2015 journal article

The Combined Effects of Daily Stressors and Major Life Events on Daily Subjective Ages

JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, 72(4), 613–621.

By: J. Bellingtier n, S. Neupert n  & D. Kotter-Gruhn  n

author keywords: Affect; Control; Daily stressors; Stressful life events; Subjective age
MeSH headings : Affect; Aged; Aging / psychology; Behavioral Research; Female; Humans; Life Change Events; Male; Middle Aged; Self Concept; Self-Assessment; Self-Control / psychology; Stress, Psychological / psychology
TL;DR: On the daily level, the relationship between stressors and felt age is mediated by negative affect but not by control and positive affect, suggesting the need to consider the broader contextual picture of stressors, as well as their differential impact on multiple indicators of subjective age. (via Semantic Scholar)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 6, 2018

Objectives Stressors may be a contributing factor in determining how old an individual feels, looks, or would like to be. Currently, little research has been devoted to understanding the relationship between stressors and subjective age in older adults. We focus on the combined impact of major life-event stressors and daily stressors on multiple indicators of subjective age: felt age, ideal age, and look age. Furthermore, we examine the process by which daily stressors relate to subjective ages by testing whether positive affect, control, and negative affect mediate this relationship. Method Using a daily-diary design, the current study measured older adults' (60-96 years old) stressors, subjective ages, personal control, and affect. Results Felt, ideal, and look ages each demonstrated a unique pattern of interactions between daily stressors and major life-event stressors. Furthermore, our findings suggest that on the daily level, the relationship between stressors and felt age is mediated by negative affect but not by control and positive affect. Discussion Findings indicate the need to consider the broader contextual picture of stressors, as well as their differential impact on multiple indicators of subjective age.