A Change for the Worse: Negative Social Exchanges are Associated with an Accelerated Decline in Self-Rated Health Over Time.

Objectives: Age-associated accelerated declines in physical health vary across individuals, and researchers have suggested that individual differences in decline may vary as a function of stressors. The relation of one such stressor, negative social exchanges, to accelerated declines in self-rated health is investigated.

Method: Participants are from a 2-year, 5-wave, national, longitudinal study of social relationships among older adults.

Physical Activity as a Mediator Between Race/Ethnicity and Changes in Multimorbidity.

Objectives: Studies report racial/ethnic disparities in multimorbidity (≥2 chronic conditions) and their rate of accumulation over time as well as differences in physical activity. Our study aimed to investigate whether racial/ethnic differences in the accumulation of multimorbidity were mediated by physical activity among middle-aged and older adults.

Method: We assessed racial/ethnic differences in the accumulation of multimorbidity (of 9 conditions) over 12 years (2004-2016) in the Health and Retirement Study (N = 18,264, mean age = 64.

Older adults' physical activity-related social control and social support in the context of personal norms.

This study investigated whether perceived physical activity norms moderated the effects of physical activity-related social interactions on intentions to engage in physical activity among community-residing older adults ( = 217). Structural equation modeling tested whether two types of social support and social control interacted with personal norms in predicting intentions to be active. Emotional and informational support were associated with higher intentions, and negative social control was associated with lower intentions to engage in activity.