRP →↑arterial inflammation accounting for 44% of the total effect (P < 0.05).ConclusionIn individuals living with HIV, lower SES independently associated with higher leukopoietic activity, circulating markers of inflammation, and arterial inflammation. Furthermore, the link between SES and arterial inflammation was mediated by increased systemic inflammation.
| S-EPMC8026700 | biostudies-literature
Project description:What factors determine whether or not a young adult will fall in love? Sociological surveys and psychological studies have shown that non-genetic factors, such as socioeconomic status, external appearance, and personality attributes, are crucial components in romantic relationship formation. Here we demonstrate that genetic variants also contribute to romantic relationship formation. As love-related behaviors are associated with serotonin levels in the brain, this study investigated to what extent a polymorphism (C-1019G, rs6295) of 5-HT1A gene is related to relationship status in 579 Chinese Han people. We found that 50.4% of individuals with the CC genotype and 39.0% with CG/GG genotype were in romantic relationship. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the C-1019G polymorphism was significantly associated with the odds of being single both before and after controlling for socioeconomic status, external appearance, religious beliefs, parenting style, and depressive symptoms. These findings provide, for the first time, direct evidence for the genetic contribution to romantic relationship formation.
| S-EPMC4238299 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Socioeconomic status (SES), often conceptualized as income, education, or occupation, is associated with risk for disease morbidity and psychopathology. Recent research has focused on the potential biological mechanisms linking lower SES and poor outcomes; much of this work has examined the relationship between SES and markers of systemic inflammation. The strength of the estimated association between SES and inflammatory markers varies widely across individual studies. Thus, we used meta-analytic techniques to quantify the magnitude of this relationship. To accomplish this, PubMed and PsycINFO were searched for papers that reported on SES and two commonly measured systemic inflammatory markers, C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Peer-reviewed, empirical papers conducted in non-patient populations were included. Data from 43 papers (N = 111,156) reporting a total of 63 relevant effect sizes were included in analyses. SES, broadly defined, was significantly associated with both levels of CRP (Z = 0.12; 95% CI, 0.09-0.16) and IL-6 (Z = 0.15; 95% CI, 0.12-0.18); individuals with lower SES showed higher levels of systemic inflammation. Subanalyses demonstrated that studies operationalizing SES as either levels of income or educational attainment also found significant associations with both CRP and IL-6. Moderator analyses revealed that effect sizes varied based on sample characteristics and analysis approaches. Lower SES is associated with significantly elevated levels of inflammatory markers of disease risk. Thus, pro-inflammatory pathways are likely an important mechanism translating socioeconomic inequalities into mental and physical health disparities.
| S-EPMC6814496 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Although high status is often considered a desirable quality, this may not always be the case. Different factors may moderate the value of high status along a dimension such as wealth (e.g. gender, perceiver income/education). For example, studies suggest men may value wealth and control over resources more than women. This may be especially true for high-income men who already have control over substantial resources. Other work suggests that low-income men and women may have different experiences in educational contexts compared to their richer peers who dominate norms at higher levels of education. These experiences may potentially lead to different attitudes about the wealthy among low-income men and women. In this registered report, we proposed two key predictions based on our review of the literature and analyses of pilot data from the Attitudes, Identities and Individual Differences (AIID) study (n = 767): (H1) increasing income will be associated with increased pro-wealthy bias for men more than for women and (H2) income will also moderate the effect of education on implicit pro-wealthy bias, depending on gender. Overall, men showed greater implicit pro-wealthy bias than did women. However, neither of our hypotheses that income would moderate the effects of gender on implicit pro-wealthy bias were supported. These findings suggest implicit pro-wealthy bias among men and are discussed in the context of exploratory analyses of gender differences in self-reported beliefs and attitudes about the rich and the poor.
| S-EPMC7481720 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the association between adolescent socioeconomic status (father's education and adolescent subjective socioeconomic status) and adult quality of life and the mediation roles of adult socioeconomic status, social capital and lifestyle (physical activity and exposure to smoke) among the "Tehran University of Medical Sciences Employees Cohort (TEC) Study" participants.MethodData of 4455 participants were derived from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences Employees Cohort (TEC) Study. In this study, the World Health Organization quality of life-BREF, the World Bank's Integrated and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire were used. Data were analyzed with structural equation modeling using SPSS Amos 24.0 program.ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 42.31 years (SD: 8.37) and most of the subjects were female (60.7%). Correlation analysis results revealed that, quality of life had a significant and positive association with adolescent subjective socioeconomic status (r = 0.169, p < 0.01) and father's education (r = 0.091, p < 0.01). A mediation model testing the direct relationship between adolescent socioeconomic status and adult socioeconomic status and quality of life, showed a positive relationship between adolescent subjective socioeconomic status (β = 0.229, p < 0.001) and father's education (β = 0.443, p < 0.001) with adult socioeconomic status. Adult socioeconomic status was positively related to quality of life (β = 0.205, p < 0.001). Adult socioeconomic status mediated the relationship between adolescent subjective socioeconomic status (β = 0.047, p < 0.01) and father's education (β = 0.091, p < 0.01) with quality of life. While adult socioeconomic status fully mediated the relationship between the father's education and quality of life, it partially mediated the adolescent subjective socioeconomic status-quality of life association. Other variables such as social capital and lifestyle did not have mediator role in a mediation model.ConclusionThis study provides the evidence for the role of adult socioeconomic status as a partial mediator between adolescent subjective socioeconomic status and quality of life. Therefore, there are several unknown mediators other than adult socioeconomic status that need to be explored in future studies.
| S-EPMC10865937 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesPast research has established a link between romantic relationships and depressive symptoms among adults, including those in later life. There is, however, still a lack of evidence regarding whether romantic relationship status or relationship quality is a better predictor of psychological well-being among middle-aged and older Black adult women.MethodsThe present study draws on data from the Family and Community Health Study, a multisite, longitudinal survey of health and psychosocial experiences of Black families, to examine how relationship status and quality relate to depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Black adult women (N = 571). A series of negative binomial regression models, with 95% confidence intervals and internal moderators, were used to assess the research questions.ResultsMiddle-aged and older Black women in married, cohabiting, and dating relationships who reported higher levels of relationship quality had a lower likelihood of depressive symptoms than those who reported lower levels of relationship quality or who did not report being in any romantic relationship when controlling for baseline depressive symptoms. The findings from our study indicate that relationship quality is a better predictor of depressive symptoms than relationship status.DiscussionOur findings extend the body of literature on the impact of romantic relationships on individual well-being and provide compelling evidence that such relationships, particularly those of high quality, are significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Black women.
| S-EPMC9683486 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Men's emerging adult romantic relationships forecast downstream relationship behavior, including commitment and quality. Accumulating evidence implicates methylation of the oxytocin-receptor-gene (OXTR) system in regulating relationship behavior. We tested hypotheses regarding the links between (a) childhood adversity and (b) socioeconomic instability in emerging adulthood on supportive romantic relationships via their associations with OXTR methylation. Hypotheses were tested using path analysis with data from 309 participants in the African American Men's Project. Consistent with our hypotheses, results showed that OXTR methylation proximally predicted changes in relationship support during a 1.5-year period. Childhood adversity was not directly associated with OXTR methylation but, rather, with contemporaneous socioeconomic instability, which in turn predicted elevated OXTR methylation. Findings suggest that early adversity is indirectly associated with OXTR methylation by links with downstream socioeconomic instability. Findings must be considered provisional, however, because preregistered replications are needed to establish more firmly the relations among these variables.
| S-EPMC6690095 | biostudies-literature