Daily Stress Processes Research Articles

Community crime and safety: An investigation of gender differences in the daily stress process.

Few studies have investigated the associations between community crime rates and affective well-being, and how that relationship may differ according to gender. Using data from the National Study of Daily Experiences and the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the current study examined gender differences between daily affective experiences, crime rates, and perceptions of neighborhood safety. Although feeling unsafe in one's neighborhood was related to worse affective well-being (i.e., higher negative affect/lower positive affect) and larger affective responses to daily stressors, crime rates were not. Women's negative affect was more strongly tied to daily stressors, whereas men's was more strongly tied to lower perceived neighborhood safety. Findings reveal the importance of understanding factors, such as gender, that impact safety concerns beyond that from crime. They also suggest that increasing visibility within communities might dissuade perpetrators and enhance residents' feelings of safety.

Affective Responsivity to Daily Stressors is Amplified in Young Females

Despite mounting evidence that young adults experience greater exposure and affective responsivity to daily stressors than middle-aged and older adults, few studies have examined potential sex differences in these daily stress processes in young adults. We tested the hypotheses that young women would experience (1) a greater percentage of days with at least one daily stressor event and (2) exaggerated negative and positive affective responsivity to daily stressors compared to young men. Young adults ( n = 215) completed a daily web-based interview for eight consecutive days to assess multiple dynamic aspects of daily stress processes. Women experienced a greater frequency of daily stressor days. Further, the magnitude of the difference in both negative and positive affect between stressor-free and stressor days were greater in young women compared to young men. Greater exposure and amplified affective responsivity to daily stressors may potentially contribute to increased susceptibility to adverse psychological outcomes in young women.

From the COVID-19 lockdown to the new normal: Two-year changes in daily stress and positive event processes.

The emergence of the novel COVID-19 disease and the social distancing measures implemented to curb its spread affected most aspects of daily life. Past work suggests that during times of more severe stress, people respond to daily stressors with relatively higher negative affect. However, little is known about how people responded to daily stressors and positive events at different moments in time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, we examined longitudinal changes in daily event-related affect (covariation of daily stressors or positive events with same-day affect) from Spring 2020 (wave 1) to 2022 (wave 2). The sample consisted of 324 adults aged 18-80 (mean=52years; 89% women) from the US and Canada who completed weeklong daily diaries at both waves. The results revealed improvements in affective well-being, stressor-related affect (i.e., smaller fluctuations in affect on stressor days vs. nonstressor days), and positive event-related affect (i.e., lower negative affect on days with vs. without positive events). Furthermore, as people gradually resumed their social activities from 2020 to 2022, people reported being exposed to an increased frequency of both stressors and positive events. This study highlights the potential influence of socio-historical phenomena, such as an ongoing pandemic, on the events that people encounter and how they emotionally respond to them.

A comprehensive examination of personality factor and facet associations with daily stress processes

Although psychosocial stress is a putative mechanism for personality-health associations, research has been limited by a lack of comprehensive, fine-tuned assessment. In the current study, a large sample (n = 655) of young adults completed facet-level personality assessment followed by a 14-day experience sampling of stress exposure, emotional stress reactivity, pre-sleep arousal, and sleep. Multilevel model analyses confirmed that neuroticism, across facets, was the strongest predictor of daily stress. Facet-level analyses indicated that assertiveness, trust, and self-control were particularly relevant to daily stress. Personality moderated stress exposure associations with pre-sleep arousal (conscientiousness, aesthetic chill proneness) and restorative sleep (openness, aesthetic chill proneness). Findings confirm the significance of personality in daily stress. Future directions and implications for stress intervention are discussed.

The temporal dynamics of daily stress, affect, and several affect regulation processes, in patients with chronic mood and anxiety disorders before and after a mindful yoga intervention

Background and ObjectivesPatients with chronic mood and anxiety disorders experience many life stressors and are more reactive to these stressors. Although mindful yoga might reduce stress reactivity, little is known about the affect regulation mechanisms involved, such as repetitive negative thinking, fear of emotion, acting with awareness and body awareness. Design and MethodsUsing experience sampling methodology, 12 patients with chronic mood and anxiety disorders completed five daily assessments for 15 days before and after a 9-week mindful yoga intervention. Interrupted time-series analyses were used to assess mean-level change from pre-to-post intervention and vector autoregressive models to assess change in the temporal associations. ResultsMost individuals experienced positive changes in affect and the proposed affect regulation processes. Fear of emotion showed changes from pre-to-post intervention for most individuals (67%), followed by acting with awareness (58%), body awareness (58%) and repetitive negative thinking (50%). In the dynamic relationships between stressors, the four affect regulation processes and affect, there were individual differences in which pathways changed and how they changed. ConclusionsAfter a mindful yoga intervention, affect and several affect regulation processes improve in most individuals. Achieving this in the context of daily life stress, seems to be more complicated. Trial registrationISRCTN register (study ID ISRCTN13612864).

Characterizing stress processes by linking big five personality states, traits, and day-to-day stressors

The accumulation of day-to-day stressors can impact mental and physical health. How people respond to stressful events is a key mechanism responsible for the effects of stress, and individual differences in stress responses can either perpetuate or prevent negative consequences. Most research on daily stress processes has focused on affective responses to stressors, but stress responses can involve more than just affect (e.g., behavior, cognitions). Additionally, most research has studied the role of neuroticism in shaping those responses, but many other individual differences are associated with stress. In this study, we more broadly characterized daily stress processes by expanding the nomological networks of stress responses to include Big Five personality states. We also linked those stress responses to all Big Five traits, as well as individual differences in stress variety, severity, and controllability. We studied a sample of participants (N = 1,090) who reported on stressful events, their appraisal of events in terms of severity and controllability, and their Big Five personality states daily for 8–10 days (N = 8,870 observations). Multi-level structural equation models were used to separate how characteristics of the perceived stressful situation and characteristics of the person play into daily stress processes. Results showed that (1) all Big Five personality states shift in response to perceived stress, (2) all Big Five personality traits relate to average levels of perceived stress variety, severity, and controllability, (3) individual differences in personality and average perceived stress variety and perceived severity relate to the strength of personality state responses to daily stress, albeit in a more limited fashion. Our results point to new pathways by which stressors affect people in everyday life and begin to clarify processes that may explain individual differences in risk or resilience to the harmful effects of stress.

DAILY STRESS CONTRIBUTES TO GENDER DISPARITIES IN LONG-TERM CHRONIC DISEASE RISK

Abstract Compared to men, women exhibit worse health outcomes, including increased risk for chronic disease (Carmel, 2019). Exposure and affective responses to daily stressors represent a risk factor for long-term health (Piazza et al., 2013) with research revealing a complex pattern of gender differences in affective responses to stressors (Birditt et al., 2005; Witzel et al. 2022). Together, findings suggest stressor exposure and affective reactivity may represent accessible intervention targets to reduce chronic disease risk and health disparities. Using data from Wave II of the National Study of Daily Experiences and MIDUS Waves II and III, this study explores: 1) gender differences in chronic disease risk; 2) prospective effects of differential exposure and reactivity on chronic disease risk 10 years later; and 3) whether daily stress processes (DSP) partially account for gender differences in chronic disease. Respondents include adults ages 34-84 years (N = 1209), who reported on daily stressors and affect for eight days during NSDE II and on chronic conditions during MIDUS III. Covariate-adjusted multilevel models revealed women reported more chronic conditions compared to men (p < .0001). DSP processes, including differential exposure (p < .01) and affective reactivity (p < .05) are associated with increased chronic conditions. Further, the magnitude of the gender differences in chronic conditions was reduced after accounting for DSP variables. Findings highlight the contribution of DSP for chronic disease risk and gender disparities in physical health. Implications for addressing DSP as accessible intervention targets will be discussed.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS?: LATER-BORN COHORTS REPORT DIFFERENT STRESSORS IN DAILY LIFE COMPARED TO EARLIER-BORN COHORTS

Abstract In addition to the total amount of exposure to stressors in daily life, the types of stressors experienced (e.g., work stress, arguments), and the relative spread of the stressor types experienced (stressor diversity) is key to emotional and physical well-being across adulthood and aging. While daily stress processes and their links to health and well-being have been studied extensively, historical changes in daily stress processes have been largely unexplored. To examine secular trends in the types of daily stressors experienced across adulthood, we use data from two independent cohorts of the National Study of Daily Experiences surveyed 18 years apart (1995/1996 cohort: n = 1,499 adults aged 20 to 74 years; 2013/2014 cohort: n = 782 adults aged 25 to 75, stratified by age and gender to match the 1995-96 cohort). General linear models are used to test cohort differences in total stressor exposure, exposure to specific types of stressors, and stressor diversity, all controlling for age, income relative to cohort, education relative to cohort, gender, and chronic conditions. While the 2013/2014 cohort experience higher exposure to stressors in daily life than the 1995/1996 cohort, the cohorts experience the same stressor diversity, which decreases with older age. The specific stressor types experienced differ by cohort: adults in 2013/2014 report more arguments, avoided arguments, and work stressors, but less discrimination stressors and “other” stressors than in 1995/1996. These results highlight the sociohistorical embedding of daily stressor experiences. Sociodemographic differences and implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN CONTROL AND RESOLUTION OF DAILY STRESS: RESULTS FROM THE NATIONAL STUDY OF DAILY EXPERIENCES

Abstract Literature identifies perceived control as an important psychosocial resource for healthy aging. How perceived control over aspects of daily life influence the daily stress process, however, remains comparatively less clear. Resolution of daily stressors (e.g., an argument resolved, a leaky pipe fixed) is emerging as a characteristic of the daily stress process crucial for emotional downregulation. Using data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=1,766, Mage=56.25, SD=12.20, 57% Female), we examined associations between perceived control over daily stress and the likelihood of stressor resolution. In waves conducted in ~2008 and ~2017, participants reported perceived control over stressors they experience across eight consecutive days (arguments, avoided arguments, work overloads, home overloads, network stressors), in addition to whether the stressful experience has been resolved. Generalized multilevel models adjusted for linear trends across days and waves, as well as number of stressors, sex, education, race, and baseline age. People experiencing greater stressor control were more likely to resolve their daily stressors (OR=1.92, 95% CI: 1.74–2.13, p<.001). Further, individuals were more likely to resolve their stressors on days when they perceived more control over their stressors than usual (OR=1.66, 95% CI: 1.57–1.77, p<.001). This within-person association increased in magnitude across assessment waves (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.06–1.39, p<.01), resulting in a stronger association between stressor control and resolution 10 years later (OR=1.89, 95% CI: 1.69–2.12, p<.001). Associations did not depend on baseline age (ps>.05). Results indicate perceived control may serve as a psychosocial resource for promoting resolution of daily stressors as people grow older.

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING ACROSS ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND TIME IN MID LIFE AND LATE ADULTHOOD

Abstract Health and well-being are shaped by peoples’ experiences and ecological contexts (Bronfenbrenner, 2005), reflecting the influence of complex person-context relationships. For example, experiences (e.g., daily stressors, early childhood adversity) occur within microlevel (e.g., marital relationships, neighborhoods) and macrolevel (e.g., societal inequalities) contexts, impacting both daily well-being and healthy aging. Further, a robust literature highlights the significance of naturally occurring everyday experiences for a range of health outcomes, underscoring how daily experiences have immediate and lasting effects on individual physical and cognitive health and psychological well-being. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model, the current symposium features novel research examining health and well-being outcomes across diverse ecological systems and time scales across midlife and old age, with the goal of articulating how innovative approaches for studying person-context interactions can be leveraged to understand both proximal and long-term health and well-being. Polenick and colleagues will examine associations between daily negative and positive events and well-being among heterosexual married couples living with early-stage dementia. Cichy et al. will examine gender differences in the prospective effects of daily stress processes on long-term chronic disease risk in midlife and later life. Next, Turner and Mogle will examine how positive and negative affect mediate the associations between daily memory lapses and psychological well-being. Finally, Choi, Munoz, Scott, and Sliwinski will examine whether current positive (i.e., neighborhood cohesion) and negative (i.e., neighborhood violence) neighborhood contexts moderate the effect of childhood stress exposure on cognitive function in adulthood. Robert Stawski will synthesize the presentations and offer insights for future research.

Self Perceptions of Stress in Caregiving Moderate Associations of Within and Between Caregivers’ Physical Health Symptoms

AbstractBackgroundThe success of dementia care requires the full support from the caregivers with the goal of delaying the disease’s progress. Studies over decades have reinforced that the knowledge, attitude, and skills of caregivers are crucial parameters of the success of in‐community care for dementia. Nevertheless, studies have identified that many caregivers, across different culture and ethicity, are not well prepared emotionally or practically to be the caregivers and this will result in stress, particularly when their stress are ignored by medical professionals during this long journey of care.MethodThis is a mixed‐method research to examine how self‐perceptions of aging (SPA) moderated within‐ and between‐caregivers Self‐perceived stress (SPS) associations with physiological health symptoms (PHS) and daily physical health symptoms (DPHS). SPA was measured by the Philadelphia Geriatric Centre Morale scale. SPS was measured by Zarit Burden Interview Scale and Revised Memory and Behaviour Problem Checklist. DPHS was measured daily through an adapted symptom checklist.ResultA pilot study of 20 caregivers reported significantly more physical health symptoms compared to individuals with lower perceived stress on average (p < .05). SPA significantly moderated associations between both within‐ and between‐persons perceived stress (SPS) and physiological health symptoms (PHS) (ps < .05).ConclusionMore positive SPA significantly dampened the impact of perceived stress, suggesting the importance of SPA as an individual characteristic within stress processes. Future work should examine how daily changes in SPA may exacerbate or mitigate the impacts of daily stress processes and health outcomes.

College Students' Day-to-Day Maladaptive Drinking Responses to Stress Severity and Stressor-Related Guilt and Anger.

Stress is a common part of college students' daily lives that may influence their physical activity (PA) and alcohol use. Understanding features of daily stress processes that predict health behaviors could help identify targets for just-in-time interventions. This study used intensive longitudinal data to examine whether prior day stress processes predict current day PA or alcohol use. Participants (N=58, Mage=20.5, 59% women, 70% White) were 18-to-25-year-old students who engaged in binge drinking at least twice monthly and used cannabis or tobacco in the past year. They wore activity (activPAL4) and alcohol (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) monitors for 11 days to assess daily PA (e.g., step counts) and alcohol use (e.g., drinking day), and completed daily surveys about yesterday's stress, including number of stressors (i.e., frequency), stressor intensity (i.e., severity), and frequency of affective states (e.g., guilt). Multilevel models examined prior day stress predicting current day PA or alcohol use. Participants had higher odds of current day drinking (odds ratio=1.21) and greater area under the curve (B=0.08) when they experienced greater than usual stress severity the prior day. Participants had higher current day peak transdermal alcohol concentration (B=0.12) and area under the curve (B=0.11) when they more frequently experienced guilt due to stressors the prior day. College students' unhealthy response of increasing alcohol use due to stress could adversely impact health outcomes. There is a critical need for interventions addressing students' ability to effectively manage and respond to the stress-inducing, daily demands of student life.

Affective reactivity to daily stressors and immune cell gene expression in the MIDUS study

Affective reactivity to stress is a person-level measurement of how well an individual copes with daily stressors. A common method of measuring affective reactivity entails the estimation of within-person differences of either positive or negative affect on days with and without stressors present. Individuals more reactive to common stressors, as evidenced by affective reactivity measurements, have been shown to have increased levels of circulating pro-inflammatory markers. While affective reactivity has previously been associated with inflammatory markers, the upstream mechanistic links underlying these associations are unknown. Using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Refresher study (N = 195; 52% female; 84% white), we quantified daily stress processes over 10 days and determined individuals’ positive and negative affective reactivities to stressors. We then examined affective reactivity association with peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression of the immune-related conserved transcriptional response to adversity. Results indicated that individuals with a greater decrease in positive affect to daily stressors exhibited heightened PBMC JUNB expression after Bonferroni corrections (p-adjusted < 0.05). JUNB encodes a protein that acts as a transcription factor which regulates many aspects of the immune response, including inflammation and cell proliferation. Due to its critical role in the activation of macrophages and maintenance of CD4+ T-cells during inflammation, JUNB may serve as a potential upstream mechanistic target for future studies of the connection between affective reactivity and inflammatory processes. Overall, our findings provide evidence that affective reactivity to stress is associated with levels of immune cell gene expression.

Associations between emotion reactivity to daily interpersonal stress and acute social-evaluative stress during late adolescence.

Emotion reactivity refers to the intensity of changes in positive and negative emotion following a stimulus, typically studied with respect to daily stressors (e.g., arguments, demands) or laboratory stressors, including the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Yet, it is unclear whether emotion reactivity to daily and to laboratory stressors are related. The present study examined whether greater emotion reactivity to daily stressors (i.e., arguments, demands) is associated with greater reactivity to the TSST. Late adolescents (N=82; Mage=18.35, SD=0.51, range 17-19; 56.1% female; 65.9% Latine, 34.2% European American) reported whether they experienced arguments and demands with friends, family, and individuals at school and their negative and positive emotion nightly for 15days. They also completed the TSST, a validated paradigm for eliciting social-evaluative threat, and reported their emotion at baseline and immediately post-TSST. Multilevel models examined whether daily and laboratory emotion reactivity were related by testing whether the daily associations between arguments and demands with emotion differed by emotion reactivity to the TSST. Individuals with greater positive emotion reactivity (i.e., greater reductions in positive emotion) and greater negative emotion reactivity to the TSST showed greater positive emotion reactivity to daily demands. Emotion reactivity to the TSST was not significantly related to emotion reactivity to arguments. Findings provide preliminary evidence that emotion reactivity to the TSST relates to some aspects of daily emotion reactivity, with relations differing depending on type of daily stressor and valence of emotion. Results contextualise the implications of emotion reactivity to the TSST for daily stress processes.

Parent- and Child-Driven Daily Family Stress Processes between Daily Stress, Parental Warmth, and Adolescent Adjustment.

Emerging evidence suggests that family members’ stress and family interactions vary across days. This study examined the daily associations among parental and adolescent daily stress, parental warmth, and adolescent adjustment with a 30-day daily diary study among 99 ethnically diverse Canadian parent–adolescent dyads (54% White, 23% Asian, 9% multiracial, Mage = 14.5, 55% female). Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed a negative within-day link between parental daily stress and parental warmth, and positive within-day links between adolescent daily stress and their emotional problems and negative affect. Parental warmth was positively associated with the next day’s adolescent positive affect and prosocial behaviors, and explained the cross-day link between parental daily stress and adolescent adaptive outcomes. The findings indicate parent-driven effects in daily family stress processes.

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. Participants included 1289 (mage = 55; SD = 12; range = 34–83; 56% female) individuals who completed the second waves of MIDUS and the 8-day NSDE daily diary protocol and participated in the third wave of MIDUS approximately 10 years later. Respondents completed assessments of depression and their seeking assistance from a psychiatrist, mental health professional, counselor, or religious leader. Covariate-adjusted logistic regression analyses revealed increased odds of depression among women compared to men, but no significant gender difference after taking daily stress into account. Higher levels of stressor exposure, negative affect, and affective reactivity were associated with increased odds of depression for both men and women. Compared to those who did not engage in help-seeking behavior, those who did had significantly greater odds of depression, and there were asymmetric patterns of daily stress effects across groups. These findings highlight differential exposure, negative affect, and affective responses to daily stress as potentially accessible intervention targets for reducing stress in daily life and mitigating longer-term depression risk during mid- and later life.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11121-022-01444-7.

Physical Activity and Daily Stress Processes in Older Adulthood.

Older adults who are physically active report lower levels of stress. Less is known about the links between physical activity and exposure and reactivity to stressful events in daily life. The current study examined within-person associations between actigraphy-assessed daily physical activity and exposure and affective reactivity to naturally occurring interpersonal stressors. Older adults (N = 180) from the Daily Experiences and Well-being Study completed ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) every 3 hr for 5-6 days where they reported negative affect throughout the day and interpersonal tensions at the end of the day. They also wore Actical accelerometers to capture physical activity. Older adults reported greater numbers of interpersonal stressors on days when they spent less time being sedentary and engaged in more light physical activity. On days when older adults experienced more interpersonal stressors, they reported higher levels of negative affect, but this association was attenuated when they were more physically active that day. Physical activity may bolster older adults' capabilities to manage affective responses to interpersonal stressors in a more successful way. These findings underscore the importance of assessing physical activity and stressful events in daily life and have implications for both physical and psychological well-being.

Discrimination and health: The mediating role of daily stress processes.

Exposure to discrimination is consistently linked with worse physical and mental health outcomes. One potential reason is that discriminatory experiences shape the way people interpret and affectively react to daily stressful events which in turn impacts health. The current study examined the role of these two daily psychological stress processes as a pathway linking the longitudinal association between perceived discrimination and health outcomes. Participants in the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), a subset of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, were followed over three waves spanning 20 years (N = 1,315). Perceptions of lifetime and everyday discrimination were measured by questionnaire at Wave 1; daily assessments of stress, threat appraisals, and negative affect were assessed through 8 days of daily dairies at Wave 2; measures of physical health (chronic conditions, functional limitations, and self-rated physical health) and mental health (depression, anxiety, and self-rated mental health) were assessed at Wave 3. Each wave of data was collected 9-10 years apart. Lifetime and everyday discrimination were associated with worse physical and mental health outcomes 20 years later. Daily threat appraisals and negative affective reactivity to daily stressors mediated the effect of discrimination on physical and mental health. Daily psychological stress processes are a potential mechanism by which exposure to unfair treatment relates to health. Findings underscore the insidious nature of unfair treatment and demonstrate how such experiences may be particularly consequential for daily stress processes and later physical and mental health outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A Potential Link Between Negative Affective Responsivity to Daily Stress and Blood Pressure Reactivity to Acute Stress in College‐Aged Adults

Daily stress, defined as the routine challenges of day‐to‐day living and the unexpected small hassles that disrupt everyday life, is predictive of future cardiovascular disease (CVD)‐related health outcomes; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Given that heightened blood pressure (BP) reactivity to stress is also purported to increase future CVD risk, we examined a potential link between daily stress and acute stress‐induced increases in BP. We hypothesized that increased frequency of daily stressor exposures and greater negative emotional responsiveness to daily stress (i.e., negative affective responsivity) would be positively related to increased BP reactivity to acute stressors in the laboratory setting. Thirty adults (23±5 yrs; 21 female) completed the Daily Inventory of Stressful Events (DISE) interview every day for 8 consecutive days to quantify objective (e.g., frequency) and subjective appraisal characteristics (e.g., emotions) of naturally occurring daily stressors (e.g., stressful event at home/work). On DISE Day 8, mean arterial pressure (MAP; finger photoplethysmography) was measured during two distinct laboratory‐based acute stress stimuli: the cold pressor test (CPT; generalized sympathoexcitatory stimulus) and the Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT; cognitive stress stimulus). Daily stress exposure was calculated as the total number of stressors across the 8‐day protocol, and negative affective responsivity was calculated as the magnitude of the increase in negative affect on stressor exposure days (at least 1 stressor reported) compared to negative affect on non‐stressor exposure days (no stressors reported). BP reactivity was quantified as the peak acute stress‐induced increase in MAP to the CPT and SCWT. Participants experienced a total of 3±3 stressors (range: 0‐9) over the 8‐day interview timeframe. Negative affect was greater on stressor exposure days (0.68±0.50 a.u.) compared to non‐exposure days (0.37±0.36 a.u.; p&lt;0.01). Both the CPT (∆21±7 mmHg) and the SCWT (∆9±6 mmHg) elicited increases in MAP (both p&lt;0.05). The total number of stressors was not related to the peak increase in MAP during either the CPT (slope=‐0.10; r=0.04; p=0.85) or the SCWT (slope=‐0.43; r=19; p=0.31). Negative affective responsivity was positively related to the peak increase in MAP during the CPT (slope=12.41; r=0.45; p=0.03) but not the SCWT (slope=3.00; r=0.14, p=0.50). These preliminary data demonstrate that daily stressor exposure by itself is not related to BP reactivity to laboratory stressors in college‐aged adults. However, greater negative affective responsivity is associated with greater acute stress‐induced increases in BP during the CPT, but not the SCWT, perhaps suggesting that the link between daily stress processes and BP reactivity may be dependent on the stress‐responsive neurocircuitry being activated.

Optimism, Daily Stressors, and Emotional Well-Being Over Two Decades in a Cohort of Aging Men.

Growing evidence supports optimism as a health asset, yet how optimism influences well-being and health remains uncertain. We evaluated 1 potential pathway-the association of optimism with daily stress processes-and tested 2 hypotheses. The stressor exposure hypothesis posits that optimism would preserve emotional well-being by limiting exposure to daily stressors. The buffering hypothesis posits that higher optimism would be associated with lower emotional reactivity to daily stressors and more effective emotional recovery from them. Participants were 233 men from the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study who completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Revised Optimism-Pessimism scale in 1986/1991 and participated in up to three 8-day daily diary bursts in 2002-2010 (age at first burst: M = 76.7, SD = 6.5). Daily stressor occurrence, positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA) were assessed nightly. We evaluated the hypotheses using multilevel structural equation models. Optimism was unrelated to emotional reactivity to or recovery from daily stressors. Higher optimism was associated with higher average daily PA (B = 2.31, 95% Bayesian credible interval [BCI]: 1.24, 3.38) but not NA, independent of stressor exposure. Lower stressor exposure mediated the association of higher optimism with lower daily NA (indirect effect: B = -0.27, 95% BCI: -0.50, -0.09), supporting the stressor exposure hypothesis. Findings from a sample of older men suggest that optimism may be associated with more favorable emotional well-being in later life through differences in stressor exposure rather than emotional stress response. Optimism may preserve emotional well-being among older adults by engaging emotion regulation strategies that occur relatively early in the emotion-generative process.