Health Status, Age, and Emotion Regulation

与早期的理论和负面的刻板印象相反，情绪不会随着年龄的增长而减少。事实上，越来越多的研究完整地记录了人一生中的情绪调节，甚至改善了这种调节。然而，在我们把这种成功变老的模式推广到所有成年人之前，我们必须检查一下这种现象可能存在的例外。记录这些过程的年龄差异的研究主要集中在健康的成年人身上，目前还不清楚身体健康问题如何改变情感体验的轨迹。本研究以社会情绪选择性理论为指导，包括三项研究，探讨慢性身体健康状况患者情绪体验的发展轨迹，以及身体健康状况如何影响情感幸福感的年龄差异和维持幸福感的策略。更好地了解年龄、健康状况和情感幸福之间的相互关系将有利于应用心理学和理论心理学。慢性健康状况在老年人中是规范的，然而健康心理学家经常依赖临床干预，在他们的设计中不考虑年龄差异。另一方面，专门为老年人设计的干预措施是基于对健康个体的情绪调节的研究，而不是那些患有慢性疾病的人。此外，随着时间的推移，还不确定哪些老年人亚群最容易出现情感困扰。具体目标是：1)检查身体状况如何改变情感幸福的发展轨迹，2)检查遗传和环境

Contrary to early theories and negative stereotypes, emotions do not diminish with old age. In fact, a growing number of studies have documented intact, and even improved, emotion regulation across the life span. Before we generalize this model of successful aging to all adults, however, we must examine possible exceptions to this phenomenon. Studies documenting age differences in these processes have focused on predominantly healthy adults, and it is unclear how physical health problems may alter the trajectory of emotional experience. The proposed research, guided by socioemotional selectivity theory, includes three studies to examine the developmental trajectory of emotional experience among people with chronic physical health conditions, and how physical health conditions influence age differences in affective well-being and strategies used to maintain wellbeing. A better understanding of the interrelationships between age, health status and affective well-being would benefit both applied and theoretical psychology. Chronic health conditions are normative among older adults, yet health psychologists often rely on clinical interventions that do not consider age differences in their design. On the other hand, interventions designed specifically for older adults are based on studies of emotion regulation among healthy individuals, not those with chronic health conditions. Moreover, it is uncertain what subgroups of older adults are at greatest risk for affective distress over time. The specific aims are: 1) to examine how physical conditions alter the developmental trajectory of affective well-being, 2) to examine genetic and environmental influences in the covariation between chronic pain and the developmental trajectory of affective well-being, 3) to examine age differences in affective well-being and emotion regulation strategies among adults with chronic health conditions, and 4) to examine how chronic health conditions influence affective well-being and emotion regulation strategies among older adults.