Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Gerontologist. 2021 Feb 23;61(2):217-227. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnaa196.
Advanced age is generally associated with improved emotional well-being, but the coronavirus 2019 pandemic unleashed a global stressor that gravely threatened the physical well-being and ostensibly challenged the emotional well-being of older adults disproportionately. The current study investigated differences in emotional experiences and coping strategies between younger and older adults during the pandemic, and whether these differences were accounted for by age differences in appraisal of the pandemic.
We asked younger (n = 181) and older (n = 176) adult participants to report their stress, appraisals of the pandemic, emotions, and the ways in which they were coping with the pandemic.
Results indicated that older adults experienced less stress and less negative affect and used greater problem-focused coping and less avoidant coping in response to the pandemic than younger adults. Furthermore, age differences in affect and coping were partially accounted for by age differences in appraisals of the pandemic.
Despite their objectively higher risk of illness and death due to the pandemic, older adults experienced less negative affect and used more agentic coping strategies than younger adults.
一般来说，年龄增长与情绪健康改善有关，但 2019 年的冠状病毒大流行引发了一场全球性的压力源，严重威胁着老年人的身体健康，并明显挑战了他们的情绪健康。本研究调查了大流行期间年轻和老年成年人之间情绪体验和应对策略的差异，以及这些差异是否归因于对大流行的评估中的年龄差异。
我们要求年轻（n = 181）和年长（n = 176）成年参与者报告他们的压力、对大流行的评估、情绪以及应对大流行的方式。
结果表明，与年轻成年人相比，老年成年人在大流行期间经历的压力较小，负面情绪较少，更倾向于采用问题焦点应对策略，而较少采用回避应对策略。此外，对大流行的评估中的年龄差异部分解释了情感和应对方面的年龄差异。
尽管老年人由于大流行而面临更高的疾病和死亡风险，但他们的负面情绪体验较少，并且比年轻成年人更多地采用了主动应对策略。
