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Title: Reactive, Agentic, Apathetic, or Challenged? Aging, Emotion, and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract Background and Objectives 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. Research Design and Methods 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 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. Discussion and Implications 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.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1536260
PAR ID:
10301137
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Editor(s):
Meeks, Suzanne
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The Gerontologist
Volume:
61
Issue:
2
ISSN:
0016-9013
Page Range / eLocation ID:
217 to 227
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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