How Families Make Their Way into Your Heart: Exploring the Associations Between Daily Experiences Involving Family Members and Cardiovascular Health
Open Access
- Author:
- Chai, Hye Won
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 12, 2020
- Committee Members:
- David Manuel Almeida, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
David Manuel Almeida, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Valarie Elizabeth King, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Martin John Sliwinski, Committee Member
William Lawrence Kenney, Jr., Outside Member
Valarie Elizabeth King, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Steven Howard Zarit, Special Member
Douglas Michael Teti, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- daily diary study
cardiovascular health
family experiences - Abstract:
- Cardiovascular disease is a critical public health issue and a growing body of literature on relationships and health point to individuals’ interactions and involvement with family members as significant correlates of cardiovascular outcomes. Much of this research has relied on global and retrospective accounts of family relations. However, while our experiences involving family members take place in our day-to-day lives, not much is known about the implications of daily encounters with family members on cardiovascular health outcomes. In addition, the nuances of the relation between experiences involving family members and cardiovascular health based on inter-individual characteristics are not yet well understood. To address this gap, the aims of this dissertation were to examine the associations between daily experiences with family members and comprehensive measures of cardiovascular health and to further explore how developmental, socioeconomic, and psychological factors moderate the associations. This dissertation used data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Ⅱ and MIDUS Refresher. The sample composed of respondents who participated in two subprojects of MIDUS, namely the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) and Biomarker Project (N = 1,312). Indices of cardiovascular health used in this dissertation include inflammatory markers (IL-6 and CRP), autonomic functioning (heart rate variability and heart rate), and Life’s Simple 7 scores (health behavior, biomarker, and total score). Results showed that the associations between daily family experiences and cardiovascular outcomes differed by age, perceived family support, and perceived severity of negative experiences with family members. First, having more daily negative experiences with family members was associated with better cardiovascular health outcomes among young adults and worse cardiovascular outcomes among older adults. Having more daily positive experiences was also associated with lower heart rate variability for older adults. Second, having more daily positive experiences with family members was associated with lower levels of inflammation among those with higher levels of perceived family support. Finally, perceived severity of negative family experiences amplified the effects of negative experiences with family members such that having more negative experiences with family was associated with worse Life’s Simple 7 health behavior score among those with higher levels of perceived severity. For those with lower levels of perceived severity, negative experiences were associated with better cardiovascular outcomes. Together, the findings of this dissertation shed light on understanding how the relation between daily experiences with family members and cardiovascular health outcomes differ by individuals’ developmental and psychological characteristics. Results revealed that contrary to the general assumption that negative experiences have health-damaging effects, frequent involvement with family members in daily life, even negative ones, may be indicative of active engagement in life that could be health-promoting for younger adults and when experiences are perceived as less stressful.