Marital quality and physical illness: a latent growth curve analysis

Using latent growth curves, this study investigates the association between intraindividual changes in marital quality and physical illness for 364 wives and husbands in the rural Midwest. The results reveal that both the initial level of and the change in the marital quality of husbands and wives correlate with the initial level of and the change in physical health, after controlling for the influence of work stress, education, and income. Additional analyses imply that psychological well-being and behaviors that are health risks mediate or explain this association. The results provide stronger evidence for the association between marital quality and physical illness for both husbands and wives than has been obtained from cross-sectional studies or from longitudinal studies that have been limited to the investigation of interindividual differences.