Longitudinal changes in coping strategies across midlife and older adulthood: findings from the midlife in the United States study.

Objectives: Most studies examining age differences in coping across adulthood come from cross-sectional studies and focus on the broader categories of problem- and emotion-focused coping. We aimed to establish a factor structure for coping items used in a national, longitudinal study of aging (MIDUS) and examine age patterns in coping strategies over 10 years.

Method: We performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and factorial invariance testing.

Momentary loneliness and intrusive thoughts among older adults: the interactive roles of mild cognitive impairment and marital status.

Objectives: Loneliness is associated with maladaptive cognitions, yet little is known about the association between loneliness and intrusive thinking during older adulthood. Links between loneliness and intrusive thoughts may be particularly strong among individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), who may have greater difficulty regulating emotion and intrusive thoughts. In contrast, having close relationships (e.

'With or without you': associations between noteworthy events and cognitive complaints across 100 days.

Objectives: Daily noteworthy events have implications for physical and mental health, but less is known about the role daily events have for self-reported cognition and whether the involvement of close social partners differentiates these associations. The current study examined how daily positive and negative noteworthy events relate to subjective memory and attentional difficulties and whether close social partners moderated associations.

Method: We used data from a 100-day microlongitudinal web-based study of 104 older adults (N=7,051; =63.

Loneliness dynamics and physical health symptomology among midlife adults in daily life.

Objective: The current study examined how average daily loneliness (between-persons [BPs]), intraindividual variability in loneliness across days (within-persons [WPs]), and loneliness stability informed physical health symptomatology.

Method: We utilized daily diary data from a national sample of 1,538 middle-aged adults ( = 51.02; 57.

Preserving What Matters: Longitudinal Changes in Control Over Interpersonal Stress and Noninterpersonal Stress in Daily Life.

Objectives: Theoretical perspectives on aging suggest that when people experience declines in later life, they often selectively focus on maintaining aspects of their lives that are most meaningful and important to them. The social domain is one of these selected areas. The current study examines people's reports of control over their daily stressors over 10 years, predicting that the declines in control that are often observed in later life will not be observed for stressors involving interpersonal conflict and tensions with social partners.

Cohort Differences in PTSD Symptoms and Military Experiences: A Life Course Perspective.

Background And Objectives: There have been major changes in military service over the past 50 years. Most research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among combat Veterans comes from help-seeking Vietnam and WWII cohorts; results from more recent cohort comparisons are mixed. The present study addressed these gaps by exploring cohort differences among Vietnam, Persian Gulf, and Post-9/11 combat Veterans from a life course perspective.

Affective Reactions to daily interpersonal stressors: Moderation by family involvement and gender.

The goal of this study was to examine whether family involvement and gender moderated daily changes in affect associated with interpersonal stressors. Adults ( = 2022; = 56.25, Median = 56, = 12.

Adaptation to changes in COVID-19 pandemic severity: Across older adulthood and time scales.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been observed to negatively affect older adults' psychological health compared with prepandemic levels. However, older adults' coping efficacy may differ depending on their age, and little is known about effects of fluctuations in pandemic severity. Two longitudinal studies tested the hypothesis that pandemic severity would affect psychological health and be moderated by age.

Daily Stress Processes as Potential Intervention Targets to Reduce Gender Differences and Improve Mental Health Outcomes in Mid- and Later Life.

The current study examines daily stress processes as risk factors for comprised mental health in midlife and later life, specifically for gender differences in depression risk. Using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study and the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), we examine (1) gender differences in depression; (2) the prospective effects of differential exposure and affective responses on 10-year depression status; (3) gender differences in daily stress-depression links. Furthermore, we explore whether the protective factor of help-seeking behavior moderates the effects of daily stress on depression.

How Do Marital Transitions Affect Self-Perceptions of Aging?

Objectives: We analyzed whether marital status and experiences of marital loss or gain were associated with self-perceptions of aging (SPA), a major psychosocial mechanism of healthy aging.

Method: We used data from 7028 participants of the Health and Retirement Study. Participants reported their marital status and their positive and negative SPA on two occasions 4 years apart.

Self-Perceptions of Aging Moderate Associations of Within- and Between-Persons Perceived Stress and Physical Health Symptoms.

Objectives: To examine how self-perceptions of aging (SPA) moderated within- and between-persons perceived stress associations with physical health symptoms.

Methods: A community-dwelling sample of 103 adults (Meanage = 63, range = 52-88) participated in an online microlongitudinal study for 100 days (Noccasions = 7,064). Participants completed baseline surveys consisting of SPA, social connections, and demographics followed by 100 daily surveys including information about daily stress perceptions and physical health.

Resolution Status and Age as Moderators for Interpersonal Everyday Stress and Stressor-Related Affect.

Objectives: To examine stressor characteristics (i.e., stressor resolution) and individual differences (i.

Daily Stress Processes as Contributors to and Targets for Promoting Cognitive Health in Later Life.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that daily stress processes, including exposure and emotional reactivity to daily stressors, are associated with response time inconsistency (RTI), an indicator of processing efficiency and cognitive health. Furthermore, we considered daily stress-cognitive health associations at the level of individual differences and within-persons over time.

Methods: Participants were 111 older adults (mean = 80 years, range = 66-95 years) enrolled in a measurement burst study where assessments of response time-based cognitive performance, stressful experiences, and affect were administered on each of 6 days for a 2-week period.