Psychology

My research builds on the literature on assessing relationship satisfaction with a particular emphasis on direct assessment of personal and couples self-satisfaction reports.   Much of the research focuses on the impact of gender and relationship experience on relationship satisfaction with very little attention to how and if age differences among couples impacts relationship satisfaction.  In general, the literature reveals that studies are focused on correlating gender and relationship experience over into an examination of attitudes and perceptions of love as a technique for assessing relationship satisfaction.  Studies tend to indicate a difference among genders with respect to attitudes toward love and beliefs in relationships (Hendrick, Hendrick and Adler 1988 and Worobey 2000).  Unfortunately, a vast majority of the studies have focused too narrowly on young persons (Grote and Frieze 1994 and Gall et al 2002).

Even so, all indications are that age can and does have an impact on how couples characterize relationship satisfaction and conduct that achieve or fail to achieve relationship satisfaction.  Perceptions and understanding of love alone bear this out.  General perceptions among researchers are that love is complex and contributes to mutual sharing and support(Turner 1996, 266).  It is the primary predictor of relationship satisfaction and is largely reflected by verbal and physical expression and involves being sensitive to a partner and valuing ones partner.

In the questionnaires I distributed among a sample of 100 undergraduate students ranging in ages fro 18-27 I was able to confirm that perceptions of relationship satisfaction and corresponding relationship values can be age specific.  The questionnaires were derived from David Knoxs Self-Assessment The Love Attitudes Scale and assessed by reference to the 7 Item Assessment Scale.   This specific demographic was chosen to find a common trend in relationship attitudes among a sample with similar age and vocation characteristics for the purpose of identifying common factors.  The presumption is that emotional maturity along specific life spans is expected to dictate relationship perspectives.  This ties in with the research studies on emotional and cognitive development throughout the lifespan.

Socioemotional studies indicate that throughout the lifespan attention to and desire for emotional improvement heightens at different times throughout (Hess and Blanchard Fields 1999, 336).  Labouvie-Vief, Devoe and Bulka (1989) theorized that affective complexity and interpersonal perception, involving both self-and other-awareness are continuously developing throughout middle age.  According to this theory the more mature adult has the capacity to conceptualize a variety of emotions and opinions and to put them together cognitively and emotionally.  There is an improved understanding of ones own emotions, self-perception and those of others which facilitates a better insight for solving problems and conflicts in interpersonal relationships (Hess and Blanchard Fields 1999, 336).

Research findings also indicate that middle-aged persons are more adept at managing their emotions than the young and old.  Ultimately, emotional maturity reaches a satisfactory peak at midlife (Hoare 2006, 128).  These studies and theories indicate that age differences in terms of managing conflicts and expressing love should vary.  Satisfaction might therefore emanate from relationships where a middle-aged person is partnered with a young person or an older person.  The natural consequence is that the middle-aged person with the capacity to understand the emotions of others and hisher own emotions can equalize and manage tensions.  More importantly the middle-aged partner may also find middle ground and negotiate conflict resolution more satisfactorily in a relationship with young and old persons than two young or two old partners or a couple comprised of a young and old partner can.  
In this regard, the impact of age differences on relationship satisfaction among couples will largely depend on the age group and the age differences.   Drawing on these findings it can be concluded that a middle-aged individual has the capacity to find or negotiate relationship satisfaction with any age group at least insofar as it relates to understanding others and responding to them appropriately.   Based on the improved emotional status of the middle-aged person, it can be concluded that the middle-aged partner is able to express love in a manner that meets the needs and desires of his or her partner, quite simply because heshe can grasp and understand the emotional perceptions of others as well as the self.  Lewis, Haviland-Jones and Barrett (2008) explain that the
Greater cognitive and emotional complexity during the middle years gives rise to enhances flexibility of self-regulation and the capacity for more modulated emotion expression (380).

The Berlin Aging Study offers some profound insight into the impact of age differences on relationship satisfaction among couples.  According to this study which drew on a sample of older adults, positive attitudes fell substantially among older adults specifically between the ages of 70 and 75 and 90 and 100 years (Lewis et al 2008).  Similarly, the Los Angeles Longitudinal Study of Generations offers some insight into how age differences can impact relationship satisfaction among couples.  In this study samples were derived from a cross-section of ages ranging from young adults to those in the mid-80s.  Research findings indicate that positive emotions among the young, the middle-aged and older adults were relatively stable but declined among those between the mid-60s and mid-80s age groups (Lewis et al 2008).

Ultimately these studies indicate that emotional maturity develops over time and at some stage declines as one approaches old-age.  The assumption is that age differences in relationships brings together two different levels of emotional and cognitive maturity and depending on the age groups brought together couples ability to sustain satisfaction will vary according to the levels of emotional maturity husbanded in a relationship.  For instance if younger couples are expected to experience a growth in positive emotions as they age, their corresponding relationship should grow in satisfaction as they get older.  Old-aged adults with increasing negativity may not find satisfaction in much at all let alone intimate relationships. However, the odds are greater that a middle-age person paired with an older person or a younger person will have a satisfactory relationship.

Shantz and Hartup (1995) maintain that conflicts in relationships have the greatest impact on dissatisfaction. Shantz and Hartup (1995) explain that

Conflicts are precipitated when behavior by one member of a dyad is incongruent with the goals, expectations, or desires of the other member, resulting in mutual opposition.  These oppositions may engender perturbations in both interactional and emotional aspects of relationships (219).
What can be deduced from this theory is that emotionally immature individuals, when paired together will run into mutual opposition more frequently than older couples or mixed-aged couples, thereby undermining the chances of satisfactory relationships among couples.  The presumption is that emotionally immature individuals are less likely to compromise or to understand the feelings and perceptions of the other partner, increasing the risk of mutual opposition. Although this can happen in relationships of any age difference and similarities, in a relationship marked by age differences, there is less likely to be mutual opposition as the more emotionally mature is likely to negotiate a satisfactory resolution so that mutual opposition is minimized.

When these studies are combined with studies such as Grote and Frieze (1994) which make a correlation between age and the perceptions of love and relationship satisfaction and how those perceptions are manifested in love styles,  it can be concluded that age differences can determine whether or not a relationship can be satisfactory.  For instance, a young person who likes to engage in game-playing as a manifestation of hisher perception of love and relationships may find greater satisfaction with a middle-aged person who is mature enough to understand those perceptions and to respond to them appropriately.  This is not to say that they younger person would not find satisfaction with an equally young person who engages in the same love style conduct.  The point is, the middle age persons emotional maturity makes himher more flexible and therefore able to adjust to a variety of emotional changes and demands.  This makes the middle-aged person more likely to be compatible with a number of different partners at different ages.  In this regard, anyone partnered with a middle-aged person will most likely have a relationship that is satisfying.

Sexuality which is also found to be a significant factor in relationship satisfaction also varies among age groups with the result that age differences can also have an impact on relationship satisfaction.  Studies such as those by Brubaker and Roberto reported in 1987 (cited in Johnson and Booth 1998 220 and Levine 1998 79) indicate that just as emotions improve with age and decline at a later age, sexual activity declines with age.  However, a relationship without love and commitment expressed in entirely healthy ways is not a relationship  and this underscores the significance of emotional maturity over sexual satisfaction (Nicotera 1993, 4).  In other words, two sexual active partners may not have much of a relationship if they frequently run into mutual opposition and have no technique for resolving those differences.

In the final analysis it can be concluded that the impact of age differences on relationship satisfaction among couples varies according to the degree of the age gap and whether or not the emotional maturity of partners at the specific age corresponds with the character traits generally expected of them.  For instance, if a middle-aged partner is emotionally mature as predicted by the various aging studies, the middle-aged partner will likely be compatible with any partner of any age.  The key is flexibility in adjusting to conflict and emotional needs and perceptions of love.

While sexual activity is an important factor in all intimate relationships it is not as constant and defining as love and commitment.  The significance of sexual activity in relationships is generally attributed to gender than to age.  For instances, it is generally believed that women typically value love and commitment over sexual activity in relationships than men do (Brehm 2002, 17).  In this regard, it is difficult to align relationship satisfaction with sexual activity among age distinctions.  Moreover, sexual activity usually declines as a relationship grows so that the degree of sexual activity among different age groups loses its significance in relationships as opposed to single individuals in terms of age.

In order to come to a more definitive conclusion with respect to the impact of  age differences on relationship satisfaction among couples a comparative research study over a period of years is necessary.  This research would have benefitted from a comparison of the relationship longevity between young couples, older couples and couples made up of middle-aged and other age partners.  It would be interesting to study how long these relationships lasted and how these couples were compatible and incompatible.  Further research on the relationships between old and young couples could assist in determining whether their relationships were more or less satisfying than relationships between same-aged couples.  In the absence of these studies the author had to study the emotional progression along the lifespan, relationships in general and to put it into the context of the available literature.