TitleAge differences in everyday stressor-related negative affect: A coordinated analysis.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsStawski, RS, Scott, SB, Zawadzki, MJ, Sliwinski, MJ, Marcusson-Clavertz, D, Kim, J, Lanza, ST, Green, PA, Almeida, DM, Smyth, JM
JournalPsychol Aging
Volume34
Issue1
Pagination91-105
Date Published2019 Feb
ISSN1939-1498
KeywordsAdult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Emotions, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Pessimism, Stress, Psychological, Thinking, Young Adult
Abstract

<p>Advancing age is often characterized by preserved or even enhanced emotion regulation, which is thought to manifest in terms of age-related reductions in the within-person association between stressors and negative affect. Existing research from ecological momentary assessment and end-of-day daily diary studies examining such age-related benefits have yielded mixed results, potentially due to differences in samples, design, and measurement of everyday stressors and negative affect. We conducted a coordinated analysis of 5 ecological momentary assessments and 2 end-of-day daily diary studies to examine adult age differences in the within-person association between everyday stressors and negative affect. Reported stressor occurrences are robustly associated with higher negative affect, regardless of study design and sample characteristics. Across studies, interactions between age and everyday stressors predicting negative affect revealed a pattern of age-related decreases in the stressor-negative affect association, but this interaction was only significant for 2 studies. Further, examination of statistical power of the included studies suggests that, despite differences in the number of repeated assessments, power to detect within-person stressor-negative affect associations is quite good. In contrast, despite possessing wider age ranges, observed age differences were relatively small in magnitude, and studies are potentially underpowered to detect age differences in these within-person associations. We discuss the importance of study design, interval of repeated assessments and number of participants for examining age differences in everyday stressors and negative affect, as well as the virtue of coordinated analyses for detecting consistent direction of associations, but inconsistent patterns of statistical significance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).</p>

DOI10.1037/pag0000309
Alternate JournalPsychol Aging
PubMed ID30550311
PubMed Central IDPMC6367015
Grant List / / William T. Grant Foundation /
/ / Alfred P. Sloan Foundation /
UH2 AG052167 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 HL109340 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG026728 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
UH3 AG052167 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG042595 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01 HD051217 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States
U01 HD051256 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States
/ / National Institutes of Health; National Institute on Aging /
UL1 TR001073 / TR / NCATS NIH HHS / United States
P01 AG020166 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
/ / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development /
/ / Czap Foundation /
/ / National Center for Advancing Translational Science /
R01 AG039409 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
/ / Gallup Organization /
/ / Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Opportunity Network (OppNet) /
/ AF / ACF HHS / United States
R01 AG047154 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
UL1 TR002556 / TR / NCATS NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG019239 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P01 AG003949 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U01 OH008788 / OH / NIOSH CDC HHS / United States
U01 AG027669 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 HL067990 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
/ / Leonard and Sylvia Marx Foundation /
U19 AG051426 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 HL107240 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
U01 HD059773 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States
U01 HD051276 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States
U01 HD051218 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States