Department of Human Development & Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
Department of Psychology, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2019 Jan 10;74(2):242-253. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbx055.
General and situational control beliefs have been examined separately as buffers of the effects of daily stressors on affective well-being. However, general (trait) control beliefs reflect perceived ability to adapt, change, and influence overall life circumstances, whereas situational (daily) control beliefs reflect perceived ability to manage current circumstances and achieve desired outcomes.
Using 9 weeks of daily reports from 150 adults aged 18-89 years, we examined the extent that general and daily control beliefs buffer the between- and within-person associations involving stressors and negative and positive affect (i.e., daily stress processes) and whether/how the extent of buffering differs with age.
Aligning with prior findings, both greater average stressor exposure and experiencing a daily stressor compromised daily affective well-being and both higher general and daily control beliefs facilitated daily affective well-being. Specific to the motivating hypotheses, both general and daily control beliefs buffered daily stressor-reactivity. Age was associated with individuals' daily stressor-buffering, such that stressor-reactivity was more effectively damped at older ages. Associations between general control beliefs and daily stress processes were age invariant.
Mixed evidence of age differences across general and daily control beliefs highlights how within-person processes may differentially contribute to well-being as individuals accommodate age-related strengths and vulnerabilities.
一般和情境控制信念已被分别研究为缓冲日常压力源对情感幸福感的影响。然而，一般（特质）控制信念反映了对适应、改变和影响整体生活环境的感知能力，而情境（日常）控制信念反映了对管理当前环境和实现期望结果的感知能力。
我们使用 150 名 18-89 岁成年人的 9 周日常报告，检验了一般和日常控制信念在涉及压力源和消极及积极情绪的个体间和个体内关联（即日常压力过程）中的缓冲程度，以及缓冲程度是否以及如何随年龄而变化。
与先前的发现一致，较高的平均压力源暴露和经历日常压力源都损害了日常情感幸福感，而较高的一般和日常控制信念都促进了日常情感幸福感。具体到激发假设，一般和日常控制信念都缓冲了日常压力源反应。年龄与个体的日常压力源缓冲有关，即压力源反应在较年长时被更有效地抑制。一般控制信念与日常压力过程之间的关联与年龄无关。
一般和日常控制信念在年龄上的混合证据突显了个体如何适应与年龄相关的优势和脆弱性，从而使个体的内在过程可能对幸福感产生不同的影响。
