The National Science Foundation (NSF) is spending nearly $200,000 studying the "ups and downs" of older Americans’ dating lives.
The project cites a pressing need for research on how single adults over 60 years old date. The study is entitled "Understanding Age-Related Changes in Relationship Maintenance Strategies."
"A wealth of research indicates that high quality romantic relationships allow individuals to thrive both emotionally and physically," a NSF grant for the project states. "In fact, the impact of close relationships on health has been shown to be larger than the impact of a variety of negative health behaviors, such as smoking, excessive drinking, and obesity. Unfortunately, longer life expectancies and high divorce rates have contributed to a new social reality in which older adults (i.e., age 60+) increasingly find themselves unpartnered and searching for companionship."
"Despite these societal trends, research on how older adults form and maintain satisfying new romantic relationships is scarce," the grant said.
"Thus, the proposed research is designed to fill this gap, and will test if there are potential age-related changes in the way individuals navigate the inevitable ups and downs of a new romantic relationship."
The project began this May and has cost taxpayers $185,850. The study is expected to continue through 2018.
The study, being conducted by the University of Texas at Austin, will compare how old and young people handle relationship struggles, in both marriages and new relationships.
The grant said that research from the project would be "informative for improving happiness and health throughout the lifespan."
The project supposes that older adults may be better equipped to handle relationship issues because of their experience, though results may vary.
"Specifically, the goal of the current proposal is to examine whether the life experience that comes with age facilitates positive and constructive responses when relationship conflicts arise," the grant said. "Integrating insights from both the aging and the close relationships literatures suggests that the answer to this question may depend on the relational context."