I. INTRODUCTIONThe cardinal role that social relationships play in emotional development has been well established. Not only does social interaction serve tostrengthen and refine links between feelings and environmental eventsearly in life (deRivera, 1984), social interactions contribute importantlyto the development of attachment (Ainsworth, 1982; Bowlby, 1973) andthe acquisition of emotional knowledge (Shaver, 1984). Although the developmental course of social and emotional links in later stages of lifehas received far less attention, it is clear that the inextricable associationbetween emotion and social contact never ceases. In all likelihood, emotional experience within the context of social relationships influences virtually all domains of human experience throughout the human life span. In this chapter, we explore the role of emotion expression and experience within the context of intimate relationships in adulthood and oldage. We focus on the marital relationship because in Western cultures it isthe closest and most enduring relationship most adults experience. Over95% of people in America marry at some point in their lives, and after20 years more than half of these marriages are still intact; in cases of divorce, remarriage within two to three years is typical (U.S. Bureau of theCensus, 1992b). Marriage also serves as a rite of passage that signals entry into adulthood and marks the beginning of a developmental path onwhich other emotionally charged life events, such as parenthood andwidowhood, are likely to follow. Thus, the marital relationship serves as aprincipal context for emotional experiences and life events.In the following pages, we argue that relationships characterized byheavy emotional investment have broad implications for individuals' mental and physical health. Next, we characterize at a more microscopic levelemotional exchanges between husbands and wives at different points inthe life cycle. And finally, we offer the beginnings of a theoretical framework within which to consider the developmental course of emotionalexperience during the second half of life.II. LINKS AMONG MARRIAGE, EMOTION, AND HEALTHMarriage in modern times is expected to serve as a principal resourcefor emotional support. Most married people count their spouses amongthe small circle of intimates who comprise the social convoy that accompanies them through life (Antonucci & Jackson, 1987). As people age,spouses exert direct and indirect influences on access to emotional closeness. In old age, for example, as the overall social network narrows, thespousal relationship comes to occupy an ever larger proportion of this social resource. Spouses contribute to the overall size of their partners' social networks, above and beyond their own presence, by introducing theirown close friends and relatives to one another, thus expanding eachother's social networks with social partners who might not otherwise beavailable (Lang & Carstensen, 1994). In recent years a compelling case has been made for the link betweensocial support and physical health. Married people are in better physicaland mental health than their single counterparts (B. Hess & Soldo, 1985).At one level, support from a spouse or child can reduce high-risk healthbehaviors, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, and drug use (Costello, 1991). But even controlling for health practices and socioeconomicstatus, the increased presence of emotional confidantsmwhich is clearly associated with marital status--predicts lower morbidity and lower mortality (Berkman & Syme, 1979; Blazer, 1982; Breslow & Engstrom, 1980).The manner in which social relationships influence physical healthremains elusive, however, and the health benefits of marriage require twoimportant qualifiers related importantly to emotion: First, whereas married men appear to be healthier than single men irrespective of maritalsatisfaction, wives derive health benefits only when the marriage is happy(B. Hess & Soldo, 1985; Levenson, Carstensen, & Gottman, 1993), an issue to which we return later in this chapter. Second, the double-edgedsword of emotional closeness is evident in marriage. When relationshipsare unhappy, the intimacy of marriage places spouses at risk for a number of deleterious outcomes. Unhappy marriages can entail physical violence, mental abuse (Markman, Renick, Floyd, & Stanley, 1993), andeven murder (Tariq & Anila, 1993). Unhappy marriages are also stronglyimplicated in clinical depression. Among couples who seek marital therapy, half involve a depressed spouse (Beach, Jouriles, & O'Leary, 1985),and half of all women who seek treatment for depression report serious marital problems (Rounsaville, Weissman, Prusoff, & Herceg-Baron,1979).
I. INTRODUCTION<br>The cardinal role that social relationships play in emotional development has been well established. Not only does social interaction serve to<br>strengthen and refine links between feelings and environmental events<br>early in life (deRivera, 1984), social interactions contribute importantly<br>to the development of attachment (Ainsworth, 1982; Bowlby, 1973) and<br>the acquisition of emotional knowledge (Shaver, 1984). Although the developmental course of social and emotional links in later stages of life<br>has received far less attention, it is clear that the inextricable association<br>between emotion and social contact never ceases. In all likelihood, emotional experience within the context of social relationships influences virtually all domains of human experience throughout the human life span. <br>In this chapter, we explore the role of emotion expression and experience within the context of intimate relationships in adulthood and old<br>age. We focus on the marital relationship because in Western cultures it is<br>the closest and most enduring relationship most adults experience. Over<br>95% of people in America marry at some point in their lives, and after<br>20 years more than half of these marriages are still intact; in cases of divorce, remarriage within two to three years is typical (U.S. Bureau of the<br>Census, 1992b). Marriage also serves as a rite of passage that signals entry into adulthood and marks the beginning of a developmental path on<br>which other emotionally charged life events, such as parenthood and<br>widowhood, are likely to follow. Thus, the marital relationship serves as a<br>principal context for emotional experiences and life events.<br>In the following pages, we argue that relationships characterized by<br>heavy emotional investment have broad implications for individuals' mental and physical health. Next, we characterize at a more microscopic level<br>emotional exchanges between husbands and wives at different points in<br>生命週期。最後,我們提供了一個理論框架內,其中要考慮的情感發展歷程的開始<br>,在生命的後半經驗。<br>II。鏈路之間的婚姻,情感,健康<br>的現代婚姻有望作為主要資源<br>為情感上的支持。大多數已婚的人就躋身他們的配偶<br>誰包含與之相伴一生(Antonucci和傑克遜,1987年)的社會車隊內衣的小圓圈。隨著年齡的增長,<br>夫妻會對獲得情感上的接近直接和間接的影響。在晚年,例如,作為整體的社會網絡變窄時,<br>spousal relationship comes to occupy an ever larger proportion of this social resource. Spouses contribute to the overall size of their partners' social networks, above and beyond their own presence, by introducing their<br>own close friends and relatives to one another, thus expanding each<br>other's social networks with social partners who might not otherwise be<br>available (Lang & Carstensen, 1994). In recent years a compelling case has been made for the link between<br>social support and physical health. Married people are in better physical<br>and mental health than their single counterparts (B. Hess & Soldo, 1985).<br>At one level, support from a spouse or child can reduce high-risk health<br>behaviors, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, and drug use (Costello, 1991). But even controlling for health practices and socioeconomic<br>status, the increased presence of emotional confidantsmwhich is clearly associated with marital status--predicts lower morbidity and lower mortality (Berkman & Syme, 1979; Blazer, 1982; Breslow & Engstrom, 1980).<br>The manner in which social relationships influence physical health<br>remains elusive, however, and the health benefits of marriage require two<br>important qualifiers related importantly to emotion: First, whereas married men appear to be healthier than single men irrespective of marital<br>satisfaction, wives derive health benefits only when the marriage is happy<br>(B. Hess & Soldo, 1985; Levenson, Carstensen, & Gottman, 1993), an issue to which we return later in this chapter. Second, the double-edged<br>sword of emotional closeness is evident in marriage. When relationships<br>are unhappy, the intimacy of marriage places spouses at risk for a number of deleterious outcomes. Unhappy marriages can entail physical violence, mental abuse (Markman, Renick, Floyd, & Stanley, 1993), and<br>even murder (Tariq & Anila, 1993). Unhappy marriages are also strongly<br>implicated in clinical depression. Among couples who seek marital therapy, half involve a depressed spouse (Beach, Jouriles, & O'Leary, 1985),<br>and half of all women who seek treatment for depression report serious marital problems (Rounsaville, Weissman, Prusoff, & Herceg-Baron,<br>1979年)。
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