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Editor:
Tonya Allen
allen@pop.psu.edu
PRInformation
Spring 2008
Research Brief
Effects of Chronic Health Conditions on Affective Well-Being Vary by Age
Source: Piazza, J.R., S.T. Charles and D.M. Almeida (2007). "Living With Chronic Health Conditions: Age Differences in Affective Well-Being." The Journals of Gerontology 62B(6):P313-P321.
Chronic health conditions are often linked to decreased affective well-being. Affective well-being can be defined as the frequent experience of positive emotions and the infrequent experience of negative emotions. Because health tends to decline with age, it is logical to assume that older people will experience a similar decline in their affective well-being. However, evidence from past research indicates that this is not the case; affective well-being tends to remain steady or even improve as people age. This study investigated this conundrum, using data from the Midlife Development in the United States survey and the National Study of Daily Experiences to examine the relationship between health status and affective well-being, and how this relationship varies by age. The study showed that, in most cases, chronic health conditions have less impact on affective well-being and on affective reactivity among older than among younger individuals with varying numbers of chronic conditions. The exception to this finding was that older and younger adults were equal in affective reactivity when they suffered from four or more chronic conditions.
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