Falling Hard, But Recovering Resoundingly: Age Differences in Stressor Reactivity and Recovery

Strength and vulnerability integration (SAVI) theory (Charles, 2010) posits that age differences in emotional experiences vary based on the distance from an emotionally eliciting event. Before and after a stressor, SAVI predicts that older age is related to motivational strivings that often result i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology and aging 2023-09, Vol.38 (6), p.573-585
Main Authors: Minton, Alyssa R., Waugh, Christian E., Snyder, Jason S., Charles, Susan T., Haase, Claudia M., Mikels, Joseph A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidental Falls
Age Differences
Aged
Aging - psychology
Cognition
Emotional experiences
Emotions
Female
Human
Humans
Male
Negative Emotions
Occupational stress
Older people
Personality Inventory
Positive Emotions
Reactivity
Recovery
Stress
Stress, Psychological - psychology
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Summary:Strength and vulnerability integration (SAVI) theory (Charles, 2010) posits that age differences in emotional experiences vary based on the distance from an emotionally eliciting event. Before and after a stressor, SAVI predicts that older age is related to motivational strivings that often result in higher levels of well-being. However, during stressor exposure, age differences are predicted to be attenuated or disappear completely. The present study examined how younger (n = 85; Mage = 22.56 years) and older (n = 85; Mage = 71.05 years) adults reacted to and recovered from a cognitive stressor using repeated positive and negative emotion probes. Results showed that both age groups were negatively impacted by the stressor, and both reported an initial boost in recovery afterward. However, older adults continued to improve across the recovery period compared with younger adults. This work elucidates that older adults are significantly impacted by stress but exhibit a resounding recovery. Public Significance Statement Despite documented physical and cognitive declines in older adulthood, there are clear gains in emotional well-being with advancing age. This study shows that older and younger adults are comparably affected by a cognitive stressor, but older adults exhibit improved recovery relative to younger adults. These findings highlight the strengths of older adults' ability to recover from stress.
ISSN:0882-7974
1939-1498
1939-1498
DOI:10.1037/pag0000761