Growing old and being old: Emotional well-being across adulthood

Examining situational differences in momentary emotion differentiation and emotional clarity in everyday life

People experience momentary fluctuations in how much they differentiate between emotions and how clear they are about what they are feeling. To better understand situational predictors of shifts in emotion differentiation and emotional clarity, we investigated whether individuals are more differentiated and clearer about their emotions in social situations (vs. alone) given that emotions fulfill important social functions. We tested if these within-person associations varied depending on socially relevant individual differences, including age, extraversion, and social connectedness. We also examined whether people are more differentiated and clearer in situations that have previously been processed (i.e., familiar situations) and if this effect was stronger for older (vs. younger) adults. Community adults (N = 290, aged 25-85 years) completed measures of extraversion and social connectedness and then were randomly prompted 6 times a day for 10 days to report on their current emotional experience and situation. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, social context was associated with less positive emotion differentiation and not associated with emotional clarity; these within-person associations did not differ by age, extraversion, or social connectedness. Individuals experienced more differentiated positive emotions and higher emotional clarity than usual when they were in more (vs. less) familiar situations. Familiarity was especially predictive of higher positive emotion differentiation among relatively older (vs. younger) adults. These findings suggest positive emotion differentiation, particularly in familiar situations could be a way in which the quality of one's emotional experience changes with age. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Association between residential environment and emotional wellbeing among older adults in China: the mediating effect of health lifestyle

Introduction

The association between the residential environment and emotional wellbeing (EWB) in older adults has received extensive attention from gerontologists, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the mediating mechanism of how residential environment affects emotional wellbeing has not been fully explored. This study examined the effects of the residential environment on EWB and the mediating role of health lifestyle.

Methods

This study analyzed the survey data of 493 rural and 515 urban older adults from 2021 Chinese General Social Survey. General linear regression and structural equation models were used to examine the effects of residential environment and health lifestyle.

Results

Urban participants exhibited clear advantages in EWB, residential environment, and physical activity. Residential environment significantly affected the EWB of older adults, and health lifestyle played a mediating role in this relationship. The residential environment and health lifestyle did not significantly affect EWB in rural participants.

Discussion

This study revealed differences in the effects of health lifestyles and residential environments on EWB among older adults in rural and urban settings in China. This study provided empirical evidence of mental health disparities between older rural and urban Chinese residents.

Beyond strategies: The when and why of emotion regulation in aging

Most research to date on potential age differences in emotion regulation has focused on whether older adults differ from younger adults in how they manage their emotions. We argue for a broader consideration of the possible effects of aging on emotion regulation by moving beyond tests of age differences in strategy use to also consider when and why emotion regulation takes place. That is, we encourage deeper consideration of contextual factors that spark regulation as well as the goals and motives underlying individuals' attempts to regulate their emotions. There may be age-related variation in all, some, or none of these components of emotion regulation. Descriptive work across all dimensions of emotion regulation is necessary to test and refine theories of emotional aging.

Daily affect across adulthood and into old age: Recent advances from ambulatory research

Ambulatory research - such as daily-diary or experience sampling studies - captures experiences as they naturally occur in people's daily lives. It shows that older adults' daily affective experiences, on average, are more positive and more stable, compared to younger age groups. Recent advances in ambulatory research contribute a more refined understanding beyond the valence dimension, demonstrating that the arousal of affective experiences matters as well, and that discrete emotions, such as sadness, may be differently prevalent and adaptive in different phases of adulthood. Another recent contribution is evidence that cross-sectional adult age differences in daily affect may not map onto within-person change over time. While longitudinal improvement in daily affect is observed across young and into early middle adulthood, stability and decline in affective well-being are typical throughout late middle and older adulthood, respectively. Likewise, empirical support for the claim that emotion regulation is a prime reason for age differences in daily affect remains mixed. Older as compared to younger adults are indeed more motivated to feel better, and more confident that their affect-regulation is successful. However, there is no consistent support that older adults' daily affect-regulation strategies, effectiveness, or flexibility differ from younger age groups.

Increases in prosociality across adulthood: The pure-altruism hypothesis

A growing body of research suggests that prosocial behavior increases across adulthood. Yet, whether these age differences reflect "pure altruistic" or selfish motives, or the developmental mechanisms that underlie them, are largely unknown. Within a value-based decision framework, pure altruistic tendencies can be measured and distinguished from impure altruistic motives through neural-level information. Indeed, age differences in donations appear to be driven by a genuine concern for the well-being of others. Candidate mechanisms behind such pure altruistic changes need to show documented age differences and evidence of causal links to prosocial behavior. As examples, we discuss how three factors that meet these criteria--social norms, mood, and cognitive functioning--might explain age differences in pure altruistic tendencies.

Validation of the Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale-10 integrating exploratory graph analysis and confirmatory factor analysis

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to initially assess the measurement properties of the 10-item simplified Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-C-10) and as a first, assess a longitudinal measurement invariance (LMI).

METHODS

A longitudinal survey was conducted with a convenient sample of healthcare students using the PSS-C-10. We assessed the PSS-C-10 mainly using composite analytical approaches, including exploratory graph analysis (EGA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to suggest the best-fit factor structure and assess measurement invariance.

RESULTS

The EGA identified a two-factor structural solution with an accuracy of 98.6% at baseline and 100% at a 7-day follow-up. The CFA subsequently confirmed this structure, with a comparative fit index of 0.963 at baseline and 0.987 at follow-up, Tucker-Lewis index of 0.951 at baseline and 0.982 at follow-up, and root mean square error of approximation of 0.111 at baseline and 0.089 at follow-up. The LMI was supported by the goodness-of-fit indices, and their changes fell within the recommended cut-off range. Additionally, Cronbach's alpha (0.885 at baseline and 0.904 at follow-up), McDonald's omega (0.885 at baseline and 0.902 at follow-up), and an ICC value of 0.816 for 7 days demonstrated the robust reliability of the PSS-C-10.

CONCLUSION

The PSS-C-10 exhibited a stable two-factor structure with promising LMI and measurement properties.