Marital Relationship and Well-being among Older Couples: A Comprehensive Review

Description

Pooja Rani Pandey, Taru Parnika Srinete, and Ritu Modi (Department of Psychology, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh)

Marriage is a legal and social union between two people, often characterised by a commitment to sharing lives and resources. The quality of marriage, whether positive (characterised by love, support, and satisfaction) or negative (marked by conflict, demands, & tensions), in terms of intimacy, communication, and mutual support, profoundly impacts the mental health and well-being of older couples. Poor marital quality is associated with deteriorating physical and psychological health, increasing the risk of death. The WHO’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan (2013-2030) discusses efforts by all countries to improve mental health; however, upon examining current relations, some are indeed positive. However, the bitterness in some relationships may be one of the causes of mental health problems. Happy married couples have been found to have better health, lower stress levels, higher self-esteem, and greater psychological well-being and life satisfaction than unhappy married couples. Marital conflicts can arise from various problems such as leisure, intimacy, finances, personality conflicts, and health concerns, and can be particularly challenging for elderly people. Older couples can prioritize emotional regulation and the maintenance of meaningful relationships rather than the resolution of specific differences. Changes in illness and roles within the marriage can further disrupt the dynamics of the relationship and introduce new sources of stress and tension, ill-valued, tired, and unsatisfactory, as well as putting pressure on something to change. In order to help academicians, counselors, and intervention designers address this urgent social issue, this review attempts to increase awareness about older couples’ marital relationships, their causes, and the effects on their psychological well-being.