The study will explore how characteristics of the relationship affect the individual members of the couple and how changes in health and thinking and memory impact the relationship dynamics.
This study involves your answering questions about your physical and emotional health, including your cognitive functioning, as well as your relationship experience. This information will be collected in private (without your partner) with a research coordinator reading you these questions and asking you to respond verbally. Visits will take place via video conferencing. You will either be assessed by a research coordinator from NYU Langone Health or from Boston University.
You will be asked to meet every six months, for a total of six visits. At each visit you will be asked to answer the same questions about your relationship style, social support, physical, cognitive, and emotional health, and caregiving, if applicable.
Each study visit will take about 45 minutes for each individual to answer all of the questions. In total, each study couple should expect to spend two hours total per study visit.
The purpose of this study is to learn about the experiences of couples throughout the course of cognitive decline. The study explores the changes in health outcomes and relationship dynamics over time.
You may be eligible for the Couples Lived Experiences Study if you meet the following criteria:
- Are ≥ 65 years old
- Are in a committed relationship with an individual (also over the age of 65)
- Live with your partner in the New York City or Boston Metropolitan Area
- Must speak English as the study measures are not validated in other languages.
- Must have stable internet connection and capability to stream video with audio
- Willing to participate in study assessment once every 6 months for 3 years