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Solitude occurs from childhood to old age. In this special issue introduction, we offer a lifespan perspective on matters of solitude with the aim to point to pertinent issues in the field. We propose that solitude serves important functions that may vary across different times in life and that solitude needs to be considered in the context in which it occurs. In applying these lifespan developmental notions, we carve out some open questions that will help extend the current knowledge base including a consideration of issues regarding operational definitions of solitude. We also point to methodological challenges such as capturing processes that unfold on different timescales that need to be addressed to advance the field.

Episodes of solitude (being alone and without social interaction) are common in older age and can relate to decreased well‐being. Identifying everyday resources that help maintain older adults' well‐being in states of solitude is thus important. We investigated associations of daily solitude with subjective and physical well‐being under consideration of time‐savoring (i.e., attending to positive experiences and upregulating positive emotions). 108 older adults aged 65–92 years (M = 73.11, SD = 5.93; 58% women; 85% born in Switzerland) took part in an app‐based daily diary study in 2022. Over 14 consecutive days, participants reported daily solitude, time‐savoring, depressive mood, loneliness, and somatic symptoms in an end‐of‐day diary. Multilevel models revealed that participants reported higher depressive mood and loneliness, but not higher somatic symptoms on days on which they spent more time in solitude than usual. Higher‐than‐usual daily time‐savoring was associated with lower depressive mood, loneliness, and somatic symptoms. Associations of solitude with depressive mood, loneliness, and somatic symptoms were weaker on days on which higher time‐savoring than usual was reported. Findings highlight the potential of everyday time‐savoring as a resource in older adults in the context of increased solitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symptom-system fit theory proposes that problematic behaviors are maintained by the social system (e.g., the couple relationship) in which they occur because they help promote positive relationship functioning in the short-term. Across three daily life studies, we examined whether mixed-gender couples reported more positive relationship functioning on days in which they engaged in more shared problematic behaviors. In two studies (Study 1: 82 couples who smoke; Study 2: 117 couples who are inactive), days of more shared problematic behavior were accompanied by higher daily closeness and relationship satisfaction. A third study with 79 couples post-stroke investigating unhealthy eating failed to provide evidence for symptom-system fit. In exploratory lagged analyses, we found more support for prior-day problematic behavior being associated with next-day daily relationship functioning than vice-versa. Together, findings point to the importance of a systems perspective when studying interpersonal dynamics that might be involved in the maintenance of problematic behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults spend significant time by themselves, especially since COVID‐19. Solitude has been associated with positive and negative outcomes. Partners need to balance social connectedness with time for one's own needs. This project examines how individual and partner solitude are associated with daily affect and relationship quality in dyads of older adults and a close other. One‐hundred thirty‐six older adults plus a close other rated their relationship quality and reported affect, solitude, and its characteristics (desired and bothersome) every evening for 10 days. Over and above overall associations, individual and partner effects emerged; when individual desired solitude was up, participants reported more positive affect and their partners less negative affect. When bothersome solitude was up, participants and their partners alike reported more negative affect and less positive affect. Desired solitude was associated with more support, whereas bothersome solitude was associated with less partner support. Findings provide further evidence on the potential benefits of solitude, highlighting the importance of considering the social context of what is often believed to be an individual‐level phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Experimental research suggests that affect may influence prospective memory performance, but real-life evidence on affect-prospective memory associations is limited. Moreover, most studies have examined the valence dimension of affect in understanding the influence of affect on cognitive performance in daily life, with insufficient consideration of the arousal dimension. To maximize ecological validity, the current study examined the relationships between daily affect and daily prospective memory using repeated daily assessments and the role of resting heart rate on these relationships. We examined both valence and arousal of daily affect by categorizing affect into four dimensions: high-arousal positive affect, low-arousal positive affect, high-arousal negative affect, and low-arousal negative affect. Method: We examined existing data collected from community-dwelling couples, of which at least one partner had a stroke history. The analytic sample included 111 adults (Mage = 67.46 years, SD = 9.64; 50% women) who provided 1,274 days of data. Among the participants, 58 were living with the effects of a stroke and 53 were partners. Participants completed daily event-based prospective memory tasks (in morning and/or evening questionnaires), reported daily affect in the evening, and wore a wrist-based Fitbit device to monitor resting heart rate over 14 consecutive days. Results: Results from multilevel models show that, within persons, elevated high-arousal negative affect was associated with worse daily prospective memory performance. In addition, lower resting heart rate attenuated the inverse association between high-arousal negative affect and lowered prospective memory performance. We did not find significant associations of high- or low-arousal positive affect and low-arousal negative affect with daily prospective memory. Discussion: Our findings are in line with the resource allocation model and the cue-utilization hypothesis in that high-arousal negative affect is detrimental to daily prospective memory performance. Lower resting heart rate may buffer individuals' prospective memory performance from the influence of high-arousal negative affect. These findings are consistent with the neurovisceral integration model on heart-brain connections, highlighting the possibility that cardiovascular fitness may help maintain prospective memory into older adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This is a study protocol to co-create with knowledge users a core outcome set focused on middle-aged and older adults (40 years+) for use in social prescribing research. Methods: We will follow the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) guide and use modified Delphi methods, including collating outcomes reported in social prescribing publications, online surveys, and discussion with our team to finalize the core outcome set. We intentionally center this work on people who deliver and receive social prescribing and include methods to evaluate collaboration. Our three-part process includes: (1) identifying published systematic reviews on social prescribing for adults to extract reported outcomes; and (2) up to three rounds of online surveys to rate the importance of outcomes for social prescribing. For this part, we will invite people (n = 240) who represent the population experienced in social prescribing, including researchers, members of social prescribing organizations, and people who receive social prescribing and their caregivers. Finally, we will (3) convene a virtual team meeting to discuss and rank the findings and finalize the core outcome set and our knowledge mobilization plan. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study designed to use a modified Delphi method to co-create core outcomes for social prescribing. Development of a core outcome set contributes to improved knowledge synthesis via consistency in measures and terminology. We aim to develop guidance for future research, and specifically on the use of core outcomes for social prescribing at the person/patient, provider, program, and societal-level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated how time to oneself (solitude) is experienced under conditions of extended togetherness with household members during the pandemic. Both structural (living arrangements) and qualitative characteristics (relationship quality and conflict) were examined for their association with solitude desire and daily solitude–affect links. We expected that people living with others and those with more high‐quality as well as those with more conflictual relationships would report better affect quality when experiencing solitude. A Canadian adult lifespan sample (N = 141; Mage = 38.43 years, SDage = 17.51; 81% female; 73% White; data collected from April to August 2020) provided information on household size and relationship characteristics and completed repeated daily life assessments of solitude desire, solitude, and affect. Findings show that living arrangements were not associated with an increased desire for solitude or better affect quality from solitude. Individuals reporting higher relationship quality and individuals reporting more conflict showed more favorable affect quality on days when they had time in solitude than individuals reporting lower quality relationships and lower conflict. Findings add to the growing solitude literature by delineating who seeks and benefits from solitude, and under what conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Companionship (i.e., enjoyable shared activities) is associated with higher emotional and relational well-being. However, the role of companionship for emotional well-being and relationship satisfaction in older couples' everyday life is not well understood. This article studies time-varying associations of companionship with emotional and relational well-being as older couples engage in their everyday life. Methods: Participants provided three data points a day over 7 days using electronic surveys that were simultaneously completed by both partners. A total of 118 older heterosexual couples reported momentary companionship, positive and negative affect, and closeness. Data were analyzed using an intensive longitudinal dyadic score model. Results: Couples with higher average companionship showed lower overall negative affect, more overall positive affect, and higher overall closeness. During moments of elevated momentary companionship, partners reported more positive affect, less negative affect, and higher closeness. Regarding between-couple partner differences, i.e., when the female partner's momentary companionship was higher on average than the male partner's momentary companionship, the female partner also showed less negative affect, more positive affect, and higher closeness than the male partner. During moments in which the female partner's momentary companionship was higher than the male partner's momentary companionship, the female partner showed less negative affect, more positive affect, and higher closeness than the male partner. Discussion: Older couples show a consistent link between companionship and emotional well-being and closeness in everyday life emphasizing the importance of studying companionship in close relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subjective age, that is the age people feel in relation to their chronological age, can vary on a day-to-day and even momentary basis. Previous long-term and daily-diary studies have shown that elevated stress covaries with older subjective age. However, it is an open question whether such links can also be observed at the momentary level within a given day and go beyond self-reports of stress. Moving ahead, we investigated how two indicators of stress (self-reported: perceived stress; physiological: salivary cortisol) are associated with the age people feel on a momentary basis. We examined data from 118 older (Mage = 66.67 years) and 36 very old adults (Mage = 85.92 years) who reported their momentary subjective age and perceived stress and also provided saliva samples up to seven times a day over seven consecutive days. Dynamic structural equation models showed that both higher momentary perceived stress and higher cortisol levels preceding the measurement predicted an older momentary subjective age. In contrast, subjective age at the previous measurement did not predict subsequent stress. These effects were moderated by participant age group and grip strength, albeit not consistently. Our results corroborate and extend earlier findings that both self-reported and physiological stress are important explanatory variables for people's subjective age variation even on relatively short time scales and shed light on differential time-ordered dynamics between stress and subjective age in daily life. Findings also inform theoretical models of subjective age that highlight the importance of contextual, momentary influences on how old people feel and help better understand how biological and psychological processes are intertwined in later life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals all across the world experienced significant disruptions in their personal and family life with the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The current study investigated dynamic associations between stress and relationship functioning over time in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived stress, relationship satisfaction, and relationship quality (appreciation, intimacy, conflict) were reported by 1483 young to middle-aged participants who were in a romantic relationship and lived with their partner in 2018/2019 and in May–July 2020 (a few months after the onset of COVID-19). Data were analyzed using bivariate latent change score models. Relationship functioning (satisfaction, appreciation, intimacy) showed small decreases from before to during the pandemic. Contrary to expectations, levels of perceived stress also decreased on average from before to during the pandemic. Changes in relationship functioning were correlated with changes in stress over time, so that participants with greater decreases in relationship satisfaction, appreciation, and intimacy and greater increases in conflict from before to during the pandemic showed lesser decreases/greater increases in stress. Higher pre-pandemic relationship satisfaction was associated with greater decreases/lesser increases in stress from before to during the pandemic. Pre-pandemic levels of other measures of relationship functioning or stress were not associated with changes in outcomes over time. Results add to the literature demonstrating that stress is closely intertwined with the functioning of intimate relationships. Furthermore, they suggest that greater relationship satisfaction may serve as a protective factor for stressful life events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time spent on being with others (social interactions) and being alone (solitude) in day to day life might reflect older adults' agentic regulatory strategies to balance the needs to belong and to conserve energy. Motivated from a joint lifespan psychological and social relationship theoretical perspective, this study examined how time spent on social interactions and solitude alternatively unfolds within individuals in daily life, relating to individual differences in trait‐level well‐being and fatigue. Over 21 days, a total of 11,172 valid records of social interactions were collected from 118 older adults (aged 65–94 years) in a smartphone‐based event‐contingent ambulatory assessment study in Switzerland. On average, a social interaction episode lasted 39 min and a solitude episode lasted 5.03 hr. Multilevel models showed that, at the within‐person level, a longer‐than‐usual social interaction preceded and was followed by a longer‐than‐usual solitude episode. Moderator analyses showed that older adults with higher trait life satisfaction and lower trait fatigue spent even more time in social interactions after longer solitude episodes, amplifying the solitude‐then‐interaction association. Our findings suggest that whereas social interaction is a means to improve well‐being, solitude is also an integral part in older adults' daily life supporting energy recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Physical intimacy is important for communicating affection in romantic relationships. Theoretical and empirical work highlights linkages between physical intimacy, affect, and physiological stress among young and middle-aged adults, but not older adults. We examine physical intimacy and its associations with positive and negative affect and cortisol levels in the daily lives of older couples. Methods We applied actor–partner multilevel models to repeated daily-life assessments of physical intimacy (experienced and wished) and affect obtained 6 times a day over 7 consecutive days from 120 older heterosexual German couples (M age = 71.6, SD age = 5.94). Physiological stress was indexed as total daily cortisol output, the area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg). Results Physical intimacy experienced and wished were reported at the vast majority of occasions, but to different degrees at different times. Within persons, in moments when participants experienced more physical intimacy, older women reported less negative affect, whereas older men reported more positive affect. Between persons, higher overall levels of physical intimacy experienced were associated with higher positive affect and less negative affect among women and with lower daily cortisol output among men. A stronger wish for intimacy was related to more negative affect among both women and men, and to higher daily cortisol output among men. Discussion Physical intimacy is linked with mood and stress hormones in the daily life of older couples. We consider routes for future inquiry on physical intimacy among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Physical distancing to reduce the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 has increased alone time, with unintended mental health ramifications including increased loneliness, which may be particularly detrimental for older adults. We investigated time-varying associations between daily time to oneself and loneliness, and the role of everyday creativity as a resource. Method 126 adults aged 18–84 completed online questionnaires including a 10-day daily diary module, during which they self-reported alone time, everyday creativity, and loneliness. Data were analyzed using multilevel models, controlling for study day, participation date, gender, and relationship status. Results Greater average amounts of alone time were associated with greater loneliness, an association that was stronger in old age. In a daily context, individuals reported feeling lonelier on days when they had more time to themselves than usual. This within-person association was weaker with older age. Everyday creativity did not moderate alone time–loneliness associations. However, holding time to oneself constant, participants felt less lonely and less bothered by alone time on days when they were more creative than usual. Discussion Participating in creative behaviors (e.g. pursuing arts and crafts) might be linked with reduced loneliness. Intervention studies are needed to investigate whether fostering creativity could help promote mental well-being in times when people, especially older adults, are vulnerable to loneliness and associated health risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This study focuses on the role of spouses for facilitating goal progress during a phase in life when individual resources for goal pursuit are particularly limited. Specifically, we examined the moderating role of relationship characteristics in old age for time-varying partner involvement–goal progress associations as couples engaged in their everyday lives. We also assessed time-varying associations between everyday goal progress, effectiveness of partner contributions, and spousal satisfaction with this contribution. Methods We used multilevel modeling to analyze data from 118 couples (M age = 70 years, SD = 5.9; 60–87 years, 50% women; 57% White). Both partners reported their personal goals and provided information on relationship satisfaction, conflict, and support. They also provided simultaneous ratings of everyday goal progress, effort, partner involvement as well as effectiveness of and satisfaction with partner contribution up to three times daily over 7 days. Results In line with expectations, higher relationship satisfaction and support and lower conflict were associated with higher goal progress when the partner was involved in goal pursuit. Both effectiveness of and satisfaction with partner contributions were positively associated with everyday goal progress. Discussion Whether partner involvement is beneficial for goal progress depends on characteristics of the relationship as well as what partners actually do in everyday life. This highlights the importance of considering both stable person characteristics as well as time-varying processes to capture the complexity of goal pursuit in older couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent technological and methodological advances have seen a rapid increase in the development and use of wearable technologies, advancing the study and practice of precision health for individuals across real-world contexts and health statuses. This narrative review highlights the recent scientific advances and emerging challenges of wearable technologies. We first review the advantages of monitoring physical activity using wearable technologies over self-reports and examine commercially available devices' reliability and validity. Next, we point to the utility of wearable technologies in naturalistic environments to examine temporal associations between physical activity with other health behaviors, psychological processes, and ambulatory markers of disease that can inform the clinical practice of precision health. We further identify studies that use wearable technologies to facilitate behavior change across different populations, highlighting the need to adapt interventions for different individuals, contexts, and disorders. Balanced against these opportunities, we also highlight several challenges facing the field of precision monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Positive as well as negative emotional experiences fluctuate and they may be shared between romantic partners. Everyday emotion dynamics in couples may relate to physiological stress responses, with accompanying cortisol secretion being one pathway through which emotional dynamics can "get under the skin." We examined time-varying relationships of one's own as well as one's partner's sadness and contentment with salivary cortisol. We also examined the degree to which perceptions that the respective partner was sharing their feelings moderates these associations. Method: Both partners of 84 community-dwelling older adult couples (Mage = 71.1 years) provided simultaneous daily life assessments of momentary cortisol, sadness and contentment, and perceptions of shared spousal feelings four times per day over seven consecutive days (up to 28 assessments). Results: Momentary cortisol was higher in moments when individuals reported higher sadness, lower contentment, and perceptions that their partner was sharing their feelings less than usual. Cortisol was also higher when the partner reported higher sadness and lower contentment but only when one felt that the partner was sharing their feelings more than usual at that moment in time. Conclusions: This study illuminates a potential pathway (i.e., perceptions of shared spousal feelings) by which not only one's own emotional experiences, but also those of the spouse, are associated with the activation of physiological stress systems as indicated by elevated cortisol in a sample of older couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults often have long-term relationships, and many of their goals are intertwined with their respective partners. Joint goals can help or hinder goal progress. Little is known about how accurately older adults assess if a goal is joint, the role of over-reporting in these perceptions, and how joint goals and over-reporting may relate to older partners' relationship satisfaction and physical health (operationally defined as allostatic load). Two-hundred-thirty-six older adults from 118 couples (50% female; M age = 71 years) listed their three most important goals and whether they thought of them as goals they had in common with and wanted to achieve together with their partner (self-reported joint goals). Two independent raters classified goals as "joint" if both partners independently listed open-ended goals of the same content. Goal progress and relationship satisfaction were assessed 1 week later. Allostatic load was calculated using nine different biomarkers. Results show that 85% self-reported at least one goal as joint. Over-reporting– the perception that a goal was joint when in fact it was not mentioned among the three most salient goals of the spouse – occurred in one-third of all goals. Multilevel models indicate that the number of externally-rated joint goals was related to greater goal progress and lower allostatic load, but only for adults with little over-reporting. More joint goals and higher over-reporting were each linked with more relationship satisfaction. In conclusion, joint goals are associated with goal progress, relationship satisfaction, and health, but the association is dependent on the domain of functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence points to systematic linkages in various physiological indices among romantic partners. This physiological synchrony may facilitate intimacy and connectedness in couples. However, synchronous increases in physiological arousal could also hamper the respective partners' health. To shed light on the consequences of physiological synchrony as well as their potential gender specificity, the current study examined associations between everyday cortisol synchrony and levels of and subsequent changes to relationship satisfaction and non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol levels over a 3-year period. Older couples (N = 85; age range = 60-87 years) provided saliva samples for cortisol estimation 5 times daily for 7 days. They further reported their relationship satisfaction and provided a blood sample that was analyzed for lipid levels up to three times in 1-year intervals. Data were analyzed using dyadic growth curve models. Among wives, higher cortisol synchrony was associated with stronger increases in relationship satisfaction over time (b = 1.61, p = .011) but also stronger increases in non-HDL cholesterol levels over time (b = 2.02, p = .042). For husbands, higher cortisol synchrony was not significantly associated with levels or changes of relationship satisfaction but with higher non-HDL cholesterol levels at Time 1 (b = 6.54, p = .015). Synchrony may be important for bonding and relationship maintenance. However, being strongly linked to a romantic partner's physiology may also have health costs due to the accumulative burden of repeated elevations in cortisol, possibly affecting husbands and wives in different ways. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Despite a basic need for social connection, individuals across the adult lifespan sometimes seek solitude—a phenomenon that is not well understood. This study examined situational and affective correlates of solitude-seeking and how they may differ between middle-aged and older adults. Method One hundred community-dwelling adults aged 50–85 years (64% female, 56% East Asian, 36% European, 8% other) completed approximately 30 electronic daily life assessments over 10 days regarding their current location, affect, activities, and current and desired social context. Results Solitude was common; 86% of solitude instances happened by individuals' own choosing. When desiring solitude, older adults were more likely to be at home and less likely to be outdoors, compared to other locations. Middle-aged adults showed no such solitude-location associations. Among middle-aged adults, desire for solitude was associated with decreased positive affect. Older adults experienced no such dip in affect. Discussion Findings suggest that compared to middle-aged adults, older adults are more likely to go to locations that match their desired social context, and also that solitude-seeking has more positive ramifications for older adults. Findings are discussed in the context of age differences in activities, social preferences, and emotion regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Overall time spent in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior are both correlated in couples. Knowledge about the nature and psychosocial correlates of such dyadic covariation could inform important avenues for physical activity promotion.Purpose: The present study investigates hour-by-hour covariation between partners (i.e., synchrony) in MVPA and sedentary behavior as partners engage in their daily lives and links it with person-level MVPA/sedentary behavior, temporal characteristics, and relationship variables.Methods: We used 7-day accelerometer data from two couple studies (Study 1, n = 306 couples, aged 18-80 years; Study 2, n = 108 couples, aged 60-87 years) to estimate dyadic covariation in hourly MVPA and sedentary behavior between partners. Data were analyzed using coordinated multilevel modeling.Results: In both studies, hourly MVPA and sedentary behavior exhibited similarly sized dyadic covariation between partners in the low-to-medium range of effects. Higher MVPA synchrony between partners was linked with higher individual weekly MVPA and higher individual weekly sedentary levels, whereas higher sedentary synchrony between partners was associated with higher individual weekly MVPA but lower individual weekly sedentary levels. MVPA and sedentary synchrony were higher in the morning and evening, more pronounced on weekends, and associated with more time spent together, longer relationship duration, and time-varying perceptions of higher partner closeness.Conclusions: This study demonstrates that MVPA and sedentary behaviors do not occur in a social vacuum. Instead, they are linked with close others such as partners. Thus, capitalizing on social partners may increase the effectiveness of individual-level physical activity interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Reactivity to daily stressors may change as a function of stressor type and age. However, prior research often excludes older adults or compares them to younger age groups (e.g., younger and middle-aged adults). Recognizing older adults as a heterogeneous population with shifting motivations, this study focused on individuals aged ≥65 years and tested age differences in associations between different types of daily stressors, affect, and physical symptoms. Methods: A total of 108 older adults aged 65–92 years (M = 73.11, SD = 5.92; 58% women) completed daily dairy questionnaires on daily stressors, positive and negative affect, and physical symptoms for 14 consecutive days. Multilevel models were employed, adjusting for sex, age, education, living situation, and day-in-study. Results: Findings revealed age-dependent variations in the associations between daily stressors and affect and physical symptoms. Specifically, external stressors (e.g., finance and traffic stressors) and health stressors were more strongly associated with daily affective states and with overall physical symptoms (respectively) among older age adults. Age did not moderate associations between social stressors and affect or physical symptoms. Conclusion: These findings underscore the heterogeneous nature of older adults’ responses to daily stressors based on stressor type and age. Specifically, the oldest-old might benefit from personalized support for dealing with challenges such as health and financial stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Solitude is a ubiquitous experience, often confused with loneliness, yet sometimes sought out in daily life. This study aimed to identify distinct types of solitude experiences from everyday affect/thought patterns and to examine how and for whom solitude is experienced positively versus negatively.Method: One hundred community-dwelling adults aged 50-85 years (64% female; 56% East Asian, 36% European, 8% other/mixed heritage) and 50 students aged 18-28 years (92% female; 42% East Asian, 22% European, 36% other/mixed) each completed approximately 30 daily life assessments over 10 days on their current and desired social situation, thoughts, and affect.Results: Multilevel latent profile analysis identified two types of everyday solitude: one characterized by negative affect and effortful thought (negative solitude experiences) and one characterized by calm and the near absence of negative affect/effortful thought (positive solitude experiences). Individual differences in social self-efficacy and desire for solitude were associated with everyday positive solitude propensity; trait self-rumination and self-reflection were associated with everyday negative solitude propensity.Conclusions: This study provides a new framework for conceptualizing everyday solitude. It identifies specific affect/thought patterns that characterize distinct solitude experience clusters, and it links these clusters with well-established individual differences. We discuss key traits associated with thriving in solitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging takes place in a social context but older adults also spend a significant amount of their time alone. Solitude (the objective state of being alone and without social interaction) has been associated with negative experiences but also with specific benefits. We examine the importance of social relationships for time-varying associations between affective experiences and solitude. Using repeated daily life assessments from an adult life span sample (Study 1, N = 183, age: 20-81 years) and an older adult sample (Study 2, N = 97, age: 50-85 years), we examined the moderating role of social relationship quality on within-person solitude-affect associations. Data were analyzed using multilevel models controlling for gender, age, overall amount of time in solitude, retirement status, marital status, education, and current work activity. Higher relationship quality was associated with higher average affective well-being. Compared to being with others, participants reported lower levels of high-arousal positive affect (PA) during solitude in both studies. In Study 1, solitude was also associated with higher levels of low-arousal negative affect (NA) and higher levels of low-arousal PA compared to when with others. Across both studies, individuals with higher quality relationships reported lesser increases in low-arousal NA when in solitude, as compared to individuals with lower quality relationships. Findings highlight that solitude is experienced less negatively for individuals embedded in a context of higher quality social relationships. Thus, preservation and promotion of social resources in older adulthood may be important to ward off potential negative ramifications of spending a significant amount of time alone. (PsycINFO Database Record [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although research often relies on retrospective affect self-reports, little is known about personality's role in retrospective reports and how these converge or deviate from affect reported in the moment. This micro-longitudinal study examines personality (Neuroticism, Extraversion) and emotional salience (peak and recent affect) associations with retrospective-momentary affect report discrepancies over different time frames.Method: Participants were 179 adults aged 20-78 (M = 48.7 years; 73.7% Caucasian/White) who each provided up to 60 concurrent affect reports over 10 days, then retrospectively reported overall intensity of each affective state after 1 day and again after 1-2 months.Results: Multilevel models revealed that individuals retrospectively overreported or underreported various affective states, exhibiting peak associations for high arousal positive and negative affect, recency associations for low arousal positive affect, and distinct personality profiles that strengthened over time. Individuals high in both Extraversion and Neuroticism exaggerated high arousal positive and negative affect and underreported low arousal positive affect, high Extraversion/low Neuroticism individuals exaggerated high arousal positive affect and underreported low arousal positive affect, and low Extraversion/high Neuroticism individuals exaggerated high and low arousal negative affect.Conclusions: This study is the first to identify arousal-specific retrospective affect report discrepancies over time and suggests retrospective reports also reflect personality differences in affective self-knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple-timescale studies provide new opportunities to examine how developmental processes that evolve at different cadences are intertwined. Developmental theories of emotion regulation suggest that the long-term, slowly evolving age-related accumulation of disease burden should shape short-term, faster evolving (daily) affective experiences. To empirically examine this proposition, we combined data from 123 old adults (65–69 years, 47% women) and 32 very old adults (85–88 years, 59% women) who provided 20+ year within-person longitudinal data on physician-rated morbidity and subsequently also completed repeated daily-life assessments of stress and affect six times a day over 7 consecutive days as they were going about their daily-life routines. Results from models that simultaneously articulate growth and intraindividual variability processes (in a dynamic structural equation modeling framework) revealed that individual differences in long-term aging trajectories of the accumulation of disease burden were indeed predictive of differences in three facets of affective dynamics that manifest in everyday life. In particular—over and above mean levels of disease burden—older adults whose disease burden had increased more over the past 20 years had higher base level of negative affect in their daily lives, more emotional reactivity to the experience of daily stressors, and more moment-to-moment fluctuations in negative affect that was unrelated to stressors (affective systemic noise). We highlight that developmental processes evolving over vastly different timescales are intertwined, and speculate how new knowledge about those relations can inform developmental theories of emotion regulation and daily-life functioning. Public Significance Statement: How older adults master the challenges of their everyday lives is of utmost importance for their quality of life. Here, we draw from emotion regulation theories to examine if and how differences in affective dynamics of older adults' everyday life are related to differences in their accumulation of physical diseases over the prior two decades. Results revealed that—over and above current disease burden—the daily lives of older adults whose disease burden had increased more over the past 20 years are characterized by more negative affect, more emotional reactivity when faced with stressors, and more emotional lability. Our findings highlight that aspects of life that evolve at vastly different time metrics are linked and the need for future research on risk and protective factors that may moderate those links. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spending time alone constitutes a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives. As we get older, alone time increases. Less is known, however, about age differences in the experience of spending time alone (momentary solitude).Objectives: We examined time-varying associations between momentary solitude, affect quality, and two hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity markers [salivary cortisol; dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAs)] to better understand the affective and biological correlates of momentary solitude across the adult life span.Method: A total of 185 adults aged 20-81 years (mean age = 49 years, 51% female, 74% Caucasian) completed questionnaires on momentary solitude (alone vs. not alone) and current affect on a handheld device, and provided concurrent saliva samples up to seven times a day for 10 consecutive days. Data were analyzed using multilevel models, controlling for the overall amount of time participants spent alone during the study (overall solitude).Results: Greater overall solitude was associated with decreased average high arousal positive affect and increased average cortisol and DHEAs levels. Momentary solitude was associated with reduced high arousal positive affect, increased low arousal positive affect, and increased low arousal negative affect. Age by momentary solitude interactions indicate that greater age was associated with increased high arousal positive affect and reduced low arousal negative affect during momentary solitude. Furthermore, momentary solitude was associated with increased cortisol and DHEAs. With greater age, the association between momentary solitude and cortisol weakened.Conclusion: Consistent with the negative connotations to loneliness and objective social isolation, greater overall solitude was associated with negative affective and biological correlates. Spending a large overall amount of time alone in old age might thus have negative ramifications for health and well-being. Momentary solitude, in contrast, can be a double-edged sword as evidenced by both positive and negative well-being implications. Importantly, greater age is linked to more favorable affective and biological correlates of momentary solitude. The momentary state of spending time alone is thus an experience that is not necessarily negative and that may improve with aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "COVID-19, Time to Oneself, and Loneliness: Creativity as a Resource" in a previous issue is presented.

Loneliness is a recognized risk factor for morbidity and mortality across the adult life span including old age. Loneliness is a negative emotional experience that has been associated with social isolation, but loneliness may also be adaptive to the extent that it signals a need to socially reengage. To reconcile these seemingly contradictory findings, we unpack the timing of the underlying processes by distinguishing between transient and chronic loneliness in shaping prosocial behaviors. Using 10 days of electronic daily life assessments from 100 middle-aged and older adults (Mage = 67.0 years; 64.0% women), findings indicate that chronic loneliness moderates time-varying associations between transient loneliness and prosocial behavior. Simple slope results point to individual differences in daily loneliness-prosocial action associations. Specifically, adults high in chronic loneliness, but not those low in chronic loneliness, showed decreased prosocial behaviors on days with elevated transient loneliness. Findings suggest that chronic loneliness may elicit maladaptive responses to transient loneliness by hampering the use of opportunities to engage in prosocial behavior. Exploratory analyses point to fear of evaluation as a potential mechanism that is associated with increased loneliness and reduced prosocial behavior. Findings highlight the differential roles of transient and chronic loneliness in shaping prosocial activities in midlife and older adulthood, thereby providing a more nuanced picture as well as potential avenues for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Technology has become an integral part of our everyday life, and its use to manage and study health is no exception. Romantic partners play a critical role in managing chronic health conditions as they tend to be a primary source of support., Objective: This study tests the feasibility of using commercial wearables to monitor couples' unique way of communicating and supporting each other and documents the physiological correlates of interpersonal dynamics (ie, heart rate linkage)., Methods: We analyzed 617 audio recordings of 5-minute duration (384 with concurrent heart rate data) and 527 brief self-reports collected from 11 couples in which 1 partner had type II diabetes during the course of their typical daily lives. Audio data were coded by trained raters for social support. The extent to which heart rate fluctuations were linked among couples was quantified using cross-correlations. Random-intercept multilevel models explored whether cross-correlations might differ by social contexts and exchanges., Results: Sixty percent of audio recordings captured speech between partners and partners reported personal contact with each other in 75% of self-reports. Based on the coding, social support was found in 6% of recordings, whereas at least 1 partner self-reported social support about half the time (53%). Couples, on average, showed small to moderate interconnections in their heart rate fluctuations (r=0.04-0.22). Couples also varied in the extent to which there was lagged linkage, that is, meaning that changes in one partner's heart rate tended to precede changes in the other partner's heart rate. Exploratory analyses showed that heart rate linkage was stronger (1) in rater-coded partner conversations (vs moments of no rater-coded partner conversations: r diff =0.13; P=.03), (2) when partners self-reported interpersonal contact (vs moments of no self-reported interpersonal contact: r diff =0.20; P<.001), and (3) when partners self-reported social support exchanges (vs moments of no self-reported social support exchange: r diff =0.15; P=.004)., Conclusions: Our study provides initial evidence for the utility of using wearables to collect biopsychosocial data in couples managing a chronic health condition in daily life. Specifically, heart rate linkage might play a role in fostering chronic disease management as a couple. Insights from collecting such data could inform future technology interventions to promote healthy lifestyle engagement and adaptive chronic disease management., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): RR2-10.2196/13685., (©Theresa Pauly, Janina Lüscher, Lea Olivia Wilhelm, Melanie Alexandra Amrein, George Boateng, Tobias Kowatsch, Elgar Fleisch, Guy Bodenmann, Urte Scholz. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (https://mhealth.jmir.org), 05.08.2024.)

This study investigated everyday associations between one key facet of mindfulness (allocating attention to the present moment) and pain. In Study 1, 89 community-dwelling adults (33-88 years; M age = 68.6) who had experienced a stroke provided 14 daily end-of-day present-moment awareness and pain ratings. In Study 2, 100 adults (50-85 years; M age = 67.0 years) provided momentary present-moment awareness and pain ratings three times daily for 10 days. Multi-level models showed that higher trait present-moment awareness was linked with lower overall pain (both studies). In Study 1, participants reported less pain on days on which they indicated higher present-moment awareness. In Study 2, only individuals with no post-secondary education reported less pain in moments when they indicated higher present-moment awareness. Findings add to previous research using global retrospective pain measures by showing that present-moment awareness might correlate with reduced pain experiences, assessed close in time to when they occur.

Events that change the family system have the potential to impact couple dynamics such as concordance, that is, partner similarity in health and well-being. This project analyzes longitudinal data (≥ two decades) from both partners of up to 3,501 German and 1,842 Australian couples to investigate how couple concordance in life satisfaction, self-rated health, mental health, and physical health might change with transitioning to parenthood and an empty nest. Results revealed couple concordance in intercepts (averaged r = .52), linear trajectories (averaged r = .55), and wave-specific fluctuations around trajectories (averaged r = .21). Concordance in linear trajectories was stronger after transitions (averaged r = .81) than before transitions (averaged r = .43), whereas no systematic transition-related change in concordance of wave-specific fluctuations was found. Findings emphasize that shared transitions represent windows of change capable of sending couples onto mutual upward or downward trajectories in health and well-being., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Physical activity is a behavior that promotes physical and mental health; yet physical activity has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. To promote health during times of challenge, it is important to identify potential barriers to this key health behavior, such as loneliness. This brief report extends previous research on physical activity and loneliness that mainly focused on between-person differences to examine their time-varying associations at the within-person level using repeated daily life assessments. From April 2020 to August 2020, data were collected from a sample of 139 community-dwelling Canadian adults ( M age  = 40.65 years, SD  = 18.37; range = 18-83 years). Each evening for 10 consecutive days, participants reported their loneliness, number of steps, and minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Results revealed that, in line with our hypotheses, on days when participants reported more loneliness they also engaged in less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than on less lonely days ( estimate  = -0.24, p  = 0.007); there was a significant negative association between loneliness and daily number of steps ( estimate  = -18.42, p  = 0.041). In contrast, at the between-person level, overall loneliness was not associated with overall physical activity engagement after accounting for within-person differences and control variables (age, sex, day in study). From an intervention perspective, our findings suggest that it is promising to tackle loneliness on a day-to-day basis to increase physical activity one day at a time. This may be especially relevant during times mandating social-distancing, but also at other times when individuals experience greater feelings of loneliness., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Broen, Choi, Zambrano Garza, Pauly, Gerstorf and Hoppmann.)

Most theoretical models on social dynamics governing development and health across adulthood and old age rely on a "single-unit" approach. We put forth a developmental-contextual model (CoSynch) that utilizes the concept of synchrony (interdependent fluctuations in physiological states and health behaviors) as a novel way to conceptualize social developmental dynamics. Using the sample case of romantic partners, this model aims for an innovative integration of available findings addressing everyday microsocial dynamics in dyads that contribute to overall partner concordance in health trajectories. Specifically, the model builds on 5 propositions to integrate existing empirical findings and infuse future research. Proposition P1: Synchrony is shaped by closeness and shared contexts; P2: Synchrony in physiology and health behaviors follows a u-shaped curve with younger and older adult couples showing greater synchrony than middle-aged couples, but with greater diversification of synchrony in very old age; P3: Couple synchrony is profoundly shaped by life events; P4: Synchrony is correlated with pertinent individual and dyad characteristics; P5: Effects of everyday couple synchrony accumulate over time, thereby carrying significant implications for the health of all involved parties. We also point to open questions and suggest future directions for applying the model that are going to advance knowledge on the social and health dynamics underlying adult development and aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).