Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Vol. 27, No. 3, June 2004 ( C  2004) Spousal Support Satisfaction as a Modiﬁer of Physiological Responses to Marital Conﬂict in Younger and Older Couples Kathi L. Heffner, 1,5 Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, 1 Timothy J. Loving, 1,2 Ronald Glaser, 3 and William B. Malarkey 4 Accepted for publication: September 22, 2003 We investigated linkages between spousal support satisfaction and affective, cortisol, and blood pressure responses to conﬂict in two samples, 85 newlyweds and 31 older couples, married an average of 42 years. Couples were admitted to a hospital research unit and provided self-reports regarding the support re- ceived from their spouses. After a baseline period, couples engaged in a 30-min conﬂict discussion during which time blood was drawn for cortisol assessment. After the conﬂict, newlyweds’ blood pressure was measured. Among newly- wed wives, greater spousal support satisfaction was associated with smaller changes in negative affect and cortisol responses to conﬂict. Notably, new- lywed wives and husbands demonstrated lower blood pressure after conﬂict when spousal support satisfaction was higher. In contrast, older husbands (but not wives) exhibited greater cortisol responses when spousal support satisfac- tion was lower. These relationships provide a window on mechanisms linking marriage and health for men and women across the life span. KEY WORDS: support; marriage; cortisol; sex differences; aging. 1 Department of Psychiatry, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 2 Present address: Department of Human Ecology, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas. 3 Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 4 Department of Internal Medicine, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 5 To whom correspondence should be addressed at Department of Psychology, 200 Porter Hall, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701; e-mail: heffner@ohio.edu. 233 0160-7715/04/0600-0233/0 C  2004 Plenum Publishing Corporation