Abstract
Background and Objectives
Older people experience fewer negative interactions and report less stress in response to interpersonal tensions. Less is known, however, about the implications of daily social interactions for biological stress responses. We evaluated links between daily positive and negative interactions and two key biomeasures of the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis: salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S). We also considered the moderating effects of age.
Research Design and Methods
Participants included a random sample of 93 individuals aged 40-95 who completed 14 days of daily diary interviews and provided saliva samples during four of those days.
Results
Three-level piecewise models showed that individuals had higher sustained DHEA-S levels on days after reporting more positive interactions. Young-old adults (60-79) had lower overall DHEA-S on days when they had more negative interactions than oldest-old adults (80 and older). Oldest-old adults showed a flatter decline in DHEA-S on days after they reported more negative interactions compared to midlife adults (40-59). Daily social interactions were not significantly associated with cortisol.
Discussion and Implications
Strategies to increase positive interactions may help to build physiological resilience to stress, particularly among midlife and young-old adults.
Laparoscopic Nephrectomy in Young-Old, Old-Old, and Oldest-Old Adults
