scholarly journals Younger and Older Adults’ Mood and Expectations Regarding Aging During COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 233372142096025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. Whatley ◽  
Alexander L. M. Siegel ◽  
Shawn T. Schwartz ◽  
Katie M. Silaj ◽  
Alan D. Castel
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Longitudinal Approach ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has broadly impacted our daily lives. Here, we used a longitudinal approach to investigate older adults’ mood and expectations regarding aging before and during the global pandemic (Study 1). We also examined age differences in mood, expectations regarding aging, COVID-19 attitudes, and loneliness using a cross-sectional approach (Study 2). In Study 1, older adults completed a mood and expectations regarding aging survey up to 2 years prior to the pandemic and again in April, 2020 (during the pandemic). Participants also completed surveys regarding COVID-19 attitudes and loneliness. In Study 2, a United States sample of younger and older adults completed these surveys during the pandemic. Older adults’ mood and expectations regarding aging remained fairly constant, and younger adults showed lower mood and expectations regarding aging than did older adults, despite older adults showing greater concern about COVID-19. Overall, we find that some older adults seem to be resilient with respect to their mood and expectations regarding aging. These findings reveal important preliminary implications for how older adults may be impacted as a result of lifestyle changes necessary for well-being and the well-being of society.

scholarly journals AGE, EXPERIENCE OF RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS, AND DISTRESS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S711-S712
Author(s):  
Shayla Thompson ◽  
Broderick Sawyer ◽  
Suzanne Meeks
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Racial Microaggressions ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Anger Rumination ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Racial microaggressions are a common form of racial discrimination consisting of subtle or interpersonal slights. Racial microaggressions are linked to various kinds of psychological distress in younger adults, but have not been studied across the lifespan. We examined the relationship of racial microaggressions with psychological distress and anger rumination among younger and older adults identified as racial or ethnic minorities. We hypothesized that age would moderate the relationship between racial microaggressions and psychological distress and anger rumination, that is, the relationship would be weaker for older than for younger adults. Participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and were compensated $1 for their participation. Preliminary tests of the hypotheses (N=220), using multiple regression analyses to test for moderation, failed to support the hypothesis that age would mitigate the impact of microaggressions on symptom severity. Both age and microaggressions were related to psychological distress and anger rumination, but contrary to prediction, older adults showed more exacerbation of distress in the face of microaggressions than younger adults. The results also differed by gender and ethnic groups, suggesting the importance of examining intersectional experiences of race, gender, and age in response to discrimination. These cross-sectional findings lend support to the importance of considering both subtle and overt discriminatory experiences in understanding the mental health challenges for minority groups in the U.S., but more work is needed to examine the intersection of ethnicity with other demographic variables, and to understand how the lifelong experiences of discrimination may shape older adults’ vulnerability, well-being, and resilience.

scholarly journals The Role and Impact of Radio Listening Practices in Older Adults’ Everyday Lives

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda E. Krause
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Space Model ◽  
Qualitative Thematic Analysis

Previous research has indicated older adults value listening to music as a leisure activity. Yet, recent research into listening practices broadly has often focused on younger adults and the use of newer, digital listening technologies. Nonetheless, the radio, which is familiar to older people who grew up with it at the forefront of family life, is important to consider with regard to listening practices and the potential associated well-being benefits. This research investigated older adults’ everyday radio listening practices, in order to begin to understand how the radio fits into their daily lives and how it might influence their sense of well-being. Twenty-five Australian residents (aged 66–87; 56% female, 44% male) participated in semi-structured, one-to-one interviews. The results of a qualitative thematic analysis revealed themes concerning listening preferences, listening routines, access, and motivations/outcomes. While personal preferences (concerning content, stations, and presenters) were diverse, individuals clearly communicated these as well as their established listening routines and habits. Listener motivations varied: some people focused on the enjoyment that listening to the radio creates while some noted benefits to their well-being, such as relaxation, modifying their mood, and feelings of comfort and community. Radio listening practices can be defined in terms of differing engagement styles, as characterized using continua ranging from passive to active, or focused, listening as well as generalized or specific listening. Based on participants’ experiences, a proposed engagement space model links how people engage with the radio to the possible outcomes mentioned. Importantly, benefits to well-being can result from varied engagement styles. The findings presented provide an in-depth understanding of how the radio fits into older adults’ everyday life, with implications for considering how the radio might be used as a widely accessed, low-cost tool for maintaining and enhancing quality of later life.

Age Differences in Attachment Orientations among Younger and Older Adults: Evidence from Two Self-Report Measures of Attachment

2009 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Segal ◽  
Tracy N. Needham ◽  
Frederick L. Coolidge
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Preoccupied Attachment

The attachment patterns of younger and older adults were studied using two-dimensional self-report measures of adult attachment. Community-dwelling younger ( n = 144, M = 22.5 years, SD = 3.6) and older ( n = 106, M = 68.6 years, SD = 8.3) adults completed the Measure of Attachment Qualities (MAQ; Carver, 1997) and the Relationship Style Questionnaire (RSQ; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994). Although the MAQ and RSQ are believed to be measuring similar constructs, they are derived from different theoretical perspectives. Correlations between the two measures were in the expected directions proving modest evidence for their convergent validity. Regarding cross-sectional results, as was expected, older adults scored lower than younger adults on the ambivalent-worry attachment scale of the MAQ and the preoccupied attachment scale of the RSQ. There were no age differences regarding secure, avoidant, and dismissing attachment. It appears that older adults experience anxious types of attachment less frequently than younger adults. Although these results primarily speak to age differences and possible cohort effects, they also provide some support for socioemotional selectivity theory and its hypothesized improved relationships in later life.

scholarly journals Age-related Changes in Ongoing Thought Relate to External Context and Individual Cognition

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 967-967
Author(s):  
Adam Turnbull ◽  
Giulia Poerio ◽  
Feng Lin ◽  
Jonathan Smallwood
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Experience Sampling ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract Understanding how age-related changes in cognition manifest in the real world is an important goal for aging research. One means of capturing these changes involves “experience sampling” participant’s self-reported thoughts as they go about their daily lives. Previous research using this method has shown age-related changes in ongoing thought: e.g., older adults have fewer thoughts unrelated to the here-and-now. However, it is currently unclear how these changes reflect cognitive aging or lifestyle changes. 78 younger adults and 35 older adults rated their thought contents along 20 dimensions and the difficulty of their current activity in their daily lives. They also performed cognitive tasks in the laboratory. In a set of exploratory analyses using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), we found that older adults spent more time thinking positive, wanted thoughts, particularly in demanding contexts, suggesting they may use different strategies to regulate their emotions. In line with previous research, older adults spent less time mind wandering about their future selves. Past-related thought related to episodic memory differently in older and younger adults. Additionally, PCA analyses performed separately in older and younger adults showed high similarity to an analysis performed on the combined sample, suggesting a similar structure to ongoing daily life thought in older and younger adults. These findings inform the use of experience sampling to understand cognitive aging, highlighting the need to consider content along multiple dimensions as well as the context in which thoughts are reported when analyzing aging ongoing thought.

scholarly journals Reactive, Agentic, Apathetic, or Challenged? Aging, Emotion, and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel A Young ◽  
Christian E Waugh ◽  
Alyssa R Minton ◽  
Susan T Charles ◽  
Claudia M Haase ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Design And Methods

Abstract Background and Objectives Advanced age is generally associated with improved emotional well-being, but the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a global stressor that gravely threatened the physical well-being and ostensibly challenged the emotional well-being of older adults disproportionately. The current study investigated differences in emotional experiences and coping strategies between younger and older adults during the pandemic, and whether these differences were accounted for by age differences in appraisal of the pandemic. Research Design and Methods We asked younger (n = 181) and older adult (n = 176) participants to report their stress, appraisals the pandemic, emotions, and the ways in which they were coping with the pandemic. Results Results indicated that older adults experienced less stress and less negative affect and used greater problem-focused coping and less avoidant coping in response to the pandemic than younger adults. Further, age differences in affect and coping were partially accounted for by age differences in appraisals of the pandemic. Discussion and Implications Despite their objectively higher risk of illness and death due to the pandemic, older adults experienced less negative affect and used more agentic coping strategies than younger adults.

scholarly journals The Ups and Downs of Daily Life During COVID-19: Age Differences in Affect, Stress, and Positive Events

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Klaiber ◽  
Jin H Wen ◽  
Anita DeLongis ◽  
Nancy L Sin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Daily Stressors ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Affective Reactivity ◽  
Age Related

Abstract Objectives Past research has linked older age with greater emotional well-being and decreased reactivity to stressors, but it is unknown whether age-related advantages in emotional well-being are maintained in the wake of COVID-19. We examined age differences in exposure and affective reactivity to daily stressors and positive events in the first several weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods In March and April 2020, 776 adults from Canada and the United States aged 18–91 (mean age 45) years reported COVID-19 threats at baseline, then completed nightly surveys for 1 week about their daily stressors, positive events, and affect. Results Younger age predicted more concerns about the threat of COVID-19 across multiple domains, in addition to lower positive affect, higher negative affect, and less frequent positive events. Younger adults had more non-COVID-19 daily stressors and higher perceived control over stressors, but lower perceived coping efficacy than older adults. There were no age differences in the frequency of COVID-19 daily stressors nor perceived stressor severity. Younger adults had greater reductions in negative affect on days when more positive events occurred and greater increases in negative affect on days when non-COVID-19 stressors occurred. Age moderation was attenuated for negative affective reactivity to COVID-19 stressors. Age did not moderate positive affective reactivity to daily events. Discussion In the early weeks of the pandemic, older adults showed better emotional well-being and less reactivity to stressors but did not differ from younger adults in their exposure to COVID-19 stressors. Additionally, younger adults benefited more from positive events.

scholarly journals Age Differences in Beliefs About Emotion Regulation Strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly M Livingstone ◽  
Vanessa L Castro ◽  
Derek M Isaacowitz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Abstract Objectives Age shifts in emotion regulation may be rooted in beliefs about different strategies. We test whether there are age differences in the beliefs people hold about specific emotion regulation strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation and whether profiles of emotion beliefs vary by age. Method An adult life-span sample (N = 557) sorted 13 emotion regulation strategies either by (a) how effective the strategies would be or (b) how likely they would be to use them, in 15 negative emotion-eliciting situations. Results Younger adults ranked attentional and cognitive distraction more effective than older adults, and preferred avoidance, distraction, and rumination more (and attentional deployment less) than middle-aged and older adults. Latent profile analysis on preferences identified three distinct strategy profiles: Classically adaptive regulators preferred a variety of strategies; situation modifiers showed strong preferences for changing situations; a small percentage of people preferred avoidance and rumination. Middle-aged and older adults were more likely than younger adults to be classically adaptive regulators (as opposed to situation modifiers or avoiders/ruminators). Discussion These findings provide insight into the reasons people of different ages may select and implement different emotion regulation strategies, which may influence their emotional well-being.

scholarly journals Age Differences in Emotion and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 546-546
Author(s):  
Nathaniel Young ◽  
Alyssa Minton ◽  
Joseph Mikels
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Appraisal Processes

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a relentless stressor on the human species with numerous deadly risks. These risks have been disproportionately threatening to the health and wellbeing of older adults. Since April 2020, we have been studying how the pandemic has affected the emotional experiences of older and younger adults broadly in several studies. For instance, in one study, we found that older adults (N=176) experienced fewer negative emotions and coped with greater levels of agency than younger adults (N=181). In additional work, we have been examining how these age differences differ for older workers versus retirees as well as in minority populations. This work broadly supports and illuminates our recent theoretical framework that focuses on how evaluative appraisal processes underlie and contribute to age differences in emotional experience generally, but especially in the context of the stress experienced during a global pandemic.

scholarly journals Age differences in experiencing meaning in life: A multidimensional approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 908-908
Author(s):  
Nicole Long Ki Fung ◽  
Helene Fung
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Sense Of Coherence ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Multidimensional Approach ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Two Age Groups

Abstract Coherence, purpose and significance were defined as the three facets of the presence of meaning in life (Martela & Steger, 2016). This study investigated the age differences in the three facets of meaning in life between younger and older adults. We recruited 241 younger adults (Mage=18.72, SD=1.50, 36.5% male) and 114 older adults (Mage=64.93, SD= 5.94, 52.6% male) from Hong Kong to fill out a one-hour online survey. We adapted the Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale, which measured sense of coherence, purpose, significance. In specific, the adapted version measured significance in two sub facets: the naturalistic significance (important to other people) and cosmic significance (impact lasts beyond lifetime and space). The results showed that older adults had higher sense of coherence (t=3.47, p<.001), higher sense of cosmic significance (t=6.29, p<.001) but lower sense of purpose than younger adults (t=-2.02, p<.05). There were no significant differences in naturalistic significance between the two age groups (t=1.24, p=.22). Within both age groups, participants had the highest score in purpose, followed by coherence and naturalistic significance. They had the lowest score in cosmic significance. This study illustrated that younger and older adults have different absolute levels of meaning facets but are similar in the relative levels of meaning facets. Further studies can investigate how changes in absolute levels of meaning facet and preservation of the relative levels may affect well-being across age.

Video Games and Emotion Regulation

GeroPsych ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 205-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn L. Ossenfort ◽  
Derek M. Isaacowitz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Media Preferences

Abstract. Research on age differences in media usage has shown that older adults are more likely than younger adults to select positive emotional content. Research on emotional aging has examined whether older adults also seek out positivity in the everyday situations they choose, resulting so far in mixed results. We investigated the emotional choices of different age groups using video games as a more interactive type of affect-laden stimuli. Participants made multiple selections from a group of positive and negative games. Results showed that older adults selected the more positive games, but also reported feeling worse after playing them. Results supplement the literature on positivity in situation selection as well as on older adults’ interactive media preferences.

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