National Study Of Daily Experiences Research Articles

Too little or too much: nonlinear relationship between sleep duration and daily affective well-being in depressed adults

BackgroundIn addition to having higher negative affect and lower positive affect overall, depressed individuals exhibit heightened affective reactivity to external stimuli than non-depressed individuals. Sleep may contribute to day-to-day fluctuations in depressed individuals, given that sleep disturbance is a common symptom of depression. Yet, little is known about changes in daily affect as a function of nightly sleep duration in depressed adults and non-depressed adults. The current study examined whether and how naturally-occurring sleep duration is associated with negative and positive affect, and how these associations differ between depressed vs. non-depressed adults.MethodsData were drawn from the second wave of the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), a daily diary project of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. The sample of 2,012 adults (Mage=56.5; 57% female; 84% white) completed eight-day diary interviews via telephone on their daily experiences including nightly sleep duration and negative and positive affect. They also completed assessments of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short form, and depressed status was determined based on DSM-III. Multilevel regression models with linear, quadratic, and cubic terms of sleep duration examined the nonlinear relationship between nightly sleep duration and daily affect. Interaction terms with depression status were added to examine differences between depressed and non-depressed adults.ResultsDepressed adults exhibited significant and greater fluctuations in daily affect as a function of nightly sleep duration than non-depressed adults. Specifically, the degree of decrease in positive affect and increase in negative affect was greater when depressed adults slept 2 or more hours less or longer than their usual sleep hours. Non-depressed adults exhibited relatively stable daily affect regardless of their nightly sleep hours.ConclusionsSleep duration is nonlinearly associated with affect in daily lives of depressed adults, highlighting that both having too little sleep and excessive sleep are associated with adverse daily affective well-being. Implementing sleep interventions to promote an appropriate sleep duration may help improve daily affect among depressed adults.

“Think of the situation in a positive light”: A look at cognitive reappraisal, affective reactivity and health☆

RationaleHow individuals regulate their emotions is critical for maintaining health and well-being. For example, reframing a stressful situation in a positive light, a form of cognitive reappraisal, is beneficial for both physical and mental health as well as subjective well-being. However, it is currently unclear why this relationship exists. One potential mechanism could be how one emotionally reacts to stressors in daily life, termed affective reactivity. ObjectiveThe current study examined longitudinal associations that spanned 20 years between cognitive reappraisal and health outcomes and subjective well-being and if affective reactivity mediated this relationship. MethodsParticipants completed waves 1–3 of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Survey series and were asked various questions about their general health and well-being. Each wave was approximately 10 years apart. A subset of participants from MIDUS II completed the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE II), an 8-day daily diary asking about their everyday experiences. The final sample consisted of 1814 participants. ResultsResults found that cognitive reappraisal was significantly associated with future health and well-being outcomes, and negative affective reactivity significantly mediated this relationship. Those who engaged more in cognitive reappraisal tended to be less affectively reactive to stressful events 10 years later, leading to having better health and well-being outcomes 20 years later. ConclusionFindings from this study could better inform stress and well-being interventions by strengthening cognitive reappraisal strategies to target reducing affective reactivity to stressors which should then benefit long-term health and well-being.

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

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. Adults ranging from 35 to 86 years old at baseline (N = 1,940), from the National Study of Daily Experiences, reported control over interpersonal and noninterpersonal daily stressors across 8 consecutive days at 2 time points, about 10 years apart. Findings from multilevel models indicate that for noninterpersonal stressors, perceived control decreased over time. In contrast, perceived control over interpersonal conflicts and tensions remained robust over time. No cross-sectional baseline age differences were found for levels of interpersonal and noninterpersonal stressor control. Results are consistent with socioemotional selectivity and underscore the importance of interpersonal relationships in later adulthood. Understanding how people select and preserve certain aspects of control in their daily life can help guide efforts toward maximizing gains and minimizing losses in domains that matter most to people as they grow older.

Perceived control across the adult lifespan: Longitudinal changes in global control and daily stressor control.

Perceived control is an important psychosocial resource for health and well-being across the lifespan. Global control (i.e., overall perceived control) decreases over time in studies following people every few years to upwards of 10 years. Changes across wider intervals of the lifespan, however, have yet to be examined. Further, how perceived control changes for specific aspects of daily life, such as stressors, remains comparatively less clear. Using data from the Midlife in the United States National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE, N = 1,940, M = 56.25 years, SD = 12.20, 57% female), we examined longitudinal changes in global control across 20 years and daily stressor control across 10 years. Global control was assessed in the first wave of the NSDE (∼1996). In follow-up waves, conducted in ∼2008 and ∼2017, participants again not only reported their global control but also reported their perceived control over stressors they experience across 8 consecutive days. Longitudinal analyses revealed differential change trajectories for global control across 20 years and stressor control across 10 years (ps < .001). Global control declined for younger and older adults but stayed relatively stable for individuals in midlife. The rate of decline in daily stressor control was steeper than the decline in global control and did not vary by age at baseline. In addition, declines were amplified among individuals with higher global control at baseline. Results suggest that daily stressor control is a specific aspect of control beliefs that follows a different rate of change than global control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

NEIGHBORHOOD QUALITY AND WEEKLY PATTERNS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG BLACK AND WHITE ADULTS

Abstract Engaging in regular moderate to vigorous physical activity across the week is recommended for maintaining health. This analysis examined whether objective and subjective neighborhood quality was associated with different patterns of weekly physical activity across the week among middle and older Black and white adults. We leveraged data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), in which 833 Black and white American adults (Mage = 62.65; n Black = 167) reported their daily moderate to vigorous physical activity across eight consecutive days. The objective and subjective measures of neighborhood quality were the area deprivation index (ADI) and personal belief in the neighborhood, respectively. Hypotheses were tested using the latent class analysis (LCA) framework. Weekly patterns of daily physical activity were classified into four different groups: Active Every Day (group size = 35.75%), Active on Weekdays (26.63%), Active on the Weekend (11.76%), and Less Active (15.85%). Lower ADI rankings, but not personal beliefs about one’s neighborhood, were associated with a higher probability of being in the three more active relative to the Less Active group, an association stronger among white adults. Finally, the three more active groups showed higher self-rated physical health than the Less Active group. Within-race analyses showed that this association was only evident among white adults. Neighborhood deprivation is an important structural context that may strongly limit adults’ engagement in daily physical health.

EXPLORING THE WITHIN-PERSON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DAILY DISCRIMINATION AND DAILY STRESS REACTIVITY

Abstract Experiencing discrimination has been associated with a variety of negative impacts such as poorer health and well-being. Some research has shown that those who experienced discrimination at an initial timepoint were more likely to have poorer health and well-being outcomes 20 years later through the mediating role of threat appraisals and stress reactivity. Research has demonstrated a link between experiencing discrimination and affective reactions to everyday stressful experiences, however, these associations have only been studied at the between-person level. For the current study, we examined the within-person relationship in daily stress reactivity in relation to experiencing discrimination on a daily basis over the course of 20 years. Participants (n = 1,315) completed waves 1 to 3 of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) survey with each wave about 10 years apart in which participants were asked to self-report their daily discrimination. Participants also completed the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) which was a daily diary design over 8 consecutive days asking about their daily stress reactivity. Results found that during timepoints when people experienced greater than their average level of discrimination, they also reacted more negatively to daily stressful events (b = .002, 95% CI [0.001, 0.002]). These results are particularly striking because they show that within-person changes in reported discrimination are related to changes in affective responses to daily stressors. These findings suggest that experiencing discrimination is related to greater reactivity to daily stressors, which may lead to worse physical and mental health over time.

DAILY STRESSOR CONTROL AND AFFECTIVE REACTIONS: THE UNIQUE ROLE OF INTERPERSONAL STRESS

Abstract Perceived control over daily stressors varies across life and stressor domains, but little is known about the function of perceived control as a protective resource for the impact of daily stressors on affective well-being. Using the third wave of the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDEIII; N=1,263, Mage=62.62, 57.20% women), we examined how stressor control across domains (interpersonal stress, work and home overloads, network stressors) was associated with both negative and positive emotions on the same-day (i.e., reactivity) and next-day (i.e., residue). Over eight consecutive days, participants reported their daily negative and positive emotions, as well as exposure to and control over stressful experiences. After adjusting for age and gender, two-level multilevel models revealed a protective patterning of stressor control for dampened affective reactions to daily stressors driven by stressor control domains specific to interpersonal interactions (ps&amp;lt;.05). Days when people perceived more control over their arguments or avoided arguments were related to less negative and positive affective reactivity (smaller increases/decreases in negative/positive affect, respectively) compared to days with less perceived control. Perceived control over daily work stressors and home stressors were associated with dampened negative and positive affective reactivity, respectively. No associations between perceived stressor control and affective residue were significant. Results underscore the import of perceived stressor control for interpersonal stressors and the utility of perceived control as a protective factor for the effects of arguments and avoided arguments. Individuals may aim to leverage additional resources to feel more in control of their own daily arguments and avoided arguments.

GREATER ADHERENCE TO DAILY HEALTH BEHAVIORS RELATE TO BETTER COGNITIVE FUNCTION

Abstract Healthy life habits cannot be formed overnight; therefore, adherence to optimal sleep, physical activity, and healthy eating behaviors is vital. This paper examined the relationship between the adherence rate of the three key health behaviors (i.e., sleep, physical activity, and healthy diet) and cognitive function in adulthood. Data were retrieved from Midlife in the United States third wave (MIDUS 3) Project 2, National Study of Daily Experiences (n=1,061). For eight consecutive days, participants reported nightly sleep duration, daily amount of physical activity, and daily consumption of fast food. Adherence rates of health behaviors were calculated by the sum of having optimal sleep (6 &amp;lt; sleep hours ≤ 9), any intensity of physical activity (60 min.≤), and not eating fast food (yes/no) across the study period. Participants also completed a Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT). A series of general linear models examined the associations of the three adherence variables with the overall BTACT cognition score adjusting for sociodemographic and health covariates. Greater adherence rates of optimal sleep (𝛽=0.02; SE=0.01; p=0.01), physical activity (𝛽=0.03; SE=0.01; p&amp;lt;0.01 ), and not eating fast food (𝛽=0.02; SE=0.01; p=0.02) were each and associated with higher BTACT score. Among the three adherence variables, adherence to physical activity was the most important for cognition independent of other health behaviors. Consistent associations were found for executive function, but not episodic memory. These findings suggest that adults with greater adherence to a healthy lifestyle have better cognitive function, and consistency of healthy behaviors is vital for cognitive health.

SPOUSAL SUPPORT AND PERCEIVED RESPONSIVENESS IN THE LINK BETWEEN DAILY RUMINATION AND SLEEP: FINDINGS FROM THE NSDE

Abstract The Cognitive Model of Insomnia suggests that increased cognitive arousal may negatively influence sleep. Prior work has supported this theory, indicating that both negative affect and rumination may be negatively related to sleep. However, recent empirical evidence suggests that social support may buffer this impact. Yet, much of the current literature focuses on rumination as a trait characteristic. We set out to investigate both between and within-person rumination and its relation to sleep and negative affect. We also tested whether support, both perceived and received, may buffer the relation between rumination and outcome variables. The sample consisted of partnered participants (n=612, Mage= 62, SD=9.73) from the National Study of Daily Experiences in the MIDUS project. Participants reported daily levels of sleep, rumination, negative affect, and received support; as well as perceived partner responsiveness (PPR) and depressive symptoms at baseline. In multilevel models that controlled for sex, age, race, education, and depressive symptoms and included random person-level intercepts, a significant interaction arose between daily rumination and PPR on daily negative affect (b = -0.0061, SE = 0.0021, p = .004), such that participants reporting higher PPR reported a weaker association between daily rumination and negative affect. Trait or daily received support was not a significant moderator of any outcome and PPR did not significantly moderate the relation between rumination and sleep. These findings further add to our understanding of the distinctions in type of support from a partner. Moreover, this suggests that knowing support is available may buffer distress from rumination.

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN DAILY STRESSOR CONTROL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION

Abstract Perceived control is an important psychosocial correlate of cognitive health and aging. Most prior research examining this association has focused on global aspects of control, ignoring influences of more dynamic aspects of specific areas of control, such as control over daily stressors. Using data from the third wave of the Midlife in the United States study and the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=992, Mage=67.67, SD=10.34, 57.20% Female), we examined how control over different types of stressors (arguments, avoided arguments, work stress, home stress, network stress) was associated with cognitive performance. Over eight consecutive days, people reported their perceived control over stressors they had experienced. Participants also completed a telephone-based battery of tests measuring executive function (EF) and episodic memory (EM). Hierarchical regression analyses adjusted for number of daily stressors, age, sex, race, and education. The facilitative role of daily stressor control for cognitive health depended on age and the type of stressor experienced. For EF, greater control over arguments was associated with better EF (Est. = 0.07, SE = 0.03, p &amp;lt; .05). For EM, there was a stressor control by age interaction (Est. = 0.01, SE = 0.01, p &amp;lt; .05) such that greater control over home stress was associated with better EM among comparatively older adults (Est. = 0.07, SE = 0.03, p &amp;lt; .05). Results suggest that perceiving control over daily stressful experiences, especially arguments and home stress, may serve as a psychosocial resource for cognitive health in older adulthood.

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.

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 &amp;lt; .0001). DSP processes, including differential exposure (p &amp;lt; .01) and affective reactivity (p &amp;lt; .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.

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&amp;lt;.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&amp;lt;.001). This within-person association increased in magnitude across assessment waves (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.06–1.39, p&amp;lt;.01), resulting in a stronger association between stressor control and resolution 10 years later (OR=1.89, 95% CI: 1.69–2.12, p&amp;lt;.001). Associations did not depend on baseline age (ps&amp;gt;.05). Results indicate perceived control may serve as a psychosocial resource for promoting resolution of daily stressors as people grow older.

USING INTENSIVE REPEATED MEASUREMENT TO EXAMINE THE AFFECTIVE CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIP EXPERIENCES

Abstract Across midlife and older adulthood, daily relational contexts provide a lens through which daily experiences shape health and well-being. How daily relational contexts inform health and well-being is complex, with buffering and exacerbating effects of the relationship context on well-being reported in past work. One mechanism through which daily relational experiences influence health and well-being is through changes in emotions. The current series of talks examine how daily relational experiences (interpersonal stress, marriage and loneliness, perceived social isolation, caregiving stress) influence emotional well-being using innovative intensive repeated measurement designs. First, using eight days of daily diary data from the National Study of Daily Experiences, Dakota Witzel will consider the protective effects of perceived control on affective reactions to interpersonal daily stressors on the same day and the following day. Second, using a pre-registered, 14-day ecological momentary assessment design, Jin Wen will discuss the potential implications of affective reactions to interpersonal daily stressors on subsequent sleep quality. Third, using 14 days of ecological momentary assessments from the Einstein Aging Study, Karina Van Bogart will explore the moderative influences of marriage and cognitive impairment on the effects of daily emotional loneliness on intrusive thoughts. Finally, using a 14-day daily diary design, Frank Puga will present on the implications of daily caregiver stress and perceived social isolation on perceived emotional control. Kelly Cichy will serve as discussant and summarize the theoretical and methodological contributions of these studies for enhanced understanding of the dynamic interplay between relational experiences and emotional well-being in daily life.

The Roles of Daily Stressor Control and Social Determinants of Health in Executive Function and Episodic Memory Performance

AbstractBackgroundStudying modifiable psychosocial contributors to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is crucial to inform approaches for ADRD prevention, especially among those with less education, lower neighborhood quality, and heightened discrimination. These three social determinants of health confer increased ADRD risk. Perceived control is an important psychosocial resource for cognitive health. Most prior work, however, focuses exclusively on global aspects of control, ignoring influences of more dynamic aspects of control over specific experiences in daily life, such as daily stressor control.MethodWe used data from the Midlife in the United States study and the National Study of Daily Experiences (N = 1,651, Mage = 62.09, SE = 12.11, 56.65% Female) to address this gap and examine the roles of daily stressor control and social determinants of health in cognitive performance. Over 8 consecutive days in the second and third waves of data collection, respondents reported their perceived control over stressors they had experienced. Respondents also completed assessments of education, neighborhood quality, perceived discrimination, and a telephone‐based battery of tests measuring executive function (EF) and episodic memory (EM). We employed multilevel modeling to assess associations of daily stressor control and social determinants of health with cognitive performance.ResultEF was higher among people with more education and those with less perceived discrimination (ps&lt;.001), but was not related to daily stressor control (p&gt;.05). Greater daily stressor control, more education, and better neighborhood quality was related to better EM (ps&lt;.05). A stressor control by discrimination interaction showed that greater stressor control was associated with better EM among those with comparatively less perceived discrimination (p&lt;.01).ConclusionDaily stressor control may serve as a psychosocial resource for cognitive health, but the strength of its relationship with cognitive performance varied by perceived discrimination. Promoting stressor control may be beneficial for cognitive health among those with comparatively less perceived discrimination, but more research is needed to clarify psychosocial resources that could buffer against the impacts of heightened discrimination on cognitive health disparities in the US. Future work should examine longitudinal relationships to clarify the predictive utility of stressor control for cognitive health and the daily mechanisms that may explain these associations.

Adrenocortical Responses to Daily Stressors Are Calibrated by Early Life Adversity: An Investigation of the Adaptive Calibration Model.

Studies examining the impact of early adversity on physiological responsivity to environmental challenges in later life yield a complex pattern of findings and ambiguity regarding the direction of effect, with some studies reporting heightened responses and others reporting dampened responses. One potential reason for these mixed findings is an oversimplified theoretical model surrounding the connection between early life stressor exposure and subsequent stress responsivity. The adaptive calibration model offersa contemporary set of assumptions aimed at providing a better understanding of the ways that early life experiences shape the stress response system to better align with current and future environments. The current study utilized a large subsample from the National Study of Daily Experiences (N = 1,605) to examine the extent to which the association between daily stressor exposure and cortisol levels varies across levels of early life adversity. Results revealed that those individuals who experienced extremely low levels of early life adversity displayed the greatest increase in cortisol levels across the day as daily stressor exposure increased. Alternatively, those individuals who experienced extremely high levels of early life adversity displayed almost no change in diurnal production of cortisol as daily stressor exposure increased. The results are discussed within the evolutionary-developmental context of the adaptive calibration model along with suggestions for future research.

Chronic Pain and Affective Experiences Associated with Daily Stressors and Uplifts.

People with chronic pain often report greater reactivity to stress than those without pain. This finding is consistent with the kindling hypothesis, which states that continued exposure to stressors only heightens negative affect and dampens positive affect. Yet, people with chronic pain may also respond more positively to enjoyable activities, or uplifts, as well. Chronic pain is related to lower levels of well-being, and the fragility of positive affect model explains how individuals with lower levels of well-being often exhibit stronger, more positive responses to daily uplifts than their less distressed peers. Our study used the National Study of Daily Experiences to assess daily stressors, positive uplifts, and positive and negative affect across eight days among those with and without chronic pain. Participants (nChronicPain=658, nNoPain=1,075) were predominately Non-Hispanic White (91%), 56% female, and averaged 56 years old. Results revealed that people with chronic pain had lower levels of daily positive affect and higher levels of negative affect, yet the two groups did not vary in their stressor-related negative and positive affect. In contrast, having chronic pain was related to a greater increase in positive affect and greater decreases in negative affect on days with positive uplifts. Findings suggest that intervention efforts focusing on uplifts may be particularly helpful for people who report chronic pain.

Longitudinal change in daily stress across 20 years of adulthood: Results from the national study of daily experiences.

This study examined age-related patterns in exposure and affective reactivity to daily stressors across a 20-year time span among adults who were between 22 and 77 years old at their baseline interview. Longitudinal data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) consisted of three bursts of eight consecutive nightly interviews of stress and affect. Analyses made use of all available data from a U.S. National sample of respondents who participated in any of the three NSDE bursts (N = 2,845; number of daily assessments = 33,688). Findings revealed increasing age-related benefits. Younger adults (< 30 years) reported the highest levels of stressor exposure and reactivity, but their stress profile improved with age. Over time, adults averaged an 11% reduction in the occurrence of stressor days, and the younger adults exhibited an even steeper decline (a 47% reduction) in their levels of stressor reactivity. For people in midlife and old age, stressor occurrence continued to decrease over time, yet among adults aged 54 years or older at baseline, stress reactivity remained stable across time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

DAILY ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN STRESSOR CONTROL AND AFFECT VARY AS A FUNCTION OF STRESSOR TYPE

Abstract Perceived control is an important psychosocial correlate of emotional well-being. Using data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=1,797, M=55.82 years, SD=10.35, 57.27% Female), we examined how self-reported control over different types of stressors (arguments, avoided arguments, work, home, network) was associated with negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). Over 8 consecutive days in waves conducted in ~2008 and ~2017, people reported their daily NA, PA, and control over stressors they had experienced. Within-person associations revealed lower NA on days when stressor control was higher than usual (p&amp;lt;.001), driven by control over arguments, avoided arguments, and work stressors specifically. PA was higher on days when individuals perceived greater control over avoided and actual arguments (ps&amp;lt;.001), but lower on days when individuals perceived greater control over network stressors (p&amp;lt;.01). Results suggest the facilitative role of control over daily stress for emotional well-being depends on the type of stressor experienced.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE GREAT RECESSION: THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN RECESSION EXPERIENCES AND DAILY INDICES OF WELL-BEING

Abstract The current study examined the associations of positive and negative experiences during the Great Recession (GR) with levels of daily well-being. In 2012, participants from the Midlife in the United States Refresher survey reported on their positive or negative GR experiences related to job, housing, or finances. A subsample, selected into the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=782), also reported on their daily levels of health and well-being across eight consecutive days and provided saliva samples, from which cortisol was assayed. The number of negative GR experiences reported related to poorer daily well-being (negative and positive affect, physical symptoms, stress severity, and cortisol daily peak-to-nadir ratio), whereas, the number of positive GR experiences was only related to lower severity of daily stressors (β=–0.03, p=.03). Examining specific GR experiences revealed that individuals who reported bad housing experience during the GR reported higher daily levels of negative affect (β=0.14, p&amp;lt;.001), physical symptoms (β=0.90, p&amp;lt;.001), and frequency of stressor days (β=0.01, p&amp;lt;.001), and lower daily levels of positive affect (β=–0.19, p=.02). Bad financial experience was related to more physical symptoms (β=0.62, p&amp;lt;.001) and greater severity of daily stressors (β=0.14, p=.03). Conversely, positive financial experiences were related to greater cortisol daily peak-to-nadir ratio (β=1.98, p=.03), but also greater frequency of stressor days (β=0.05, p=.01). Results highlight the potential influence of major economic strains on our ongoing daily experiences. This work has implications for policy and interventions around supporting midlife and older adults facing economic strains, in order to improve daily well-being.