Department of Psychology, Stanford University.
Psychol Sci. 2020 Nov;31(11):1374-1385. doi: 10.1177/0956797620967261. Epub 2020 Oct 26.
The COVID-19 pandemic is creating unprecedented, sustained, and unavoidable stress for the entire population, and older people are facing particularly heightened risk of contracting the virus and suffering severe complications, including death. The present study was conducted when the pandemic was spreading exponentially in the United States. To address important theoretical questions about age differences in emotional experience in times of crisis, we surveyed a representative sample of 945 Americans between the ages of 18 and 76 years and assessed the frequency and intensity of a range of positive and negative emotions. We also assessed perceived risk of contagion and complications from the virus, as well as personality, health, and demographic characteristics. Age was associated with relatively greater emotional well-being both when analyses did and did not control for perceived risk and other covariates. The present findings extend previous research about age and emotion by demonstrating that older adults' relatively better emotional well-being persists even in the face of prolonged stress.
新冠疫情正在给全人类带来前所未有的、持续的和不可避免的压力，老年人感染病毒并出现严重并发症（包括死亡）的风险特别高。本研究在美国疫情呈指数级传播时进行。为了解决关于危机时期情绪体验中年龄差异的重要理论问题，我们调查了 945 名年龄在 18 至 76 岁之间的具有代表性的美国人，评估了一系列积极和消极情绪的频率和强度。我们还评估了感染病毒的风险和并发症，以及人格、健康和人口统计学特征。在分析不控制感知风险和其他协变量以及控制感知风险和其他协变量时，年龄与相对较好的情绪幸福感相关。本研究结果通过证明即使在长期压力下，老年人相对较好的情绪幸福感仍然存在，从而扩展了关于年龄和情绪的先前研究。
