The Effect of Daily Stress, Personality, and Age on Daily Negative Affect

Abstract

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.

Reported exposure and emotional reactivity to daily stressors: The roles of adult age and global perceived stress.

“…While previous research has indicated that reactivity to daily stressors is greater in old age (Mroczek & Almeida, 2004), the results of our study did not replicate this finding. There was evidence of a moderately significant age difference in stress-related changes in negative affect, but only when the effects of global perceived stress were considered.…”

“…This effect was significant for young adults, but only moderately significant for older adults, indicating that older adults, regardless of level of GPS exhibited stress-related increases in negative affect, while young adults high in GPS exhibited greater stress-related increases in negative affect than their low GPS counterparts. Thus, for older adults, there is modest evidence that GPS compounds the effects of daily stressors on negative affect, but much stronger evidence for such exacerbation among younger adults.While previous research has indicated that reactivity to daily stressors is greater in old age (Mroczek & Almeida, 2004), the results of our study did not replicate this finding. There was evidence of a moderately significant age difference in stress-related changes in negative affect, but only when the effects of global perceived stress were considered.…”

“…One possible explanation for this discrepancy is how daily stress was defined in the two studies. In our study, we used a dichotomous variable to define days as stress days versus non-stress days, whereas Mroczek & Almeida (2004) used a severity-weighted measure of daily stress. Thus, it is unclear whether the associations observed by Mroczek and Almeida reflect reactivity to the experience of stress or the subjective appraisal of how severe the event was.…”

“…Using daily diary data from a nationally representative sample of 25-74 year olds, Mroczek and Almeida (2004) found that older adults exhibited the greatest increase in negative affect associated with the experience of daily stressors. In contrast, using a momentary sampling methodology, Uchino, Berg, Smith, Pearce and Skinner (2006) found the exact opposite effect with a sample of 36-75 year olds.…”

“…Furthermore, it is important to understand who is at risk for experiencing daily stressors, as well what factors exacerbate (or protect against) reactivity to these events, because these minor hassles could have long-lasting, detrimental effects on physical and mental health (Lazarus, 1999;Zautra, 2003). The current study was conducted to examine reported exposure and emotional reactivity to daily stressors in younger (e.g., in their 20s) and older (e.g., in their 80s) adults, and the role of one's perceived stress in exposure and emotional reactivity to daily stressors.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Robert S. Stawski, Pennsylvania State University -Gerontology Center, 135 E. Nittany Ave., Suite 405, State College, PA 16801, Ph: 814.865.7374, Fax: 814.863.9423, rss24@psu.edu, or Recent studies have shown that age plays an important role in daily stress processes (Mroczek & Almeida, 2004;Sliwinski, Smyth, Hofer & Stawski, 2006), and understanding the role of age in exposure and reactivity to daily stressors is important because it can help characterize daily experiences and well-being across the lifespan. Furthermore, daily stress research can compliment theories of lifespan emotional development such as Carstensen's Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST: Carstensen, 1995;Carstensen, Isaacowitz & Charles, 1999).…”