Age and Emotion in Adulthood

Evidence suggests that positive affect rises from youth through young and then older adulthood, but may decline after one’s mid-70s. Negative affect appears to decrease steadily from early adulthood to older adulthood, but this decline may taper off in the oldest years. The relationship between age and affect in adulthood is further complicated by the effects of moderators, such as extraversion and marital status. Despite these complexities, recent empirical studies and current theory have furthered the understanding of age and affect in adulthood, although important questions remain.     

Age-related changes in word retrieval vary by self-reported anxiety but not depression symptoms

Tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) are known to increase in frequency across adulthood, but there is wide variability in older adults’ TOT rates, suggesting that individual difference factors contribute to TOT incidence. We investigated the role of affect by examining the relationship between self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms and the frequency of TOTs during a laboratory task. Participants were young, middle-aged and older adults in a population-based sample of adults aged 18–87. Increased anxiety was associated with fewer TOTs for the middle-aged group but more TOTs for the older adult group. There was no relationship between anxiety and TOTs for younger adults and no relationships between depression symptoms and TOT incidence for any age group. We discuss our results in terms of attentional control theory, which provides an explanation of how age may affect the relationship between anxiety and TOTs.     

老年夫妻的老化刻板印象对死亡焦虑的行动者效应和对象效应

目的：考察老年人的老化刻板印象对自身及配偶的死亡焦虑的影响。方法：145对老年夫妻完成老化印象量表和死亡焦虑量表,并运用行动者-对象互依模型进行数据分析。结果：（1）老化刻板印象和死亡焦虑在夫妻内部分别具有一致性;（2）老化刻板印象对自身死亡焦虑的行动者效应显著;（3）丈夫的积极老化刻板印象对妻子死亡焦虑的对象效应显著,妻子的消极老化刻板印象对丈夫死亡焦虑的对象效应显著。结论：老年人的老化刻板印象不仅影响自身而且影响配偶的死亡焦虑,但夫妻之间的影响存在性别差异。     

Spiritual Development Across the Adult Life Course: Findings from a Longitudinal Study

Longitudinal data spanning early (30s) and older (late 60s/mid-70s) adulthood were used to study spiritual development across the adult life course in a sample of men and women belonging to a younger (born 1928/29) and an older (born 1920/21) age cohort. All participants, irrespective of gender and cohort, increased significantly in spirituality between late middle (mid-50s/early 60s) and older adulthood. Members of the younger cohort increased in spirituality throughout the adult life cycle. In the second half of adulthood, women increased more rapidly in spirituality than men. Spiritual involvement in older age was predicted by religious involvement and personality characteristics in early adulthood and subsequent experiences of negative life events.     

The effect of daily stress, personality, and age on daily negative affect

The current study examined whether stress reactivity becomes stronger or weaker with age. Daily stress and daily negative affect were modeled using 1,012 subjects from the National Study of Daily Events (NSDE), an 8-day daily diary study. Age ranged from 25 to 74. Data were modeled using within-person HLM techniques. Daily stress and neuroticism interacted in their effect on daily negative affect. There was a stronger association between daily stress and negative affect for persons high in neuroticism as compared to those low on the trait. In addition, daily stress and age interacted in their effect on daily negative affect. There was a stronger association between daily stress and negative affect for older as compared to younger adults. Results suggest heightened reactivity to stressors in older adulthood, perhaps due to kindling effects. Changes in the aging brain may explain this effect. Our investigations illuminate the complexities that characterize the set of associations among negative affect, stress, personality, and age, and point to potential aging or cohort effects.     

Experience of stress in childhood negatively correlates with plasma oxytocin concentration in adult men

Early life experience is known to affect responses to stress in adulthood. Adverse experience in childhood and/or adolescence sensitises to life events that precipitate depression in later life. Published evidence suggests a relationship between depression and oxytocin (OT), but the extent to which early life experience influences OT disposition in adulthood deserves further exploration. This study hypothesised that early life stress (ELS) has a long-term negative effect on OT system activity. The study was performed on 90 male volunteers (18-56 years; mean ± standard deviation = 27.7 ± 7.09 years). Several questionnaires were used to assess: health, early life stressful experiences in childhood (ELS-C, up to 12 years) and early life stressful adolescence (13-18 years), recent stressful life events, depressive symptoms, state-trait anxiety and social desirability. Plasma OT concentration was estimated by means of a competitive enzyme immunoassay. Lower OT concentrations were significantly associated with higher levels of ELS-C (p < 0.01), and with depressive symptoms and trait anxiety (both p < 0.05). The interaction between ELS-C and trait anxiety was significant (p < 0.05), indicating that the link between ELS-C and plasma OT concentration is moderated by trait anxiety. These results contribute to the evidence that early life adverse experience is negatively associated with OT system activity in adulthood, and offer further insight into mediator and moderator effects on this link.     

Reactive and self-regulatory dimensions of temperament: Interactive relations with symptoms of general distress and anhedonia

Converging evidence indicates that shared temperamental diatheses partly underlie the covariance between anxiety and depression. Although developmental psychopathology research suggests that self-regulatory temperament (e.g., effortful control or EC) mitigates reactive risks associated with negative affectivity (NA) and positive affectivity (PA), and their respective counterparts, behavioral inhibition- and activation sensitivity (BIS and BAS), no studies have established EC’s protective effects in adulthood. This study examined concurrent relations between temperament and distress symptoms shared by anxiety and depression, and anhedonic symptoms unique to depression, in young adults. Anticipated two- and three-way interactions emerged supporting EC’s moderating effect between reactive temperament (i.e., high BIS and low BAS) and both symptom dimensions. However, no interactive relations emerged between symptoms and NA, PA, and EC.     

Early Negative Affect Predicts Anxiety, not Autism, in Preschool Boys with Fragile X Syndrome

Children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) face high risk for anxiety disorders, yet no studies have explored FXS as a high-risk sample for investigating early manifestations of anxiety outcomes. Negative affect is one of the most salient predictors of problem behaviors and has been associated with both anxiety and autistic outcomes in clinical and non-clinical pediatric samples. In light of the high comorbidity between autism and anxiety within FXS, the present study investigates the relationship between longitudinal trajectories of negative affect (between 8 and 71 months) and severity of anxiety and autistic outcomes in young males with FXS (n?=?25). Multilevel models indicated associations between elevated anxiety and higher fear and sadness, lower soothability, and steeper longitudinal increases in approach. Autistic outcomes were unrelated to negative affect. These findings suggest early negative affect differentially predicts anxiety, not autistic symptoms, within FXS. Future research is warranted to determine the specificity of the relationship between negative affect and anxiety, as well as to explore potential moderators. Characterizing the relationship between early negative affect and anxiety within FXS may inform etiology and treatment considerations specific to children with FXS, as well as lend insight into precursors of anxiety disorders in other clinical groups and community samples.     

The association of anxiety,depression, and worry symptoms on cognitive performance in older adults

Emerging research suggests that a relationship exists between the cognitive aspects of anxiety (e.g. worry) and cognitive decline in older adults. The current study examined the association between anxiety, depressive, and worry symptoms on cognitive performance. Participants were 156 older adults enrolled in the Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland Sample Study (NKI-RS). Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to determine the unique associations of anxiety, depressive, and worry symptoms on cognitive performance as measured by the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (Penn CNB), the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Worry symptoms were a significant predictor of Penn CNB social cognition, complex cognition, executive function, and episodic memory performance as well as RAVLT immediate and short-delay recall, but not of D-KEFS performance or RAVLT long-delay recall. In contrast, anxiety and depressive symptoms had few unique associations with cognitive performance. Given that worry symptoms have a negative impact on many aspects of neurocognitive performance, they may have utility in predicting and preventing cognitive decline in older adults.     

Examining the relation between adolescent social anxiety,adolescent delinquency (abstention), and emerging adulthood relationship quality

Background and Objectives: Social anxiety symptoms and delinquency are two prevalent manifestations of problem behavior during adolescence and both are related to negative interpersonal relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood. This study examined the relation between social anxiety and delinquency in adolescence and the interplay between adolescent social anxiety and delinquency on perceived relationship quality in emerging adulthood. Design and Methods: In a 10-year long prospective study (T1, n = 923; T2, n = 727; Mage T1 = 12; 49% female), we examined competing hypotheses using regression analyses: the protective perspective, which suggests social anxiety protects against delinquency; and the co-occurring perspective, which suggests social anxiety and delinquency co-occur leading to increased negative interpersonal outcomes. Results: In adolescence, the relation between social anxiety and delinquency was consistent with the protective perspective. In emerging adulthood, consistent with the co-occurring perspective, ever-delinquents (but not delinquency abstainers) with higher social anxiety reported less perceived best friend, mother, and father support compared to delinquents with lower social anxiety. There was no interaction between anxiety and delinquency in predicting perceived conflict. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of examining the relation between social anxiety and delinquency with regards to different interpersonal outcomes.     

老年人自尊、希望和抑郁关系的纵向研究

为考察老年人自尊、希望与抑郁间的关系,本研究对281名老年人进行为期一年的追踪调查。相关分析及纵向中介分析结果表明:(1)自尊和希望与老年人的抑郁显著负相关,老年人自尊和希望显著正相关。(2)自尊正向预测老年人的希望,老年人的希望负向预测抑郁。(3)希望在自尊对老年人抑郁的影响中起中介作用。本研究结果揭示了希望是自尊对老年人抑郁产生效应的重要机制变量。这些结果对于减缓老年人抑郁,促进老年心理健康具有一定的实践价值。     

The Roles of Social Support and Self-Efficacy in Physical Health’s Impact on Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Older Adults

Physical illness may precipitate psychological distress among older adults. This study examines whether social support and self-efficacy moderate the associations between physical health and depression and anxiety. Predictions were tested in 222 individuals age 60 or older presenting for help with worry. Physical health was assessed through self-report (subjective) and physical diagnoses (objective). Objective physical health did not have a significant association with depression or anxiety. Worse subjective physical health was associated with increased somatic anxiety, but not with depression or worry. The relationship between subjective physical health and depressive symptoms was moderated by self-efficacy and social support. As predicted, when self-efficacy was low, physical health had its strongest negative association with depressive symptoms such that as physical health improved, depressive symptoms also improved. However, the moderation effect was not as expected for social support; at high levels of social support, worse physical health was associated with increased depressive affect.     

Age,Emotion Regulation,and Affect in Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Reappraisal

Evidence indicates that older adults experience high levels of emotional well‐being. However, little is known empirically about the underlying mechanism of this state. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether emotion regulation mediates the link between age and affect in adulthood. The sample consisted of 516 Japanese participants aged 30 (±1), 50 (±1), and 70 (±1) years, who were registered with an Internet survey company. Cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression were measured as emotion regulation strategies. Positive and negative affect were assessed. Older participants reported lower negative affect than younger participants, while positive affect was not correlated with age. Cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between age and affect, whereas expressive suppression did not. The results suggested that age‐related increase in cognitive reappraisal could contribute to improvements in affect, but that another adaptive form of emotion regulation may mediate the relationship between age and affect. Our study thus indicates that developments in emotion regulation could explain the mechanism of stable everyday affect throughout adulthood, and that researchers should further explore another form of adaptive emotion regulation.     

Attachment Anxiety,Depressive Symptoms,and Adolescent Dating Violence Perpetration: A Longitudinal Mediation Analysis

Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a prevalent public health issue that has been linked to many negative effects, including attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms. Previous literature suggests that the negative mental states characteristic of attachment anxiety could be associated with dating violence perpetration. Similarly, the negative mental states characteristic of depression have also been linked to perpetration, and might potentially increase an anxiously attached individual’s likelihood of engaging in dating violence perpetration. This study used a 10-month longitudinal design with a sample of 140 middle school and high school students from Southern California. Participants ranged in age from 13 to 18 years and were ethnically diverse. The study aimed at exploring depressive symptoms as a potential mediator for the relationship between attachment anxiety and ADV perpetration. Positive associations were found between attachment anxiety and perpetration (10 months after), attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms (10 months after), and between depressive symptoms and perpetration (both 10 months after). Furthermore, depressive symptoms partially mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and ADV perpetration (10 months after). These findings have implications for the development of empirically driven school-based prevention and intervention programs.     

Attachment Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Middle Childhood: the Role of Repetitive Thinking about Negative Affect and about Mother

Two studies with two independent samples aimed to investigate whether repetitive thinking about negative affect (RTna) and repetitive thinking about mother (RTm) can be mechanisms in the association between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms in middle childhood. In Study 1 (N = 381) and Study 2 (N = 157) 9- to 12-year-olds completed self-report questionnaires measuring attachment, RTna and depressive symptoms. In Study 2, additionally, a questionnaire was developed to measure RTm, and a compound score for self- and mother-reported depressive symptoms was calculated. Results showed positive associations between attachment anxiety, RTna and RTm, and self-reported depressive symptoms and depressive symptoms agreed upon by mother and child. RTna and RTm mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and these depressive symptoms. RTm mediated this relationship even beyond RTna for the multi-informant compound score. Thus, RTna and RTm seem to be independent mechanisms explaining the association between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms in middle childhood.     

The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity Components in Mediating the Relationship Between Childhood Exposure to Parental Dyscontrol and Adult Anxiety Symptoms

This retrospective study investigated the relationship between childhood exposure to parental dyscontrol (i.e., loss of control behaviors) and levels of anxiety sensitivity (AS) components in early adulthood. Four-hundred-and-sixty-five undergraduate students completed self-report measures including the Dyscontrol Experiences Questionnaire. Specificity emerged between AS components and particular dyscontrol experiences. Although exposure to parental dyscontrol related to negative emotional states was significantly positively correlated with all AS dimensions, exposure to parental dyscontrol related to drinking was significantly positively correlated with psychological concerns only. Mediator regression analyses showed AS psychological concerns to play a significant mediating role between parental dyscontrol related to anger and drinking and both general and panic-related anxiety symptoms in the adult offspring. Results suggest that specific parental behaviors may be etiologic in the development of AS, and acquired AS may help explain relations between childhood learning experiences and the development of psychopathological symptoms in young adulthood.     

Categorization and intergroup anxiety in contact between British and Japanese nationals

Two studies examined the relationship between categorization, intergroup anxiety and intergroup attitudes (intergroup bias and negative affect). Study 1 consisted of a survey of 236 British and Japanese nationals. Study 2 was a longitudinal study of 54 Japanese students studying in the UK. Of the three categorization variables (interpersonal, superordinate and intergroup), only intergroup categorization was shown to have a relationship to generalized intergroup attitudes. In addition, intergroup anxiety and quality of contact were associated with ingroup bias and negative affect to the outgroup. Study 2 revealed an interaction between intergroup categorization and quality of contact in predicting negative affect. Intergroup anxiety was also associated with increased intergroup categorization. It is concluded that the effects of categorization during contact are still poorly understood, and that intergroup anxiety is a far more powerful variable in contact than the current literature acknowledges. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some correlates of health locus of control among multicultural individuals

The relationship of locus of control to depression, anxiety, hostility, and physical health was assessed in a sample of multicultural college students (N = 162). Powerful Others Health Locus of Control was correlated with depression, anxiety, hostility, and recent physical symptoms while Chance Health Locus of Control (CHLC) was correlated with all of the above as well as chronic physical symptoms and major health problems. When controlling for a variety of health risk factors (viz., age, sex, body mass, exercise, smoking, salt, alcohol, and caffeine), only CHLC remained significant in the physical health models. Results support the cognitive model of mental health which emphasize the importance of adaptive beliefs. Specifically, they suggest that issues about control are related to negative affect and indicate that the often-cited relationship of an external locus of control to depression and anxiety also holds for hostility. The findings do not, however, support the view that anxiety and depression are associated with different types of external locus of control but rather suggest a unified set of locus of control beliefs underlying the three types of negative affect. In addition, evidence is provided for the external validity of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales with respect to mental health. Further, the results indicate that belief about one’s health may play a significant role in one’s physical health and that the health behavior model of the relationship between locus of control and physical health is insufficient to explain the relationship. As the Chance and Powerful Others MHLC scales were not related to health habits in this sample but were related to mental health (viz., depression, anxiety, and hostility), locus of control beliefs may be related to physical health via their relationship with mental health.     

Behavioral Inhibition and Anxiety: The Moderating Roles of Inhibitory Control and Attention Shifting

Behavioral inhibition (BI), a temperament identified in early childhood, is associated with social reticence in childhood and an increased risk for anxiety problems in adolescence and adulthood. However, not all behaviorally inhibited children remain reticent or develop an anxiety disorder. One possible mechanism accounting for the variability in the developmental trajectories of BI is a child’s ability to successfully recruit cognitive processes involved in the regulation of negative reactivity. However, separate cognitive processes may differentially moderate the association between BI and later anxiety problems. The goal of the current study was to examine how two cognitive processes—attention shifting and inhibitory control—laboratory assessed at 48 months of age moderated the association between 24-month BI and anxiety symptoms in the preschool years. Results revealed that high levels of attention shifting decreased the risk for anxiety problems in children with high levels of BI, whereas high levels of inhibitory control increased this risk for anxiety symptoms. These findings suggest that different cognitive processes may influence relative levels of risk or adaptation depending upon a child’s temperamental reactivity.     

A longitudinal analysis of anxiety and depressive symptoms

The authors modeled depressive and anxiety symptom data from 1,391 participants in a longitudinal study of middle-aged and older Swedish twins (M age = 60.9 years, SD = 13.3). Although anxiety and depression were highly correlated, a model with distinct Anxiety and Depression factors fit the data better than models with Positive and Negative Affect factors or a single Mental Health factor. Lack of well-being was associated with anxiety rather than depression. Over two 3-year intervals, anxiety symptoms led to depressive symptoms, but the relationship was not reciprocal. Anxiety symptoms were more stable than depression. These findings provide additional support for the idea that anxiety symptoms may reflect a personality trait such as neuroticism more than do depressive symptoms and suggest that low positive affect may not be as specific to depression among older adults as in younger people.