The asymmetric effects of improving and declining marital satisfaction on cognitive function

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the association between marital satisfaction and cognitive function, while distinguishing between the effects of improving and declining marital satisfaction. Moreover, potential differences in these asymmetric effects of marital satisfaction between middle-aged and older adults are explored. Background: Marital satisfaction is known to promote cognitive function. However, previous studies have assumed that the effects of improving and declining marital satisfaction are symmetrical. Method: Using seven waves of data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging 2006–2018 (N = 7407), we employ a novel asymmetric fixed effects model to estimate the effects of improving and declining marital satisfaction separately. Stratified analyses were conducted by age group and gender. Results: The association between declining marital satisfaction and cognitive function (b = −0.292, p