Christiane A. Hoppmann

Positive Couple Interactions and Daily Cortisol : On the Stress-Protecting Role of Intimacy

Objective: To determine whether intimacy might be associated with reduced daily salivary cortisol levels in couples, thereby adding to the epidemiologic literature on reduced health burden in happy couples. Methods: A total of 51 dual-earner couples reported time spent on intimacy, stated their current affect quality, and provided saliva samples for cortisol estimation approximately every 3 hours in a 1-week time-sampling assessment. In addition, participants provided data on chronic problems of work organization. Results: Multilevel analyses revealed that intimacy was significantly associated with reduced daily salivary cortisol levels. There was an interaction effect of intimacy with chronic problems of work organization in terms of their relationship with cortisol levels, suggesting a buffering effect of intimacy on work-related elevated cortisol levels. Above this, the association between intimacy and cortisol was mediated by positive affect. Intimacy and affect together explained 7% of daily salivary cortisol variance. Conclusions: Our results are in line with previous studies on the effect of intimacy on cortisol stress responses in the laboratory as well as with epidemiologic data on health beneficial effects of happy marital relationships. HPA axis = hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; AUC = area under the individual response curve.

Cohort Differences in Cognitive Aging and Terminal Decline in the Seattle Longitudinal Study.

Life span researchers have long been interested in how and why fundamental aspects of human ontogeny differ between cohorts of people who have lived through different historical epochs. When examined at the same age, later born cohorts are often cognitively and physically fitter than earlier born cohorts. Less is known, however, about cohort differences in the rate of cognitive aging and if, at the very end of life, pervasive mortality-related processes overshadow and minimize cohort differences. We used data on 5 primary mental abilities from the Seattle Longitudinal Study (Schaie, 2005) to compare both age-related and mortality-related changes between earlier born cohorts (1886-1913) and later born cohorts (1914-1948). Our models covary for several individual and cohort differences in central indicators of life expectancy, education, health, and gender. Age-related growth models corroborate and extend earlier findings by documenting level differences at age 70 of up to 0.50 SD and less steep rates of cognitive aging on all abilities between 50 and 80 years of age favoring the later born cohort. In contrast, mortality-related models provide limited support for positive cohort differences. The later born cohort showed steeper mortality-related declines. We discuss possible reasons why often reported positive secular trends in age-related processes may not generalize to the vulnerable segment of the population that is close to death and suggest routes for further inquiry.

Neuroticism and conscientiousness are associated with cortisol diurnal profiles in adults--role of positive and negative affect.

A substantial body of research on the pathophysiology of negative health outcomes has focused on dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Maladaptive and adaptive personality features have been discussed to be associated with health outcomes. In the current study, we investigated the association of neuroticism (N) and conscientiousness (C) with diurnal cortisol levels in 102 working parents (M age=37 years; 50% female). Further, we examined the impact of daily positive and negative affect on this association. During a 6-day time-sampling phase, cortisol was measured at awakening and after that within intervals of 3h. We found a positive association of N with cortisol levels throughout the measurement period, but no association of C with daily cortisol. When accounting for daily positive and negative affect, individuals with high scores on C displayed reductions in daily cortisol concentrations that were driven by positive affect compared to individuals with low C scores. No such association emerged for N. Our findings might further elucidate the role of personality in HPA axis regulation and improve our understanding of the association of endocrine states and health outcomes.

Diurnal profiles of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase change across the adult lifespan: Evidence from repeated daily life assessments

Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase are known to have distinctive diurnal profiles. However, little is known about systematic changes in these biomarkers across the adult lifespan. In a study of 185 participants (aged 20-81 years), time-stamped salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were collected 7 times/day over 10 days. Samples were taken upon waking, 30 min later, and then approximately every 3 h until 9 pm. Multilevel models showed that older age was associated with increased daily cortisol secretion as indicated by greater area under the curve, attenuated wake-evening slopes, and more pronounced cortisol awakening responses. Further, older age was related to greater daily alpha-amylase output and attenuated wake-evening slopes. No age differences were observed regarding the alpha-amylase awakening response. Our findings may contribute to a better understanding of age-related differences in functioning of stress-related systems.

Spousal interrelations in old age—A mini-review.

We review findings on spousal interrelations in old age in such key domains as cognition, well-being, and health. Therein, we demonstrate that spousal interrelations may extend developmental options but may also make an individual vulnerable to the experience of loss. We address theoretical questions concerning possible underlying mechanisms, e.g. individual and spousal goal-related processes. Furthermore, we draw attention to important methodological challenges such as identifying processes that operate along different time scales and employing adequate data analytic tools. We propose that aging research may benefit from an examination of interrelations in developmental pathways of multiple co-developing individuals such as spouses and point to the need to disentangle individual from relationship-specific effects.

Dynamic links of cognitive functioning among married couples: longitudinal evidence from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Development does not take place in isolation; close others form an important dyad for exploring interrelationships. To examine spousal interrelations in level and change of cognitive functioning in old age, the authors applied dynamic models to 11-year longitudinal data of, initially, 304 married couples from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (aged 64-98 years at Time 1; M = 76 years). Findings revealed that perceptual speed for husbands predicted subsequent perceptual speed decline for wives (time lags of 1 year). There was little evidence for the opposite unidirectional effect or a bidirectional association between husbands and wives. Potential covariates (age, education, medical conditions, functional limitations, and depressive symptoms) did not account for differential lead-lag associations. A similar, though less pronounced, pattern was found for memory, which held except when functional limitations were controlled. Findings suggest that late-life cognitive development is not solely a product of intraindividual resources and are consistent with conceptual notions that development actively influences, and is influenced by, contextual factors such as close relationships. The authors discuss possible underlying mechanisms and further steps to substantiate the findings.

Ambulatory Assessment in Lifespan Psychology : An Overview of Current Status and New Trends

Ambulatory assessment represents a powerful research tool in lifespan psychology because it allows assessing the within-per- son variability of developmental processes as it occurs within context-specific influences of peoples natural environments. Following a discussion of historical origins, we review four current research themes in developmentally relevant ambulatory assessment studies that use electronic devices as assessment instruments: (a) affective-motivational development, (b) social contexts of development, (c) age-re- lated challenges and everyday functioning, and (d) cognitive development. Overall, the reviewed research demonstrates that ambulatory assessment complements traditional developmental study designs and laboratory assessments in important ways. Acknowledging the strengths and limitations of ambulatory assessment approaches, we propose that ambulatory assessment will benefit lifespan psychology most if it becomes an integral part of multimethod investigations of developmental phenomena that balance the external and internal validity of findings. Future research should strengthen the lifespan perspective in ambulatory assessment approaches, combine multiple indicators (subjective and objective) of successful development, and attend to the fact that individual development often interacts with significant others.

Daily goal pursuits predict cortisol secretion and mood states in employed parents with preschool children.

Objective: This study examined the relationship between the personal relevance of daily activities with respect to self-set work and family goals and affective and neuroendocrine stress reactions. Methods: A total of 53 dual-earner couples with preschool children participated in a 1-week interval-sampling study. At the beginning, participants reported their personal work and family goals. During the time-sampling phase, both partners reported the goal relevance of their daily activities, current mood, and provided saliva samples for cortisol estimation every 3 hours. Results: Hierarchical linear models show that the performance of goal-furthering activities is associated with more positive mood and decreased secretion of cortisol. The relationship between the goal relevance of daily activities and cortisol was partially mediated by affect quality. Conclusions: These findings speak to a person-centered approach in research on stress by showing that knowledge of individual goals is important for an understanding of affective and neuroendocrine stress reactions in employed parents with preschool children. AUC = area under the curve; HPA system = hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal system.

The nature and correlates of self-esteem trajectories in late life

Is it possible to maintain a positive perspective on the self into very old age? Empirical research so far is rather inconclusive, with some studies reporting substantial declines in self-esteem late in life, whereas others report relative stability into old age. In this article, we examine long-term change trajectories in self-esteem in old age and very old age and link them to key correlates in the health, cognitive, self-regulatory, and social domains. To do so, we estimated growth curve models over chronological age and time-to-death using 18-year longitudinal data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (N = 1,215; age 65-103 years at first occasion; M = 78.8 years, SD = 5.9; women: 45% of sample). Results revealed that self-esteem was, on average, fairly stable with minor declines only emerging in advanced ages and at the very end of life. Examination of the vast between-person differences revealed that lower cognitive abilities and lower perceived control independently related to lower self-esteem. Also, lower cognitive abilities were associated with steeper age-related and mortality-related self-esteem decrements. In our discussion, we consider a variety of challenges that potentially shape self-esteem late in life and highlight the need for more mechanism-oriented research to better understand the pathways underlying stability and change in self-esteem.

Spousal associations between functional limitation and depressive symptom trajectories: Longitudinal findings from the Study of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD).

OBJECTIVE To examine spousal associations between functional limitation and depressive symptom trajectories in a national sample of older long-term married couples. DESIGN We used 14.5-year longitudinal data on functional limitations and depressive symptoms from 1,704 couples participating in the Study of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Activities of daily living and a short version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale were used. RESULTS Between-person difference findings corroborate previous research by showing that levels and changes in functional limitations and depressive symptoms are closely interrelated among wives and husbands. Our results further demonstrate sizable associations in levels and changes in functional limitations and depressive symptoms between spouses. For example, functional limitation levels in one spouse were associated with depressive symptom levels in the other spouse. Spousal associations remained after controlling for individual (age, education, cognition) and spousal covariates (marriage duration, number of children) and did not differ between women and men. CONCLUSION Our findings highlight the important role of marital relationships in shaping health trajectories in old age because they show that some of the well-documented between-person differences in functional limitations and depressive symptoms are in fact related to spouses.