Partner Sense of Purpose Predicts Personal and Relational Well-Being in Older Adult Couples

One’s own sense of purpose is an important predictor of well-being in older adulthood. This research examines whether having a purposeful romantic partner predicts additional enhancements in one’s personal and relational well-being, beyond those explained by one’s own sense of purpose. Both members of older adult romantic couples reported their dispositional sense of purpose and their global well-being, then subsequently reported their daily well-being for seven days. We assessed whether own and partner dispositional sense of purpose predicted well-being (measured globally and measured momentarily in subsequent diary assessments). Beyond effects of one’s own sense of purpose on well-being, partner sense of purpose independently contributed to one’s greater life satisfaction, self-efficacy, relationship satisfaction, and commitment, as well as lower depression, stress, and loneliness (using both global and daily measures). Partner sense of purpose also independently predicted one’s experiences of lower global conflict and daily anxiety. Additional analyses indicated that it is the total purpose in the relationship (and not couples’ similarity in purpose) that predicts these positive outcomes. These findings imply that sense of purpose is a shared resource among older adult couples.