Emotional and immunological impact of marital loss on men and women
Keywords:
Divorce, Widowhood, Health, Emotions, Immunoglobulin AAbstract
Background: This work analyzed whether psychological variables (depression and anger) and physiological variables (Immunoglobulin A) are related to each other in the context of partner loss, focusing on the influence of sex.
Method: Three groups of 100 participants were included: widowed, divorced, and a control group (50% men; age between 30 and 60 years). To assess psychological variables, two inventories were used and the technique of radial immunodiffusion was used to measure IgA.
Results: Widowed and divorced people appeared to be less healthy, more depressed, and angrier than the control group. IgA and psychological variables were inversely related. Women appeared to be more depressed after divorce while men were more depressed after being widowed. Men were angrier in both situations.
Conclusions: This study shows the interrelation of psychological and physical indicators in the context of partner loss and the influence of sex on it.
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References
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7. Cardenal, V., Sánchez-López, L.M., and Ortiz-Tallo, M. (2005) Impact on personality of loss or separation from loved ones. Journal of loss and trauma, 10, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325020590928225
8. Chochinov, H. and Holland, J.C. (1990) Bereavement: A special issue in Oncology. In: Holland, J.C. and Rowland, J.H. (eds.) Handbook of psychooncology: Psychological care of the patient with cancer. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 612-627.
9. Conde, V., Esteban, T., and Useros, E. (1976) Revisión crítica de la adaptación castellana del Cuestionario de Beck [Critical review of the Spanish version of the Beck Inventory]. Revista de Psicología General y Aplicada, 31, 469–497.
10. Euler, S., Schimpf, H., Hennig, J., and Brosig, B. (2005) On psychobiology in psychoanalysis: Salivary cortisol and secretory IgA as psychoanalytic process parameters. GMS Psycho-Social-Medicine, 2, 1-15.
11. Geiser, D. (1989) Psychosocial influences on human immunity. Clinical Psychology Review, 9, 689-715. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-7358(89)90018-4
12. Gómez-Alcaina, B., Montero-Marín, J., Demarzo, M., Pereira, J.P., and García-Campayo, J. (2013) Utilidad de los marcadores biológicos en la detección precoz y prevención del síndrome de burnout. Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 18, 245-253. https://doi.org/10.5944/rppc.vol.18.num.3.2013.12924
13. Graham, J.E., Christian, L.M., and Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K. (2006) Marriage, health, and immune function: A review of key findings and the role of depression. In: Beach, S.R.H., Wamboldt, M.Z., Kaslow, N.J., Heyman, R.E., First, M.B., Underwood, L.G., and Reiss, D. (eds.) Relational Processes and DSM-V: Neuroscience, Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Publishing Inc, pp. 61-76.
14. Guéguinou, N., Bojados, M., Jamon, M., Derradji, H., Baatout, S., Tschirhart, E., Frippiat, J.P., and Legrand-Frossi, C. (2012). Stress response and humoral immune system alterations related to chronic hypergravity in mice. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37, 137-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.05.015
15. Hughes, M.E. and Waite, L.J. (2009). Marital biography and health at mid-life. Journal of Helath and Social Behavior, 50, 344-358. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650905000307
16. Irwin, M., Daniels, M., Smith, T.L., Bloom, E. and Weigner, H. (1987). Impaired natural killer cell activity during bereavement. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 1, 98-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/0889-1591(87)90011-0
17. Kendler, K.S., Thornton, L.M., and Prescott, C.A. (2001). Gender differences in rates of exposure to stressful life events and sensitivity to their depressogenic effects. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 587-593. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.158.4.587
18. Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Fisher, L.D., Ogrocki, P., Stout, J.C., Speicher, C.E., and Glaiser, R. (1987). Marital quality, marital disruption, and immune function. Psychosomatic Medicine, 49, 13-34. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198701000-00002
19. Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Glaser, R., Cacioppo, J.T., MacCallum, R.C., Snydersmith, M., Kim, C., and Malarkey, W.B. (1997). Marital conflict in older adults: Endocrinological and immunological correlates. Psychosomatic Medicine, 59, 39-349. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199707000-00001
20. Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Kennedy, S., Malkoff, S., and Fisher, L. (1988). Marital discord and inmmunity in males. Psychosomatic Medicine 50, 213-229. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198805000-00001
21. Ko, S.M., Kua, E.H., Ng, T.P., and Fones, C.S. (2001). Life events and minor psychiatric morbidity in a community survey. Stress and Health, 17, 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1002/1532-2998(200101)17:1<41::AID-SMI869>3.0.CO;2-G
22. Kposowa, A.J. (2000). Marital status and suicide in the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 54, 254-261. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.54.4.254
23. Liu, H., and Umberson, D.J. (2008). The times they are a changing: marital status and health differentials from 1972 to 2003. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 49, 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650804900301
24. Mancini, G., Carbonara, A.O., and Heremans, J.F. (1965). Immunochemical quantitaions of antigens by single radial immunodiffusion. Immunochemistry, 2, 235-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-2791(65)90004-2
25. Marks, N.F., and Lambert, J.D. (1998). Marital status continuity and change among young and midlife adults- Longitudinal effects on psychological well-being. Journal of Family Issues, 19, 652-686. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251398019006001
26. Margraf, L. and Poldrack, A. (2000). Anxiety syndromes in East and West Germany: A representative study. Zeitschrift fuer Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, 29, 157-169. https://doi.org/10.1026//0084-5345.29.3.157
27. Metrikin, A., Galanter, M., Dermatis, H., and Bunt, G. (2003). Somatization, anxiety and depression in a drug-free residential therapeutic community. American Journal on Addictions, 12, 60-70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1521-0391.2003.tb00540.x
28. Miguel-Tobal, J.J., Casado, M.I., Cano-Vindel, A., and Spielberger, C.D. (1997). El estudio de la ira en los trastornos cardiovasculares mediante el empleo del Inventario de Expresión de Ira Estado-Rasgo –STAXI [The study of anger in cardiovascular disorders using the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory]. Ansiedad y Estrés, 3, 5-20.
29. Muhammad, A. and Gagnon, A. (2010). Why Should Men and Women Marry and Have Children? Parenthood, Marital Status and Self-perceived Stress among Canadians. Journal of Health Psychology, 15, 315-325. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105309353216
30. Murphy, M., Grundy, E., and Kalogirou, S. (2007). The increase in marital status differences in mortality up to the oldest age in seven European countries. Population Studies: a Journal of Demography, 61, 287-98. https://doi.org/10.1080/00324720701524466
31. Powell, L.H., Lovallo, W.R., Matthews, K.A., Meyer, P., Midgley, A.R., Bau, A., Stone, A.A., Underwood, L., McCann, J.J., Herro, K.J., and Ory, M.G. (2002). Physiologic markers of chronic stress in premenopausal, middle-aged women. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64, 502-509. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-200205000-00015
32. Power, C., Rodgers, B., and Hope, S. (1999). Heavy alcohol consumption and marital status: Disentangling the relationship in a national study of young adults. Addiction, 94, 1477-1487. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.1999.941014774.x
33. Rasul, F., Stansfeld, S.A., Davey-Smith, G., Hart, C.L., and Gillis, C. (2001). Sociodemographic Factors, Smoking and Common Mental Disorder in the Renfrew and Paisley (MIDSPAN) Study. Journal of Health Psychology, 6, 149-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910530100600205
34. Ritsner, M. and Ponizowsky, A. (2003). Age differences in stress process of recent immigrants. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 44, 135-141. https://doi.org/10.1053/comp.2003.50026
35. Simon, R.W. (2002). Revisiting the relationships among gender, marital status, and mental health. American Journal of Sociology, 107, 1065-1096. https://doi.org/10.1086/339225
36. Spielberger, C.D. (1988). State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
37. Villaverde, M.L., García, R., De la Fuente, J., and Benítez, M.S. (1999). Psychiatric morbidity community survey on urban population of the island of Tenerife. European journal of psychiatry, 13, 133-144.
38. Wadee, A.A., Kuschke, R.H., Kometz, S. and Berk, M. (2001). Personality factors, stress and immunity. Stress and Health, 17, 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1002/1532-2998(200101)17:1<25::AID-SMI873>3.0.CO;2-N
39. Zautra, A.J. (2003). Emotions, stress, and health. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
2. Ahto, M., Isoaho. R., Puolijoki, H., Laippala. P., Romo, M., and Kivela, S.L. (1997) Coronary heart disease and depression in the elderly- a population-based study. Family Practice, 14, 436-445. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.fampra.a018286
3. Bartrop, R.W., Lazarus, L., Luckhurst, E., Kiloh, L.G., and Penny, R. (1977) Depressed Iymphocyte function after bereavement. The Lancet, 1, 834-836. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(77)92780-5
4. Bayés, M. and Borràs, F.X. (1999) Psiconeuroinmunología y salud. In: Simón, M.G. (ed.) Manual de Psicología de la Salud. Fundamentos, Metodología y Aplicaciones. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva, pp. 77-104.
5. Beck, A.T., Ward, C.H., Mendelson. M., Mock, J., and Erbaugh, J. (1961) An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–571. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004
6. Bongard, S., Hodapp, V., and Rohrmann, S. (2008) Emotions and health: The impact of emotions, emotions regulation, music, and acculturation on health. Zeitschrift für Gesundheitspsychologie, 16, 112-115. https://doi.org/10.1026/0943-8149.16.3.112
7. Cardenal, V., Sánchez-López, L.M., and Ortiz-Tallo, M. (2005) Impact on personality of loss or separation from loved ones. Journal of loss and trauma, 10, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325020590928225
8. Chochinov, H. and Holland, J.C. (1990) Bereavement: A special issue in Oncology. In: Holland, J.C. and Rowland, J.H. (eds.) Handbook of psychooncology: Psychological care of the patient with cancer. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 612-627.
9. Conde, V., Esteban, T., and Useros, E. (1976) Revisión crítica de la adaptación castellana del Cuestionario de Beck [Critical review of the Spanish version of the Beck Inventory]. Revista de Psicología General y Aplicada, 31, 469–497.
10. Euler, S., Schimpf, H., Hennig, J., and Brosig, B. (2005) On psychobiology in psychoanalysis: Salivary cortisol and secretory IgA as psychoanalytic process parameters. GMS Psycho-Social-Medicine, 2, 1-15.
11. Geiser, D. (1989) Psychosocial influences on human immunity. Clinical Psychology Review, 9, 689-715. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-7358(89)90018-4
12. Gómez-Alcaina, B., Montero-Marín, J., Demarzo, M., Pereira, J.P., and García-Campayo, J. (2013) Utilidad de los marcadores biológicos en la detección precoz y prevención del síndrome de burnout. Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 18, 245-253. https://doi.org/10.5944/rppc.vol.18.num.3.2013.12924
13. Graham, J.E., Christian, L.M., and Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K. (2006) Marriage, health, and immune function: A review of key findings and the role of depression. In: Beach, S.R.H., Wamboldt, M.Z., Kaslow, N.J., Heyman, R.E., First, M.B., Underwood, L.G., and Reiss, D. (eds.) Relational Processes and DSM-V: Neuroscience, Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Publishing Inc, pp. 61-76.
14. Guéguinou, N., Bojados, M., Jamon, M., Derradji, H., Baatout, S., Tschirhart, E., Frippiat, J.P., and Legrand-Frossi, C. (2012). Stress response and humoral immune system alterations related to chronic hypergravity in mice. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37, 137-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.05.015
15. Hughes, M.E. and Waite, L.J. (2009). Marital biography and health at mid-life. Journal of Helath and Social Behavior, 50, 344-358. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650905000307
16. Irwin, M., Daniels, M., Smith, T.L., Bloom, E. and Weigner, H. (1987). Impaired natural killer cell activity during bereavement. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 1, 98-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/0889-1591(87)90011-0
17. Kendler, K.S., Thornton, L.M., and Prescott, C.A. (2001). Gender differences in rates of exposure to stressful life events and sensitivity to their depressogenic effects. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 587-593. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.158.4.587
18. Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Fisher, L.D., Ogrocki, P., Stout, J.C., Speicher, C.E., and Glaiser, R. (1987). Marital quality, marital disruption, and immune function. Psychosomatic Medicine, 49, 13-34. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198701000-00002
19. Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Glaser, R., Cacioppo, J.T., MacCallum, R.C., Snydersmith, M., Kim, C., and Malarkey, W.B. (1997). Marital conflict in older adults: Endocrinological and immunological correlates. Psychosomatic Medicine, 59, 39-349. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199707000-00001
20. Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Kennedy, S., Malkoff, S., and Fisher, L. (1988). Marital discord and inmmunity in males. Psychosomatic Medicine 50, 213-229. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198805000-00001
21. Ko, S.M., Kua, E.H., Ng, T.P., and Fones, C.S. (2001). Life events and minor psychiatric morbidity in a community survey. Stress and Health, 17, 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1002/1532-2998(200101)17:1<41::AID-SMI869>3.0.CO;2-G
22. Kposowa, A.J. (2000). Marital status and suicide in the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 54, 254-261. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.54.4.254
23. Liu, H., and Umberson, D.J. (2008). The times they are a changing: marital status and health differentials from 1972 to 2003. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 49, 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650804900301
24. Mancini, G., Carbonara, A.O., and Heremans, J.F. (1965). Immunochemical quantitaions of antigens by single radial immunodiffusion. Immunochemistry, 2, 235-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-2791(65)90004-2
25. Marks, N.F., and Lambert, J.D. (1998). Marital status continuity and change among young and midlife adults- Longitudinal effects on psychological well-being. Journal of Family Issues, 19, 652-686. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251398019006001
26. Margraf, L. and Poldrack, A. (2000). Anxiety syndromes in East and West Germany: A representative study. Zeitschrift fuer Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, 29, 157-169. https://doi.org/10.1026//0084-5345.29.3.157
27. Metrikin, A., Galanter, M., Dermatis, H., and Bunt, G. (2003). Somatization, anxiety and depression in a drug-free residential therapeutic community. American Journal on Addictions, 12, 60-70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1521-0391.2003.tb00540.x
28. Miguel-Tobal, J.J., Casado, M.I., Cano-Vindel, A., and Spielberger, C.D. (1997). El estudio de la ira en los trastornos cardiovasculares mediante el empleo del Inventario de Expresión de Ira Estado-Rasgo –STAXI [The study of anger in cardiovascular disorders using the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory]. Ansiedad y Estrés, 3, 5-20.
29. Muhammad, A. and Gagnon, A. (2010). Why Should Men and Women Marry and Have Children? Parenthood, Marital Status and Self-perceived Stress among Canadians. Journal of Health Psychology, 15, 315-325. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105309353216
30. Murphy, M., Grundy, E., and Kalogirou, S. (2007). The increase in marital status differences in mortality up to the oldest age in seven European countries. Population Studies: a Journal of Demography, 61, 287-98. https://doi.org/10.1080/00324720701524466
31. Powell, L.H., Lovallo, W.R., Matthews, K.A., Meyer, P., Midgley, A.R., Bau, A., Stone, A.A., Underwood, L., McCann, J.J., Herro, K.J., and Ory, M.G. (2002). Physiologic markers of chronic stress in premenopausal, middle-aged women. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64, 502-509. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-200205000-00015
32. Power, C., Rodgers, B., and Hope, S. (1999). Heavy alcohol consumption and marital status: Disentangling the relationship in a national study of young adults. Addiction, 94, 1477-1487. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.1999.941014774.x
33. Rasul, F., Stansfeld, S.A., Davey-Smith, G., Hart, C.L., and Gillis, C. (2001). Sociodemographic Factors, Smoking and Common Mental Disorder in the Renfrew and Paisley (MIDSPAN) Study. Journal of Health Psychology, 6, 149-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910530100600205
34. Ritsner, M. and Ponizowsky, A. (2003). Age differences in stress process of recent immigrants. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 44, 135-141. https://doi.org/10.1053/comp.2003.50026
35. Simon, R.W. (2002). Revisiting the relationships among gender, marital status, and mental health. American Journal of Sociology, 107, 1065-1096. https://doi.org/10.1086/339225
36. Spielberger, C.D. (1988). State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
37. Villaverde, M.L., García, R., De la Fuente, J., and Benítez, M.S. (1999). Psychiatric morbidity community survey on urban population of the island of Tenerife. European journal of psychiatry, 13, 133-144.
38. Wadee, A.A., Kuschke, R.H., Kometz, S. and Berk, M. (2001). Personality factors, stress and immunity. Stress and Health, 17, 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1002/1532-2998(200101)17:1<25::AID-SMI873>3.0.CO;2-N
39. Zautra, A.J. (2003). Emotions, stress, and health. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
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Published
2018-09-02
How to Cite
Cardenal Hernáez, V. ., Ferragut Ortiz-Tallo, M. ., Rueda Gallego, P. ., & Ortiz-Tallo Alarcón, M. . (2018). Emotional and immunological impact of marital loss on men and women. Escritos De Psicología - Psychological Writings, 11(2), 55–64. Retrieved from https://revistas.uma.es/index.php/espsi/article/view/9365
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