Sorkin Dara H, Rook Karen S, Heckhausen Jutta, Billimek John
Health Policy Research Institute, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-5800, USA.
Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2009;69(3):159-80. doi: 10.2190/AG.69.3.a.
People vary in the importance they ascribe to, and efforts they invest in, maintaining positive relationships with others. Research has linked such variation in interpersonal control strivings to the quality of social exchanges experienced, but little work has examined the predictors of interpersonal control strivings. Given the importance of close relationships in later life, this study examined conditions that might precipitate increases or declines in interpersonal control strivings over a 2-year period. Specifically, change in interpersonal control strivings was hypothesized to be particularly influenced by the interplay of two co-occurring conditions: (1) experiences in the social environment that bolster or undermine older adults' motivation to foster satisfying social ties and (2) the availability of personal resources to respond to these experiences. The findings suggest that a change in older adults' interpersonal control strivings over a 2-year period was affected jointly by the frequency with which they experienced positive social exchanges and their health status. Features of the social environment, therefore, may interact with personal resources to influence interpersonal control strivings in later life.
人们在赋予与他人保持积极关系的重要性以及为此投入的努力程度上存在差异。研究已将人际控制努力方面的这种差异与所经历的社会交往质量联系起来，但很少有研究探讨人际控制努力的预测因素。鉴于亲密关系在晚年生活中的重要性，本研究考察了在两年时间内可能促使人际控制努力增加或减少的条件。具体而言，人际控制努力的变化被假设特别受到两种同时出现的条件相互作用的影响：（1）社会环境中的经历，这些经历增强或削弱了老年人培养令人满意的社会关系的动机；（2）应对这些经历的个人资源的可用性。研究结果表明，老年人在两年时间内人际控制努力的变化受到他们经历积极社会交往的频率和健康状况的共同影响。因此，社会环境的特征可能与个人资源相互作用，从而影响晚年生活中的人际控制努力。
