Lisa Jaremka, PhD University of Delaware NOVEL LINKS BETWEEN TROUBLED MARRIAGES AND APPETITE REGULATION

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND  Need to belong (Baumeister and Leary, 1995)  Fundamental  Universal  Close relationships are essential for health and well-being (Holt-Lunstad, Smith, & Layton, 2010; Uchino, 2009)  Threats to belonging should lead to negative health outcomes (see Jaremka, Derry, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2015)

MARITAL DISTRESS  Marital distress is a particularly potent threat to belonging  Negative health consequences of marital distress  Worse overall health (Robles, et al., 2013)  50% lower odds of survival (Holt-Lunstad, Smith, & Layton, 2010)  Depression and depressive symptoms (O’Leary, et al., 1994; Weissman, 1987) WHY?

CONCEPTUAL MODEL Marital Distress Health Problems Appetite Dysregulation Poor Diet Quality

APPETITE REGULATION  Two hormones provide a window into appetite regulation  Ghrelin  Sends hunger signals to the brain  ghrelin = hunger  Leptin  Sends satiation signals to the brain  leptin = hunger

Does marital distress predict ghrelin and leptin levels, along with diet quality?

METHOD  Participants  43 married couples  81% Caucasian  Married average of 11 years  Overview of study  2 visits per couple (9.5 hours per visit)  3 separate 24-hour food recalls

TIMELINE OF BOTH VISITS Standardized breakfast 8:00am Blood draw #1 8:45am Marital conflict task 9:30am Blood draw #2 10:30am Blood draw #3 12:30pm Blood draw #4 3:30pm Overnight fast in preparation

MARITAL CONFLICT PARADIGM  Discussion task  Each spouse completed “Relationships Problem Inventory”  minute interview to select most problematic issues  20 minute subsequent discussion of issues  Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System (RMICS)  Psychological abuse (e.g., disgust, contempt)  Distress-maintaining attributions (e.g., You’re mean on purpose)  Hostility (e.g., criticism, hostile voice tone)  Withdrawal (e.g., pulling back from the interaction)

DIET QUALITY MEASURE  USDA 24-Hour Multiple Pass Approach  Type, quantity, and cooking method for anything consumed in past 24 hours  Computed Alternate Healthy Eating Index (aHEI)  Averaged across all 3 recalls  Accounts for variety of different macro- and micro- nutrients

HYPOTHESIS  People in more distressed marriages will have higher ghrelin, lower leptin, and a worse quality diet than those in less distressed marriages  BUT: what about body mass index (BMI)?  Appetite hormones and food consumption are “different” for obese people  Examine BMI as possible moderator

MARITAL HOSTILITY PREDICTS GHRELIN (AMONG LOWER BMI) ns b =.0007* *Controlling for baseline ghrelin levels

MARITAL HOSTILITY PREDICTS DIET QUALITY (AMONG LOWER BMI) b = -.21** ns*

CONCLUSIONS  Marital distress predicts  Higher (post-meal) ghrelin levels  Worse quality diet  But only among non-obese people  Why…?  Ghrelin but not leptin?  Differential effects based on obesity?  Are marital distress and appetite so closely related?

THANK YOU! Follow Jaremka, L.M., Belury, M.A., Andridge, R.R., Lindgren, M.E., Habash, D., Malarkey, W.B., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K. (2015). Novel links between troubled marriages and appetite regulation: Marital distress, ghrelin, and diet quality. Clinical Psychological Science. Slides available: