Some previous research on romantic couples' conflicts suggests that anger may be more harmful for our relationships than sadness. However, this research has primarily focused on younger aged couples, and we know little about whether the effects of anger and sadness change as couples grow older. My work found that expressions of anger during a conflict, but not sadness, predicted lower ratings of closeness and conflict resolution for both couple members, extending previous findings with younger couples to an age-diverse sample.

Building on this work, my dissertation research examined whether older and younger adults may mitigate the physical health risks of romantic conflicts by managing which negative emotion they feel: anger or sadness. Although I did not find evidence of theorized age differences across lab or daily life settings, this work adds to our understanding of how specific negative emotions may jeopardize our physical well-being across our lives.