Effects of perceived social support, marital companionship, and major and minor life stressors on the well being of older adults

Perceived social support and marital companionship are compared in later life marriage. Data were obtained from five hundred twenty eight older Kentucky residents in a larger longitudinal survey. A Marital Companionship Scale (MC) was derived by factor analysis, and data were analyzed by multiple regression. MC had beneficial main effects on subsequent life satisfaction. MC also had main effects on depression, self-esteem and well-being in women only. Significant effects of MC remained after removing Perceived Social Support (PSS) variance; however, PSS only had a significant effect on depression in women, which disappeared when MC variance was removed first. MC and PSS combined to produce greater increments in self-esteem in women experiencing higher minor life stressors. No other buffering effects were found. Thus, greater MC provided benefits not derived from PSS, and these accrued to women more than to men.