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Age differences in negative affective reactivity: do stressor types matter?

dc.contributor.authorYang, Yijia, author
dc.contributor.authorLuong, Gloria, advisor
dc.contributor.authorAichele, Stephen, committee member
dc.contributor.authorNelson, Niccole, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-02T15:20:08Z
dc.date.available2026-05-28
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractBackground and Objectives: Stress may predict poorer health through increased negative affect (NA), which is formally termed as NA reactivity. Age is an important factor associated with different emotional advantages. However, findings about age differences in NA reactivity are mixed in the literature, such that some studies show older adults exhibit more NA reactivity than younger adults, whereas others show a reverse trend or no age-related differences at all. The current study tested this inconsistency by exploring how age differences in NA reactivity vary by stressor type. Design and Methods: Participants were from the Health and Daily Experiences (HEADE) study, which included 56 younger adults (19-35) and 106 older adults (60+) who completed three lab sessions and eight consecutive days of ecological momentary assessments (EMA) surveys. Three stressor types, cognitively demanding stressors, interpersonal stressors, and general daily life stressors, were studied through repeated measures ANOVA on the collected data. Results: We found that stressor type significantly moderated age differences in NA reactivity. More specifically, older adults showed more NA reactivity while facing cognitively demanding stressors. However, the age differences were not statistically significant for interpersonal and general daily life stressors. Also, no statistically significant result was found for the moderating effect of stressor severity on the association between age differences and NA reactivity. Discussion and Conclusions: Overall, younger adults and older adults display different emotional advantages depending on different types of stressors. Thus, specific age-related health recommendations could be proposed based on different stressor types, and studying age differences in NA reactivity about other types of stressors would be a future direction.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierYang_colostate_0053N_18917.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/240975
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2020-
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.rights.accessEmbargo expires: 05/28/2026.
dc.subjectNA reactivity
dc.subjectstressor types
dc.subjectstressor severity
dc.subjectage differences
dc.titleAge differences in negative affective reactivity: do stressor types matter?
dc.typeText
dcterms.embargo.expires2026-05-28
dcterms.embargo.terms2026-05-28
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineHuman Development and Family Studies
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

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