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This article serves as a practical guide to mediation design and analysis by evaluating the ability of mediation models to detect a significant mediation effect using limited data. The cross-sectional mediation model, which has been shown to be biased when the mediation is happening over time, is compared with longitudinal mediation models: sequential, dynamic, and cross-lagged panel. These longitudinal mediation models take time into account but bring many problems of their own, such as choosing measurement intervals and number of measurement occasions. Furthermore, researchers with limited resources often cannot collect enough data to fit an appropriate longitudinal mediation model. These issues were addressed using simulations comparing four mediation models each using the same amount of data but with differing numbers of people and time points. The data were generated using multilevel mediation models, with varying data characteristics that may be incorrectly specified in the analysis models. Models were evaluated using power and Type I error rates in detecting a significant indirect path. Multilevel longitudinal mediation analysis performed well in every condition, even in the misspecified conditions. Of the analyses that used limited data, sequential mediation had the best performance; therefore, it offers a viable second choice when resources are limited. Finally, each of these models were demonstrated in an empirical analysis. [For a related report, see ED588330.]

Intra-individual variability over a short period of time may contain important information about how individuals differ from each other. In this article we begin by discussing diverse indicators for quantifying intra-individual variability and indicate their advantages and disadvantages. Then we propose an alternative method that models inter-individual differences in intra-individual variability by separately considering both the amplitude of fluctuations and temporal dependency in the data. In the proposed model, temporal dependency and amplitude of fluctuations are both included as random effects. Parameter estimation is done with a multiple-step approach using maximum likelihood, or with a recommended 1-step approach using a Bayesian method. The similarities and differences between the proposed method and some existing methods are discussed and investigated using diary study data from older adults. The results from empirical data analysis revealed that temporal dependency and amplitude of fluctuations have different predictability of health outcomes and thus should be modeled and considered separately. (Contains 3 tables, 3 figures and 4 footnotes.)

Although daily social exchanges are important for well-being, it is unclear how different types of exchanges affect daily well-being, as well as which factors influence the way in which individuals react to their daily social encounters. The present study included a sample of 705 adults aged 31 to 91, and using Multilevel Modeling analyses investigated whether loneliness or age moderate the relationship between daily affect and daily social exchanges with family and friends. Results indicated differences between events involving family and those involving friends. Furthermore, lonelier individuals benefitted more from positive events than less lonely adults but were not more negatively reactive to negative events. Moreover, results suggested that older adults' affect is more independent of both positive and negative social events compared to younger people. Implications are discussed for the importance of daily social exchanges, daily social stress vulnerability, and the influences of loneliness across middle and later adulthood. (Contains 8 tables and 7 figures.)

The self-concept is often considered to be a personal resource that individuals may use to cope with life stressors, but little is known about how this entity might itself change in response to profound stress. The present study examines structural change in self-concept following conjugal loss in later life. Analyses were conducted on data collected from 57 widows every 4 months over the first 2 years post-loss. The first objective was to explore the adequacy of an operational definition of the self-concept as a latent construct lying at the confluence of self-esteem, perceived environmental mastery, and optimism. Because confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported this theoretically based conceptualization, the second objective of the study was to model stability and change in the structure of the self-concept over the 2-year study period. Results suggested that there is both stability and change in the self-system during the adjustment to major life stress. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures and 2 footnotes.)

The study of intraindividual variability is central to the study of individuals in psychology. Previous research has related the variance observed in repeated measurements (time series) of individuals to traitlike measures that are logically related. Intraindividual measures, such as intraindividual standard deviation or the coefficient of variation, are likely to be incomplete representations of intraindividual variability. This article shows that the study of intraindividual variability can be made more productive by examining variability of interest at specific time scales, rather than considering the variability of entire time series. Furthermore, examination of variance in observed scores may not be sufficient, because these neglect the time scale dependent relationships between observations. The current article outlines a method of using estimated derivatives to examine intraindividual variability through estimates of the variance and other distributional properties at multiple time scales. In doing so, this article encourages more nuanced discussion about intraindividual variability and highlights that variability and variance are not equivalent. An example with simulated data and an example relating variability in daily measures of negative affect to neuroticism are provided. (Contains 4 footnotes and 4 figures.)

Among the many methods available for modeling intraindividual time series, differential equation modeling has several advantages that make it promising for applications to psychological data. One interesting differential equation model is that of the damped linear oscillator (DLO), which can be used to model variables that have a tendency to fluctuate around some typical, or equilibrium, value. Methods available for fitting the damped linear oscillator model using differential equation modeling can yield biased parameter estimates when applied to univariate time series. The degree of this bias depends on a smoothing-like parameter, which balances the need for increasing smoothing to minimize error variance but not smoothing so much as to obscure change of interest. This article explores a technique that uses surrogate data analysis to select such a parameter, thereby producing approximately unbiased parameter estimates. Furthermore the smoothing parameter, which is usually researcher-selected, is produced in an automated manner so as to reduce the experience required by researchers to apply these methods. Focus is placed on the damped linear model; however, similar issues are expected with other differential equation models and other techniques in which parameter estimates depend on a smoothing parameter. An example using affect data from the Notre Dame Longitudinal Study of Aging (2004) is presented, which contrasts the use of a single smoothing parameter for all individuals versus use of a smoothing parameter for each individual. (Contains 4 tables and 7 figures.)

The purpose of the present study was to examine dispositional resilience in the perceived stress-life satisfaction relation following conjugal loss. The sample included 55 widows, assessed on average, 1 month following the death of a spouse. Results supported dispositional resilience as a mediator (the initial relation between perceived stress and life satisfaction was significant, but reduced to a non-significant level once dispositional resilience was included in the model) and a moderator (the interaction between perceived stress and dispositional resilience significantly predicted life satisfaction) between perceived stress and life satisfaction. This research identifies personality characteristics that may be importantly involved in the adjustment to widowhood and discusses implications of mediators vs. moderators in this process. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

The present study examines the association between the self-concept and adaptation to conjugal loss; the primary aim was to explore whether those individuals high in self-esteem, environmental mastery, and optimism have more adaptive resources with which to ameliorate the detrimental sequelae of bereavement. Analyses were conducted on data collected from 58 widows every four months over a two-year period. One goal of the research was to explore the adequacy of the theoretically chosen operational definition of the self-concept; another goal was to analyze how changes in the level of self-concept components correlated with changes in levels of depression, health, and grief resolution as individuals adjusted to their losses. Analyses revealed that trajectories of depression and grief resolution were more highly related than health to changes in self-concept. (Contains 4 tables.)

We examined age differences in the within-person relationships among perceived stress (PS), perceived stress reactivity (PSR), and depressive affect (DA) as well as potential mechanisms of depression with a longitudinal moderated mediation model. Participants from the Notre Dame Study of Health & Wellbeing (N = 572) completed two to four waves of yearly assessments. Sequentially built multilevel models, in which year was nested within person, illustrated that only midlife adults experience an exacerbated effect of within-person fluctuations in PSR on the relationship between within-person PS and DA levels (γ41 = –.004, p < .01). Findings further suggest that PSR accounts for the PS–DA relationship. Furthermore, older adults illustrate successful emotion regulation strategies at the yearly level—resisting the negative ramifications of years of greater PS and PSR, whereas midlife adults who experience years of greater PSR would particularly benefit from stress management interventions and monitoring of DA levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early work examining the impact of distributions on item measure estimates was demonstrated to be relatively low (Whitely and Dawis, 1974). More recently, as described in Embretson and Reise (2000), the authors state, "item parameter estimates are not much influenced by the trait distribution in the calibration sample" (p. 146). The extent to which varying trait distribution skewness impacts the item measure parameter estimates is explored in the present analysis. In this paper, we analyzed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D; Radlolf, 1977), used in the Notre Dame Study of Health and Well-Being (Bergeman and Deboeck, 2014), with the partial credit model (Masters, 1980) and response shift manipulations. Initial levels of skewness were observed in several items; varying the skewness was shown to greatly impact the item measures, calling into question the robustness of the invariance assumption that estimates are not much influenced by the trait distribution in the calibration sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Exploration of development requires the use of research designs and process-oriented methodologies that can capture daily fluctuations within individuals, systematic changes within individuals, and differences between individuals. We examine the stress–affect relationship in this way to assess how the relationship between daily stress and negative affect (NA) as well as the relationship between daily stress and positive affect (PA) differs between individuals and changes over time depending on age and stress differences. Method Participants (N = 966) completed daily "burst" assessments of stress, NA, and PA. Three-level multilevel models depicted how cross-sectional age, within-person age changes, and global stress differences impact the daily stress–affect relationship. Results Findings illustrate that cross-sectional age and the aging process uniquely buffer the stress–NA relationship whereas global stress exacerbates it. Furthermore, older adults as well as adults with low global stress experience a weaker relationship between daily stress and PA as they age, but midlife adults and adults with high global stress experience a stronger relationship. Discussion These results depict differences in aging trajectories for both midlife and older adults and thus inform intervention and preventative care strategies aimed toward promoting stress regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Person-mean centering has been recommended for disaggregating between-person and within-person effects when modeling time-varying predictors. Multilevel modeling textbooks recommended global standardization for standardizing fixed effects. An aim of this study is to evaluate whether and when person-mean centering followed by global standardization can accurately estimate fixed-effects within-person relations (the estimand of interest in this study) in multilevel modeling. We analytically derived that global standardization generally yields inconsistent (asymptotically biased) estimates for the estimand when between-person differences in within-person standard deviations exist and the average within-person relation is nonzero. Alternatively, a person-mean-SD standardization (P-S) approach yields consistent estimates. Our simulation results further revealed (1) how misleading the results from global standardization were under various circumstances and (2) the P-S approach had accurate estimates and satisfactory coverage rates of fixed-effects within-person relations when the number of occasions is 30 or more (in many conditions, performance was satisfactory with 10 or 20 occasions). A daily diary data example, focused on emotional complexity, was used to empirically illustrate the approaches. Researchers should choose standardization approaches based on theoretical considerations and should clearly describe the purpose and procedure of standardization in research articles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, extending from the cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) in Cole and Maxwell (2003), we proposed the multilevel autoregressive mediation models (MAMMs) by allowing the coefficients to differ across individuals. In addition, Level-2 covariates can be included to explain the interindividual differences of mediation effects. Given the complexity of the proposed models, Bayesian estimation was used. Both a CLPM and an unconditional MAMM were fitted to daily diary data. The 2 models yielded different statistical conclusions regarding the average mediation effect. A simulation study was conducted to examine the estimation accuracy of Bayesian estimation for MAMMs and consequences of model mis-specifications. Factors considered included the sample size (N), number of time points (T), fixed indirect and direct effect sizes, and Level-2 variances and covariances. Results indicated that the fixed effect estimates for the indirect effect components (a and b) and the fixed effects of Level-2 covariates were accurate when N ≥ 50 and T ≥ 5. For estimating Level-2 variances and covariances, they were accurate provided a sufficiently large N and T (e.g., N ≥ 500 and T ≥ 50). Estimates of the average mediation effect were generally accurate when N ≥ 100 and T ≥ 10, or N ≥ 50 and T ≥ 20. Furthermore, we found that when Level-2 variances were zero, MAMMs yielded valid inferences about the fixed effects, whereas when random effects existed, CLPMs had low coverage rates for fixed effects. DIC can be used for model selection. Limitations and future directions were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Person-centered methods are useful for studying individual differences in terms of (dis)similarities between response profiles on multivariate outcomes. Multivariate distance matrix regression (MDMR) tests the significance of associations of response profile (dis)similarities and a set of predictors using permutation tests. This paper extends MDMR by deriving and empirically validating the asymptotic null distribution of its test statistic, and by proposing an effect size for individual outcome variables, which is shown to recover true associations. These extensions alleviate the computational burden of permutation tests currently used in MDMR and render more informative results, thus making MDMR accessible to new research domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Markov modeling presents an attractive analytical framework for researchers who are interested in state-switching processes occurring within a person, dyad, family, group, or other system over time. Markov modeling is flexible and can be used with various types of data to study observed or latent state-switching processes, and can include subject-specific random effects to account for heterogeneity. We focus on the application of mixed Markov models to intensive longitudinal data sets in psychology, which are becoming ever more common and provide a rich description of each subject’s process. We examine how specifications of a Markov model change when continuous random effect distributions are included, and how mixed Markov models can be used in the intensive longitudinal research context. Advantages of Bayesian estimation are discussed and the approach is illustrated by two empirical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Technology and collaboration enable dramatic increases in the size of psychological and psychiatric data collections, but finding structure in these large data sets with many collected variables is challenging. Decision tree ensembles such as random forests (Strobl, Malley, & Tutz, 2009) are a useful tool for finding structure, but are difficult to interpret with multiple outcome variables which are often of interest in psychology. To find and interpret structure in data sets with multiple outcomes and many predictors (possibly exceeding the sample size), we introduce a multivariate extension to a decision tree ensemble method called gradient boosted regression trees (Friedman, 2001). Our extension, multivariate tree boosting, is a method for nonparametric regression that is useful for identifying important predictors, detecting predictors with nonlinear effects and interactions without specification of such effects, and for identifying predictors that cause 2 or more outcome variables to covary. We provide the R package "mvtboost" to estimate, tune, and interpret the resulting model, which extends the implementation of univariate boosting in the R package "gbm" (Ridgeway, 2015) to continuous, multivariate outcomes. To illustrate the approach, we analyze predictors of psychological well-being (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Simulations verify that our approach identifies predictors with nonlinear effects and achieves high prediction accuracy, exceeding or matching the performance of (penalized) multivariate multiple regression and multivariate decision trees over a wide range of conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between stress, control, and physical health in elderly populations is particularly important because aging individuals may experience more environmental challenges to their sense of control and be more physiologically vulnerable to the effects of diminished control. There exists a multiplicity of control measures, assessing such diverse aspects as power, autonomy, internal/external control, mastery, and perceived control. An elderly sample consisting of 286 individuals (75.9% female) between the ages of 60 and 97 (M=76.20, SD=7.36) was used to explore the confluence of various types of control and their relationship to stress and health outcomes. Principal component factor analysis was conducted on six measures of control-related behavior. Self-Efficacy (42.6% of the variance), a composite of four measures, refers to people's beliefs about their ability to exercise control over themselves and their environment; Power/Autonomy (21.5%), a composite of two scales, describes the desire to control others and exercise self-determination. Regression analyses revealed that Self-Efficacy mediated the relationship between stress (life events and perceived stress) and health (self-reported health, chronic conditions, somatic complaints, and functional status), but Power/Autonomy did not; a model-fitting analysis of latent traits is underway. Results suggest that a sense of efficacy is the lens through which older adults view stress, affecting both the way it is interpreted and managed, ultimately impacting health outcomes.

Daily data from the NDHWB (n = 783; age range 37–90) were analyzed to produce ‘dynamic characteristic’ estimates of stress input and dissipation. These were used in multi-level modeling (with age and trait stress resistance) to predict depression and health trajectories. Main effects suggest that dissipation and stress resistance predict lower depression and better health, but lower stress input was only related to lower depression. Interactions revealed that subjects with above average stress resistance had lower depression irrespective of their ability to dissipate stress, but for individuals low in trait resistance those with better stress dissipation show lower depression and better health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, resilience research has been largely the purview of developmental investigators dealing with early childhood and adolescence. This research primarily focused on at-risk children who were exposed to significant and severe life adversities (e.g., extreme poverty, parental mental illness, community violence). The study of resilience in adulthood and later life, by comparison, remains largely understudied. In this article, we describe a program of research on adulthood resilience. We begin with a selective review of the broad literature on resilience, giving emphasis to the major approaches, empirical findings, and guiding principles that characterize prior studies. We then summarize our own approach to the phenomenon of resilience and illustrate select parts of our previous and ongoing studies of older adults. Findings from this research add to the growing body of empirical evidence suggesting that resilience is a common phenomenon that emerges from the coordinated orchestration of basic human adaptive processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of daily positive emotions in the stress process was examined in a sample of 34 recently bereaved older adult widows. Humor coping and perceived stress were measured in questionnaires, and positive emotions, depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed daily for 98 days. Results highlight the critical role of daily positive emotions in the months immediately following conjugal loss. Intraindividual analyses revealed significant reductions in the magnitude of the stress—depression correlation on days in which greater positive emotions were present. Results also suggest that different vulnerability and resilience factors are implicated in the emotion differentiation process. For widows with greater humor coping skills, there was less overlap in daily ratings of positive emotions and depressive symptoms. In contrast, higher levels of chronic stress resulted in less differentiation of emotional responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dynamical systems approach was used to model the intraindividual variability in emotional well-being following conjugal loss. Well-being in a sample of 19 recently bereaved older adult widows was measured every day for 3 months. The pattern of variability of well-being was hypothesized to be an oscillating process that damps across time (i.e., large swings followed by a gradual damping). Results indicated that there was significant patterned variability in the emotional well-being adjustment that can be modeled by a linear oscillator model (R² = .77), in addition to an overall positive trend. Applying dynamical systems analyses to capture variability and subsequent well-being trajectories following spousal loss is an important step in delineating the complex adjustment to widowhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines 2 resilience resources as they relate to health and well-being in an elderly sample. It is suggested that these resources serve as reserves that an individual can use to compensate for age-related loss. Of particular interest in this study are the internal personality reserve, hardiness, and the external reserve, social support. Hardiness was examined as both a mediator and moderator of the relation between social support (i.e., quantity of family support and friend support) and outcome (depression, life satisfaction, and self-reported health). Across type of support and outcome, evidence was found for the mediational model, suggesting that the relation between social support and outcome decreases once hardiness is taken into account. Model-fitting analyses provided additional support for the mediator model once error had been attenuated. Overall, these results suggest that consideration of either construct alone may be less complete than consideration of them in combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has indicated that extraversion and neuroticism are substantially affected both by genotype and environment. This study assesses genetic and environmental influences on the other three components of the five-factor model of personality: Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. An abbreviated version of the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) was administered to 82 pairs of identical twins and 171 pairs of fraternal twins reared apart and 132 pairs of identical twins and 167 pairs of fraternal twins reared together. Estimates of genetic and environmental effects for Openness and Conscientiousness were similar to those found in other studies of personality: Genetic influence was substantial and there was little evidence of shared rearing environment. Results for Agreeableness were different: Genetic influence accounted for only 12% of the variance and shared rearing environment accounted for 21% of the variance. Few significant gender or age differences for genetic and environmental parameters were found in model-fitting analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A battery of cognitive tests was administered by telephone to 194 pairs of MZ and DZ twins: 112 pairs reared apart and 82 pairs reared together. The six measures, chosen to identify known intelligence and short-term memory factors, included two marker variables for crystallized intelligence (information and synonyms), two markers for fluid intelligence (analogies and figure logic), and two markers for short-term memory (forward and backward digit span). The data provide support for the feasibility of substituting telephone testing of abilities for more traditional assessment procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study explores differences in daily stress across individuals of varying ages. Specifically, we explore whether age group (young adult, midlife, late midlife, later life) relates to differences in types of stress (family, friends, partner, health, finances, work), total stress exposure, and perceptions of daily stress intensity. Participants from the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being (NDHWB; N = 891) completed daily questionnaires assessing negative small life events and perceived stress for 8 weeks. Findings indicated that young adults reported a higher average number of family, spouse, finance, and work-related stress. Additionally, total daily stress was highest among young adults, and perceived stress was lowest among later life adults. Because daily stress relates to long-term mental and physical stress, gaining a better understanding of how individuals at different points in the life span uniquely experience stress can inform intervention and preventative care techniques aimed at promoting optimal well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new direction in behavioral genetic research is the exploration of genetic influences on ostensibly environmental measures. The goal of the present study was to identify genetic as well as environmental influences that contribute to an individual's motivation and ability to create and maintain social support systems during the second half of the life course. One of the most powerful behavioral genetic designs is the combined twin/adoption design which is used in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA). A subsample of 424 pairs of twins age 50 and above was used: 64 pairs of identical twins reared apart, 95 pairs of identical twins reared together, 132 pairs of fraternal twins reared apart, and 133 pairs of fraternal twins reared together. The measure of social support assessed both the quantity of relationships as well as the perceived adequacy of the social support network. Model-fitting analyses verified the importance of genetic factors for perceived adequacy of the social support network, whereas little genetic influence was found for the quantity of social relationship [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Given the well-established link between control beliefs and well-being, researchers have turned their attention to characterizing mechanisms that help foster this relationship across the second half of life. Cross-sectional, empirical work has identified a mediating relationship among religiosity and spirituality (R/S), control beliefs, and subjective well-being, such that individuals with higher R/S show higher subjective well-being that is mediated by between-person differences in perceived control. Empirical tests of between-person differences, however, may not represent within-person associations. As such, the present study utilized longitudinal data from the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being (NDHWB; N = 1,017) to examine concurrent, within-person associations among three R/S dimensions (i.e., religious coping, religious practices, and spirituality), control beliefs, and subjective well-being. Results from our Bayesian multilevel mediation analyses showed significant within-person associations among these constructs, suggesting potential bidirectionality and circularity in these processes. Cross-sectional age differences and time significantly moderated these associations. In terms of age differences, younger, compared to older, individuals showed stronger positive associations among religious coping and spirituality, control beliefs, and subjective well-being and more negative associations among religious practices, control beliefs, and subjective well-being. Contrarily, the effect of time implied that the relationships among religious coping and spirituality, control beliefs, and subjective well-being became more positive across time. Given this disjunction and that the moderating effect of cross-sectional age by time was not significant, cross-sectional age differences in these relationships likely reflect generational differences in the associations among R/S, control beliefs, and subjective well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inertia-instability paradox poses an intriguing question in depression research: How can the affective experiences of depressed individuals demonstrate both resistance to change and fluctuation? Prior studies examining this paradox have faced limitations, including small sample sizes, analytic approaches prone to biased parameter estimates, and inconsistent results. Using data from 842 adults ( M age = 13.25, age range: 18-88; 58.2% female) collected over 56 consecutive days, we applied dynamic structural equation modeling to quantify individualized indices of mean levels, variability, instability, and inertia of negative affect. When adjusting for shared variances among affect dynamic measures, depressive symptoms were uniquely associated with both higher mean levels and inertia of negative affect. However, neither variability nor instability demonstrated unique links to depressive symptoms after accounting for the mean and inertia. Findings indicate that greater predictability in day-to-day negative affect is an important dynamic feature of depression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).SD = 13.25, age range: 18-88; 58.2% female) collected over 56 consecutive days, we applied dynamic structural equation modeling to quantify individualized indices of mean levels, variability, instability, and inertia of negative affect. When adjusting for shared variances among affect dynamic measures, depressive symptoms were uniquely associated with both higher mean levels and inertia of negative affect. However, neither variability nor instability demonstrated unique links to depressive symptoms after accounting for the mean and inertia. Findings indicate that greater predictability in day-to-day negative affect is an important dynamic feature of depression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

We examine age differences in the relationship between negative affect (NA) and different indicators of daily stress (interpersonal, health, and financial stressors and perceived stress). Participants completed 56 days of daily diary surveys from Wave 1 of the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being. Multi-level modeling allowed us to assess the within-person relationships between daily stress and NA and the cross-level interactions between these daily relationships and cross-sectional age. Each type of stress additively related to daily NA. Older age related to an exacerbated relationship between daily interpersonal stressors and NA, but a weaker relationship between daily perceived stress and NA. Interventions focused on enhancing daily well-being can encourage older adults to ensure they do not have overpacked schedules in regards to social relationships, and encourage midlife and younger adults to engage in activities that disrupt the link between perceived stress and NA.

Resilience, which relates to one's ability to respond to stressors, typically declines with age and the development of comorbid conditions in older organisms. Although progress has been made to improve our understanding of resilience in older adults, disciplines have employed different frameworks and definitions to study various aspects of older adults' response to acute or chronic stressors. "Overview of the Resilience World: State of the Science," a bench-to-bedside conference on October 12-13, 2022, was sponsored by the American Geriatrics Society and National Institute on Aging. This conference, summarized in this report, explored commonalities and differences among the frameworks of resilience most commonly used in aging research in the three domains of resilience: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial. These three main domains are intertwined, and stressors in one domain can lead to effects in other domains. The themes of the conference sessions included underlying contributors to resilience, the dynamic nature of resilience throughout the life span, and the role of resilience in health equity. Although participants did not agree on a single definition of "resilience(s)," they identified common core elements of a definition that can be applied to all domains and noted unique features that are domain specific. The presentations and discussions led to recommendations for new longitudinal studies of the impact of exposures to stressors on resilience in older adults, the use of new and existing cohort study data, natural experiments (including the COVID-19 pandemic), and preclinical models for resilience research, as well as translational research to bring findings on resilience to patient care., (© 2023 The American Geriatrics Society.)

Research suggests that the within-person inverse relationship between negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) indicates poorer emotional well-being, and this interaffect correlation fluctuates in relation to the context of the individual. Specifically, age, stress, and global PA all relate to changes in the interaffect correlation. The current study used comprehensive data from the Notre Dame Study of Health and Well-Being, which allowed us to uniquely examine between-person differences in within-person change and variability in the interaffect correlation, thereby examining these constructs from a process-oriented perspective. Midlife and later-life participants ( N = 965) completed daily questionnaires assessing stress, NA, and PA. Three-level multilevel models illustrated that the interaffect correlation becomes more negative during times of stress, adults with greater global PA experience a stronger inverse interaffect correlation during times of stress, and days of higher stress relate to a stronger inverse interaffect correlation for older adults compared to midlife adults. The findings illustrate the idiographic nature of these relationships and suggest that later-life adults and adults with high levels of global PA undergoing higher than typical stressful situations experience stronger inverse interaffect correlations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Although many studies have unequivocally demonstrated the promise of understanding resilience to adversity and characterizing the consequences if stress is unabated, needed are dynamic theories and methods to enhance the rigor and interpretation of these assessments. From a dynamic systems perspective, the focus is not whether an individual possesses some fixed ability or unchangeable trait, but rather to understand the flexibility and responsiveness of stress regulation systems to daily hassles and adverse life events. A renewed interest in individual variability allows researchers to see trajectories of change over both short- and long-time scales to understand the developmental course. As a result, it is possible to answer questions, such as, how does the dysregulation in emotion caused by stress, to both within and between daily affect processes, relate to longitudinal trajectories (over time-scales of years) of dysfunction and disease? The overarching goal of the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being is to detail the types and qualities of contextual influences, in conjunction with dynamic psychobiological systems, to assess the precursors, concomitant influences and consequences of stress and resilience in the face of adversity on cognitive, health and well-being outcomes.