Older Spouses: Similarity of Health Promotion Behaviors

Abstract

Families provide an important context within which individuals select and perform health-promoting behaviors. The spouse is a particularly important family influence among married older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of similarity in health-promoting behaviors reported by older married women and men. Subjects answered an open-ended question about health behaviors and completed the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP). Statistically significant correlations between HPLP scores werefoundfor exercise, nutrition, interpersonal support, self-actualization, and health responsibility. Corresponding similarities werefound between spouses' responses to open-ended questions. Suggestions for future research include investigations of the pattern of influence among healthy couples and among couples experiencing health deviations. Thesefindings suggest that, although individual variation continues even among long-married persons, the older couple may provide a targetfor nursing interventions to enhance health-promoting behaviors.