Unpleasant situations elicit different emotional responses in younger and older adults

Age differences in affective forecasting and experienced emotion surrounding the 2008 US presidential election

In everyday life, people frequently make decisions based on tacit or explicit forecasts about the emotional consequences associated with the possible choices. We investigated age differences in such forecasts and their accuracy by surveying voters about their expected and, subsequently, their actual emotional responses to the 2008 US presidential election. A sample of 762 Democratic and Republican voters aged 20 to 80 years participated in a web-based study; 346 could be re-contacted two days after the election. Older adults forecasted lower increases in high-arousal emotions (e.g., excitement after winning; anger after losing) and larger increases in low-arousal emotions (e.g., sluggishness after losing) than younger adults. Age differences in actual responses to the election were consistent with forecasts, albeit less pervasive. Additionally, among supporters of the winning candidate, but not among supporters of the losing candidate, forecasting accuracy was enhanced with age, suggesting a positivity effect in affective forecasting. These results add to emerging findings about the role of valence and arousal in emotional ageing and demonstrate age differences in affective forecasting about a real-world event with an emotionally charged outcome.

Cognitive impairment and happiness in old people in low and middle income countries: results from the 10/66 study

BACKGROUND

Recent studies indicate that happiness increases with age, except in those with dementia-related diseases. We investigated the relationship between cognitive decline and happiness, hypothesising that this relationship is modified by social networks and depression.

METHOD

The 10/66 study involved cross-sectional representative surveys of residents aged 65+ in India, China and Latin America. 14,769 (98.7%) participants answered the single item happiness measure. We used the Community Screening Instrument for Dementia, and the Geriatric Mental State to identify depression.

RESULTS

12,150 (82.3%) participants reported they were very or fairly happy. Better cognition was associated with greater happiness, after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and physical disability (t=3.3, p=0.001). This association was no longer significant after controlling for social network type as a main effect (t=1.9, p=0.06) and as an interaction term with cognition (t=0.07, p=0.94). People with more cognitive impairment were happier if they had "family dependent" rather than "private" social networks characterised by minimal social contact (β=-1.0, p<0.001).

LIMITATIONS

This is a cross-sectional survey, so we cannot show direction of causality.

CONCLUSION

Most of the older people reported that they were very or fairly happy, and happiness increased with age. Cognitive impairment was not associated with unhappiness after controlling for the modifying effect of social network type. Unhappiness is therefore not inevitable in those with cognitive loss, and supporting social networks are important in maintaining happiness. Trials of interventions to strengthen social support in those with cognitive impairment are indicated to determine whether this approach promotes happiness.

Age-related differences in profiles of mood-change trajectories

As a group, older adults report positive affective lives. The extent to which there are subgroups of older adults whose moods are less positive, however, is unclear. Our aim in the present study was to identify and characterize different subgroups of adults who exhibit distinct trajectories of mood change across a relatively short time period. Seventy-nine young and 103 older adults continuously reported their moods while viewing emotional and neutral faces. Cluster analysis revealed four subgroups of mood-change trajectories. Both the most positive and the most negative subgroups included more older than young adults (ps < .05), suggesting that not all older adults exhibit higher positive affect than young adults. Analyses of variance revealed that the most negative group exhibited slower processing speed, more state anxiety and neuroticism, and looked less at happy faces than the other groups (ps < .05). The results are discussed from an adult developmental perspective, focusing on the increased variability of mood trajectories in the older adults and whether this is a reflection of adaptive functioning or a potential harbinger of dysfunction.

Better With Age: Social Relationships Across Adulthood

Older adults typically report higher levels of satisfaction with their social relationships than younger adults. The present paper integrates current developmental research to explain why social relationships are generally more positive with age. We discuss actions by older adults that contribute to more positive social experiences. We also include social role changes that may provide advantages for older adults when navigating their relationships. Next, we turn to interactional processes between older adults with their social partners. We review literature indicating that: (a) older adults engage in strategies that optimize positive social experiences and minimize negative ones by avoiding conflicts, and (b) social partners often reciprocate by treating older adults more positively and with greater forgiveness than they do younger adults.

Alexithymia and aging: a neuropsychological perspective

Consistent with the emotional changes associated with later life, higher alexithymia scores are widely reported in older adults, but their significance has not been fully examined. We posited that association between alexithymia and poorer neurocognition would support the deficit nature of alexithymia in later life. Widely used neurocognitive tests assessing the relative integrity of the left and right hemisphere functions were used to examine the extent to which alexithymia of older age is associated with poor left or right hemisphere functioning. Healthy community-dwelling volunteers (20 young and 20 elderly subjects) were studied with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Neurocognitive competence was assessed using a neuropsychological battery measuring attention, language, memory, visuospatial abilities, and executive functions. Neurocognitive abilities were strongly age-related and indirectly correlated with alexithymia. Alexithymia total score appeared to be uniquely predicted by Raven Matrices and Rey's Figure Recall. These results support the deficit hypothesis alexithymia of older age.

Goal striving and maladaptive coping in adults living with spinal cord injury: associations with affective well-being

OBJECTIVE

The current study examined how goal engagement and two coping strategies (self-blame and denial) hypothesized to prevent successful disengagement relate to affective well-being among adults with a functional disability.

METHOD

Ninety-nine community-dwelling adults (23 to 76 years old, 66 men) with spinal cord injury participated in structured interviews assessing affective well-being using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988); goal engagement using a modified version of the Optimization, Primary, and Secondary Control Scale (Heckhausen, Schulz, & Wrosch, 1998); and self-blame and denial using items from Carver's (1997) Brief COPE Inventory.

RESULTS

Greater goal engagement was significantly associated with positive but not negative affect. Greater use of self-blame and denial coping was associated with lower positive affect for older adults and higher negative affect across the age range.

IMPLICATIONS

Responses to ostracism across adulthood

Ostracism is ubiquitous across the lifespan. From social exclusion on the playground, to romantic rejection, to workplace expulsion, to social disregard for the aged, ostracism threatens a fundamental human need to belong that reflexively elicits social pain and sadness. Older adults may be particularly vulnerable to ostracism because of loss of network members and meaningful societal roles. On the other hand, socioemotional selectivity theory suggests that older adults may be less impacted by ostracism because of an age-related positivity bias. We examined these hypotheses in two independent studies, and tested mechanisms that may account for age differences in the affective experience of ostracism. A study of 18- to 86-year-old participants in the Time-Sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences program showed an age-related decrease in the impact of ostracism on needs satisfaction and negative affectivity. A study of 53- to 71-year-old participants in the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study (CHASRS) showed that ostracism diminished positive affectivity in younger (<60 years) but not older adults. Age group differences in response to ostracism were consistent with the positivity bias hypothesis, were partly explained by age differences in the impact of physical pain, but were not explained by autonomic nervous system activity, computer experience, or intimate social loss or stressful life experiences.

A snapshot of the age distribution of psychological well-being in the United States

Psychological well-being (WB) includes a person's overall appraisal of his or her life (Global WB) and affective state (Hedonic WB), and it is considered a key aspect of the health of individuals and groups. Several cross-sectional studies have documented a relation between Global WB and age. Little is known, however, about the age distribution of Hedonic WB. It may yield a different view of aging because it is less influenced by the cognitive reconstruction inherent in Global WB measures and because it includes both positive and negative components of WB. In this study we report on both Global and Hedonic WB assessed in a 2008 telephone survey of 340,847 people in the United States. Consistent with prior studies, Global WB and positive Hedonic WB generally had U-shaped age profiles showing increased WB after the age of 50 years. However, negative Hedonic WB variables showed distinctly different and stronger patterns: Stress and Anger steeply declined from the early 20s, Worry was elevated through middle age and then declined, and Sadness was essentially flat. Unlike a prior study, men and women had very similar age profiles of WB. Several measures that could plausibly covary with the age-WB association (e.g., having children at home) did not alter the age-WB patterns. Global and Hedonic WB measures appear to index different aspects of WB over the lifespan, and the postmidlife increase in WB, especially in Hedonic WB, deserves continued exploration.

Verzeihen und Selbstverzeihen über die Lebensspanne

Zusammenfassung. Verzeihen dient der Bewältigung von interpersonalen Verletzungen und Kränkungen. Im ersten Teil dieser Übersichtsarbeit werden Begriffsbestimmungen und Operationalisierungen vorgestellt. Im zweiten Teil werden Befunde von Studien erörtert, welche die Entwicklung des Verzeihens im Kindes- und Jugendalter und vom jüngeren zum höheren Erwachsenenalter untersuchten. Neben Studien zum Verzeihen von realen und hypothetischen Verletzungen werden auch Studien zur Bereitschaft zu verzeihen (Verzeihensdisposition) und Selbstverzeihen berichtet. Über die Deskription hinausgehend werden in einem dritten Teil potenzielle Erklärungsmechanismen der Entwicklung des Verzeihens über die Lebensspanne identifiziert und kritisch diskutiert. Mögliche Implikationen für die Forschung aus Sicht der Lebenslaufperspektive schließen den Beitrag ab.

Age differences in the prevalence and co-morbidity of DSM-IV major depressive episodes: results from the WHO World Mental Health Survey Initiative

BACKGROUND

Although depression appears to decrease in late life, this could be due to misattribution of depressive symptoms to physical disorders that increase in late life.

METHODS

We investigated this issue by studying age differences in co-morbidity of DSM-IV major depressive episodes (MDE) with chronic physical conditions in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys, a series of community epidemiological surveys of respondents in 10 developed countries (n=52,485) and 8 developing countries (n=37,265). MDE and other mental disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Organic exclusion rules were not used to avoid inappropriate exclusion of cases with physical co-morbidity. Physical conditions were assessed with a standard chronic conditions checklist.

RESULTS

Twelve-month DSM-IV/CIDI MDE was significantly less prevalent among respondents ages 65+ than younger respondents in developed but not developing countries. Prevalence of co-morbid mental disorders generally either decreased or remained stable with age, while co-morbidity of MDE with mental disorders generally increased with age. Prevalence of physical conditions, in comparison, generally increased with age, while co-morbidity of MDE with physical conditions generally decreased with age. Depression treatment was lowest among the elderly in developed and developing countries.

CONCLUSIONS

The weakening associations between MDE and physical conditions with increasing age argue against the suggestion that the low estimated prevalence of MDE among the elderly is due to increased confounding with physical disorders. Future study is needed to investigate processes that might lead to a decreasing impact of physical illness on depression among the elderly.

Compensatory effects of emotion avoidance in adult development

Although compensatory strategies can offset regulatory losses that occur in later adulthood, they often break down under conditions of over-activation. Two emotion regulation tasks examined compensatory effects related to attachment classification (AC). Study 1 examined emotional Stroop performance in young (17-39) and old adults (60-89). Among the elder, participants with dismissing AC showed increased response times (RTs) for anger and fear words, whereas participants with secure AC showed increased RTs for joy words. Participants with anxious AC responded slowest overall. In Study 2, heart rate (HR) was monitored while adult (25-82) mother-daughter pairs discussed three emotion events (conflict, neutral, happy). During conflict discussion, older dismissing women had highest initial HR and slowest recovery, whereas anxious older women had lowest initial HR and fastest recovery. Results suggest that in old age protective functions of dismissing AC break down under over-activation, whereas anxious AC may serve a protective role.

Living with a prostate cancer diagnosis: a qualitative 2-year follow-up

AIM

Previous research has identified how newly diagnosed prostate cancer affects men's daily lives, including daily activities and existential issues. The aim of this qualitative study was to provide information if and how prostate cancer affects men's daily lives 2 years after the diagnosis.

METHODS

A second follow-up interview with men who were diagnosed with localized or advanced prostate cancer approximately 18-24 months earlier. Twenty-two men aged 50-85 years participated, data were analyzed by hermeneutical interpretation with Gadamer's approach.

RESULTS

The men feel healthy, but prostate cancer affects their daily lives. They experience every day fatigue associated with several changes in life due to age. Three equivalent fusions which influenced the men are: 'Age is claiming its due', 'Living with uncertainty', and 'Strengthen self-esteem'. The unifying fusion is identified as 'Balancing a changed life situation.'

CONCLUSIONS

There is need for knowledge and guidance for men with prostate cancer on how to adapt to new life situation decreasing uncertainty and increasing welfare. Men found a sense of pride, despite physical changes, in appreciating independence and close relationships. Value of life was readjusted. The findings indicate harmony in living, enjoying being frank as well as rating the 'little' things.

Social and emotional aging

The past several decades have witnessed unidimensional decline models of aging give way to life-span developmental models that consider how specific processes and strategies facilitate adaptive aging. In part, this shift was provoked by the stark contrast between findings that clearly demonstrate decreased biological, physiological, and cognitive capacity and those suggesting that people are generally satisfied in old age and experience relatively high levels of emotional well-being. In recent years, this supposed "paradox" of aging has been reconciled through careful theoretical analysis and empirical investigation. Viewing aging as adaptation sheds light on resilience, well-being, and emotional distress across adulthood.

Age differences in major depression: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R)

BACKGROUND

Although depression appears to decrease in late life, this could be due to misattribution of depressive symptom to physical disorders that increase in late life.

METHOD

We studied age differences in major depressive episodes (MDE) in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, a national survey of the US household population. DSM-IV MDE was defined without organic exclusions or diagnostic hierarchy rules to facilitate analysis of co-morbidity. Physical disorders were assessed with a standard chronic conditions checklist and mental disorders with the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) version 3.0.

RESULTS

Lifetime and recent DSM-IV/CIDI MDE were significantly less prevalent among respondents aged 65 years than among younger adults. Recent episode severity, but not duration, was also lower among the elderly. Despite prevalence of mental disorders decreasing with age, co-morbidity of hierarchy-free MDE with these disorders was either highest among the elderly or unrelated to age. Co-morbidity of MDE with physical disorders, in comparison, generally decreased with age despite prevalence of co-morbid physical disorders usually increasing. Somewhat more than half of respondents with 12-month MDE received past-year treatment, but the percentage in treatment was lowest and most concentrated in the general medical sector among the elderly.

CONCLUSIONS

Given that physical disorders increase with age independent of depression, their lower associations with MDE in old age argue that causal effects of physical disorders on MDE weaken in old age. This result argues against the suggestion that the low estimated prevalence of MDE among the elderly is due to increased confounding with physical disorders.

Emotional aging: recent findings and future trends

Contrasting cognitive and physical decline, research in emotional aging suggests that most older adults enjoy high levels of affective well-being and emotional stability into their 70s and 80s. We investigate the contributions of age-related changes in emotional motivation and competence to positive affect trajectories. We give an overview on the recent literature on emotional processing and emotional regulation, combining evidence from correlational and experimental, as well as behavioral and neuroscience studies. In particular, we focus on emotion-cognition interactions, including the positivity effect. Looking forward, we argue that efforts to link levels of emotional functioning with long-term outcomes, combining space- and time-sensitive measures of brain function, and developing interventions to improve life quality for older adults may further refine life-span theories and open promising avenues of empirical investigation.

The Role of Perceived Maternal Favoritism in Sibling Relations in Midlife

Data were collected from 708 adult children nested within 274 later-life families from the Within-Family Differences Study to explore the role of perceived maternal favoritism in the quality of sibling relations in midlife. Mixed-model analyses revealed that regardless of which sibling was favored, perceptions of current favoritism and recollections of favoritism in childhood reduced closeness among siblings. Recollections of maternal favoritism in childhood were more important than perceptions of current favoritism in predicting tension among adult siblings, regardless of age. Taken together, the findings from this investigation are consistent with childhood studies showing that siblings have better relationships when they believe that they are treated equitably by their parents.