The Experience of Ostracism over the Adult Life Span

Ostracism, that is, being excluded and ignored by others, is a highly painful and threatening experience for individuals. Most empirical research on ostracism has been carried out in the lab or focused on samples in specific contexts. Here, we investigate the effects of age on how individuals experience ostracism within a broad, representative sample of the adult German population (the Socio-Economic Panel). We find a generally negative relation between ostracism and age, such that older adults report experiencing ostracism less frequently. Further analyses show that a particular dip in the ostracism frequency curve around the age of 65 might be at least partly due to leaving the workforce. We further investigate cross-sectional as well as longitudinal effects of age on relations between ostracism frequency and psychological well-being, showing relatively stable associations between ostracism and negative emotions, reduced life satisfaction, as well as dysfunctional social behavior across the adult life span.