Explore the vast range of titles available.

Marital quality is an important factor for understanding the relationship between marriage and health. Low-quality relationships may not have the same health benefits as high-quality relationships. To understand the association between marital quality and health, we examined associations between two indicators of marital quality (marital support and marital strain) and two biomarkers of inflammation (interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein) among men and women in long-term marriages using data from the Survey of Midlife in the United States (N = 542). Lower levels of spousal support were associated with higher levels of inflammation among women but not men. Higher levels of spousal strain were weakly and inconsistently associated with higher levels of inflammation among women and men; the effects were diminished with the addition of psychosocial and behavioral covariates. These findings suggest marital quality is an important predictor of inflammation, especially among women.

The authors extend comparative research on educational differences in divorce by analyzing data from Korea. A primary motivation was to assess whether the theoretically unexpected negative educational gradient in divorce in Japan is also observed in Korea. Using vital statistics records for marriages and divorces registered between 1991 and 2006, the authors calculated cumulative probabilities of divorce, by marriage cohort (N = 5,734,577) and educational attainment. The results indicated that the relationship between education and divorce was negative even in the earliest cohort and that this negative gradient has become more pronounced in more recent cohorts. Contrary to expectations, however, little evidence was found that the concentration of divorce at lower levels of education was exacerbated by the Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s. The authors discuss these findings in light of conventional emphases on the costs of divorce and highlight the importance of better understanding this distinctive east Asia pattern of divorce.

The consequences of divorce are pronounced for parents of young children, and cohabitation dissolution is increasing in this population and has important implications. The mental health consequences of union dissolution were examined, by union type and parental gender, using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 1,998 for mothers and 1,764 for fathers). Overall, cohabitation and marital dissolution were both associated with increased maternal and paternal depressive symptoms, though for married mothers, depressive symptoms returned to predissolution levels with time. Difference-in-difference estimates indicated no differences in the magnitude of the increase in depressive symptoms by type of dissolution, though pooled difference models suggested that married fathers increased in depressive symptoms more than cohabiting fathers. Potential time-variant mediators did not account for these associations, though greater family chaos was associated with increased maternal depressive symptoms, and decreased social support and father — child contact were associated with increased paternal depressive symptoms.

Family scholars have focused on the onset of sexual activity early in the life course, but little is known about the cessation of sexual activity in relationships in later life. We use event-history analysis techniques and logistic regression to identify the correlates of sexual inactivity among older married men and women. We analyze data for 1,502 married people from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a nationally representative sample of 3,005 noninstitutionalized American men and women ages 57 to 85. We find 29% of the married persons report no sexual activity for the previous 12 months or more. Relationship duration, chronological age, and poor physical health are all independently associated with sexual inactivity. Characteristics such as marital happiness, premarital cohabitation, and remarriage are also associated with levels of inactivity or activity. Analyses also point to gender differences in the correlates of sexual inactivity.

This study investigated religiousness and couple well-being as mediated by relational virtue and equality. Relational spiritual framework theory posits that religiousness is associated with couple well-being through relational virtues (e.g., forgiveness, commitment, and sacrifice). Theories of relational inequality postulate that religion decreases couple well-being and indirectly lessens couple well-being. Data from a 3-year longitudinal community sample of 354 married couples were used. The authors found that religiousness's relationship to couple well-being was fully mediated by relational virtue but was not connected to relational inequality. They also found that relational inequality was associated with women's conflict, men's conflict, and marital instability. They did not find that higher religiousness benefits marital outcomes directly. Although these findings do not support the idea that religious activities are directly associated with stronger relationships, the data did show that religiousness can contribute to expressed relational virtue, and relational virtue in turn is associated with marital well-being.

Background Lateral ankle sprains are the most common ankle injuries in sports and have the highest recurrence rates. Almost half of the patients experiencing lateral ankle sprains develop chronic ankle instability. Patients with chronic ankle instability experience persistent ankle dysfunctions and detrimental long-term sequelae. Changes at the brain level are put forward to explain these undesirable consequences and high recurrence rates partially. However, an overview of possible brain adaptations related to lateral ankle sprains and chronic ankle instability is currently lacking. Objective The primary purpose of this systematic review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature on structural and functional brain adaptations related to lateral ankle sprains and in patients with chronic ankle instability. Methods PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, EBSCO—SPORTDiscus and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systematically searched until 14 December, 2022. Meta-analyses, systematic reviews and narrative reviews were excluded. Included studies investigated functional or structural brain adaptations in patients who experienced a lateral ankle sprain or with chronic ankle instability and who were at least 18 years of age. Lateral ankle sprains and chronic ankle instability were defined following the recommendation of the International Ankle Consortium. Three authors independently extracted the data. They extracted the authors’ name, publication year, study design, inclusion criteria, participant characteristics, the sample size of the intervention and control groups, methods of neuroplasticity testing, as well as all means and standard deviations of primary and secondary neuroplasticity outcomes from each study. Data reported on copers were considered as part of the control group. The quality assessment tool for observational and cross-sectional studies was used for the risk of bias assessment. This study is registered on PROSPERO, number CRD42021281956. Results Twenty articles were included, of which only one investigated individuals who experienced a lateral ankle sprain. In all studies combined, 356 patients with chronic ankle instability, 10 who experienced a lateral ankle sprain and 46 copers were included. White matter microstructure changes in the cerebellum have been related to lateral ankle sprains. Fifteen studies reported functional brain adaptations in patients with chronic ankle instability, and five articles found structural brain outcomes. Alterations in the sensorimotor network (precentral gyrus and supplementary motor area, postcentral gyrus and middle frontal gyrus) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex were mainly found in patients with chronic ankle instability. Discussion The included studies demonstrated structural and functional brain adaptations related to lateral ankle sprains and chronic ankle instability compared to healthy individuals or copers. These adaptations correlate with clinical outcomes (e.g. patients’ self-reported function and different clinical assessments) and might contribute to the persisting dysfunctions, increased re-injury risk and long-term sequelae seen in these patients. Thus, rehabilitation programmes should integrate sensorimotor and motor control strategies to cope with neuroplasticity related to ligamentous ankle injuries.

The authors examined associations between marital quality and both general life satisfaction and experienced (momentary) well-being among older husbands and wives, the relative importance of own versus spouse's marital appraisals for well-being, and the extent to which the association between own marital appraisals and well-being is moderated by spouse's appraisals. Data are from the 2009 Disability and Use of Time daily diary supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 722). One's own marital satisfaction is a sizable and significant correlate of life satisfaction and momentary happiness; associations do not differ significantly by gender. The authors did not find a significant association between spouse's marital appraisals and own well-being. However, the association between husband's marital quality and life satisfaction is buoyed when his wife also reports a happy marriage, yet flattened when his wife reports low marital quality. Implications for understanding marital dynamics and well-being in later life are discussed.

Objective: To assess the effects of marital conflict on parenting practices for mothers and fathers and to examine whether these effects differ for within-person and cross-person links in parental dyads. Background: Existing findings are mixed regarding the nature and magnitude of the association between marital conflict and childrearing behaviors. Little is known about parental role differences in this regard between fathers and mothers and the mutual influence on the other's responding. Method: A sample of 235 families (fathers, mothers, and their kindergarten children) participated in the study over a 2-year period. Fathers and mothers independently reported on constructive and destructive marital conflict tactics, as well as on their parenting behaviors in scenarios of children experiencing negative emotions. Results: Results indicated cross-person and within-person relations. For example, fathers' destructive conflict predicted mothers' distress reactions to children's negative emotions, supporting a spillover hypothesis. Mothers' destructive conflict behaviors predicted less unsupportive maternal parenting, supporting a compensatory hypothesis. Conclusion: Fathers' and mothers' marital conflict behaviors may have different implications for their own and their spouses 'parenting. Implications: Intervention and prevention programs that target improving marital conflict interactions may also help promote positive parenting. The findings also support that both fathers and mothers should be included in these programs to increase the beneficial effects on parenting practices.

Although numerous studies have demonstrated that social support affects a range of life experiences, few have examined its moderating and mediating effects. In the current study, 479 Chinese parents of children with ASD (aged 3–18 years) completed the surveys assessing parenting stress, social support and life satisfaction. Results indicated that parenting stress, social support and life satisfaction were significantly related. Moreover, social support both mediated and moderated the influence of parenting stress on life satisfaction. These findings imply that parenting stress and social support are critical indicators of life satisfaction and can serve as basic intervention strategies that promote life satisfaction among Chinese parents of children with ASD.

Objective: This study longitudinally investigated the associations between becoming a female-breadwinner household and changes in relationship satisfaction for men and women. Background: Female-breadwinner households pose a fundamental challenge to gender norms, particularly in countries such as Australia with a strong male breadwinner culture. Despite an increase in their prevalence, the implications for relationship satisfaction is understudied. Hypotheses were formulated based on specialization, relative resource, role collaboration, and doing gender theories. Method: A total of 17 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia household panel survey (76,866 observations, 11,986 people) and fixed effects models were used to study the associations between changes in breadwinner arrangements and relationship satisfaction. Building on previous research our breadwinner typology combined employment and income differences between partners, differentiating single earners from dual earners. Results: Both men and women became less satisfied when they transitioned to dual-earner households where women out-earned their partners. Becoming a female-breadwinner household due to male unemployment or illness decreased relationship satisfaction for women. Respondents were most satisfied when they were in male-breadwinner, female-homemaker households. For women, but not men, gender role attitudes influenced some of these associations. Conclusion: The results extend our understanding of the consequences of the increasing prevalence of female-breadwinner households and suggest that they may be contributing to lower relationship quality and stability.