Dannii Y. Yeung

Emotion regulation mediates age differences in emotions

Objectives: This study aimed at testing the proposition of socioemotional selectivity theory whether older people would use more antecedent-focused emotion regulatory strategies like cognitive reappraisal but fewer response-focused strategies like suppression. It also aimed at investigating the mediating role of emotion regulation on the relationship between age and emotions. Method: The sample consisted of 654 younger and older adults aged between 18 and 64. Results and conclusion: Results showed that age was significantly associated with positive emotions and cognitive reappraisal. No difference was found in negative emotions and suppression between younger and older adults. Cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the effect of age on positive emotions. Findings of this study contribute to our understanding of the underlying mechanism of age variations in emotional experiences.

Benefits of Negative Social Exchanges for Emotional Closeness

Negative exchanges in social relationships have traditionally been studied as having negative consequences. This study explored whether they might have positive effects for relationship closeness. The sample included 351 adults, aged between 18 and 91 years, residing in Hong Kong, China. Closeness of social partners to the participants was measured by the Social Convoy Questionnaire, and the levels of negative exchanges and social support from each social partner were assessed. Multilevel analyses revealed that more negative exchanges were associated with a more positive change in closeness over a 2-year period, even after statistically controlling for social support and sociostructural characteristics of the participant and the social partner. Findings extended our knowledge on the positive effects of negative exchanges and their moderating conditions.

Gender differences in social network characteristics and psychological well-being among Hong Kong Chinese: The role of future time perspective and adherence to Renqing

Gender differences in social network characteristics are well documented in the literature. Socioemotional selectivity theory emphasizes the importance of future time perception on selection of social partners whereas cultural studies stress the roles of Renqing (relationship orientation) on social interactions. This study examined the effects of future time perspective and adherence to Renqing on social network characteristics, and their associations with psychological well-being of 321 Chinese men and women, aged 28–91 years. Results showed that adherence to Renqing partially accounted for gender differences in the number of relatives, even after controlling for the effects of extraversion and structural factors. Moreover, women, but not men, with lower adherence to Renqing and more limited future time perspective were found to be happier when they had fewer close friends in their social networks.

Is pre-retirement planning always good? An exploratory study of retirement adjustment among Hong Kong Chinese retirees

The impacts of four types of pre-retirement planning activities (financial, health, social life, and psychological planning) on retirement adjustment were investigated in a sample of Chinese retirees residing in Hong Kong. This study consisted of two phases of data collection, pre-retirement and post-retirement phases. Pre-retirement planning behaviors and psychological health (including attitudes toward retirement, adjustment to retirement, anxiety toward retirement, psychological well-being (PWB), and psychological distress) six months before and after retirement were measured. The final sample consisted of 90 Hong Kong Chinese retirees. Compared with the pre-retirement phase, retirees exhibited more positive attitudes toward retirement and better adjustment after they had actually retired, whereas their level of anxiety and psychological distress remained low over time. Pre-retirement planning was found to be predictive of changes in psychological health, though its impact was not always positive depending on the type of planning activities. In particular, greater psychological planning was associated with positive attitudes toward retirement and better PWB, whereas more social life planning activities were associated with greater psychological distress. In addition to financial and health planning, psychological planning activities should also be prompted to facilitate a smooth adjustment to retirement.

Self-construal moderates age differences in social network characteristics.

In this study, the authors examined age differences in social network characteristics (SNC) among Hong Kong Chinese. The sample consisted of 596 Chinese adults, ranging from 18 to 91 years old. Age was positively associated with close social partners and negatively associated with peripheral social partners. For individuals who were more likely to define the self as interconnected with others (i.e., interdependent self-construal), increasing age was associated with a greater number of close social partners. The negative association between age and the number of peripheral social partners, well-documented in the Western literature, was found only among Chinese adults with lower interdependence but not among those with higher interdependence. These findings highlight the importance of examining the underlying mechanism rather than a particular pattern of SNC across cultures.

Chinese Older Adults’ Internet Use for Health Information:

Technological advancement benefits Internet users with the convenience of social connection and information search. This study aimed at investigating the predictors of Internet use to search for online health information among Chinese older adults. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was applied to examine the predictiveness of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitudes toward Internet use on behavioral intention to search for health information online. Ninety-eight Chinese older adults were recruited from an academic institute for older people and community centers. Frequency of Internet use and physical and psychological health were also assessed. Results showed that perceived ease of use and attitudes significantly predicted behavioral intention of Internet use. The potential influences of traditional Chinese values and beliefs in health were also discussed.

Changes in peripheral social partners and loneliness over time: the moderating role of interdependence.

We examined the relationships between age, changes in the number of peripheral partners, and changes in loneliness over 2 years among 365 Hong Kong Chinese aged 18-91 years. We also tested the moderating role of interdependent self-construal in the relationships. Results showed that the well-documented negative association between age and number of peripheral partners over time was only significant for individuals with low and medium interdependence but not for those with high interdependence. Moreover, only older and middle-aged adults high in interdependence benefitted from having more peripheral social partners by showing decreased loneliness in the 2-year interval.

Development and evaluation of the positive psychology intervention for older adults

Although research suggests that positive psychology intervention can enhance subjective well-being and reduce depression, its effectiveness on older adults remains largely unknown. Therefore the present study aimed to develop and evaluate a custom-tailored positive psychology intervention program for older adults. The program offered nine-week group sessions to 74 older people recruited from district community centers and nursing homes in Hong Kong. The intervention program covers eight themes, including optimism, gratitude, savoring, happiness, curiosity, courage, altruism, and meaning of life. The participants consisted mostly of females aged between 63 and 105 years. One-group pre-test/post-test design was adopted to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on depression, life satisfaction, gratitude, and happiness. Results revealed that the intervention reduced the number of depressive symptoms and increased the levels of life satisfaction, gratitude, and happiness. Effectiveness of the intervention is discussed in relation to self-awareness, education, self-reinforcement, and sensitivity to age and culture.

Age differences in coping and emotional responses toward SARS: A longitudinal study of Hong Kong Chinese

This study examined age-related emotional responses and coping at the peak and the end of the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong. Three hundred and eighty-five Hong Kong Chinese, aged 18–86 years, rated the extent that they experienced ‘shock’, ‘sadness’, ‘anger’ and ‘fear’ in the face of SARS. They also completed selected items from Brief COPE (Carver, 1997). The results showed that older adults consistently experienced less anger than did their younger counterparts. Younger adults used more emotion-focused coping than did middle-aged and older adults at the peak of SARS; yet they exhibited the lowest increase in this form of coping throughout the outbreak, such that the age differences had reversed by the end of the outbreak. Findings of this study suggest that older adults may be better at emotional regulation than are their younger counterparts, they react to a crisis with less anger and are better able to adapt their coping strategies to the changing environment.

Institutional peer support mediates the impact of physical declines on depressive symptoms of nursing home residents

AIMS This paper tests the mediating effect of institutional peer support on the relationship between physical declines and depressive symptoms among nursing home residents. BACKGROUND As the number of older adults living in nursing homes increases, peer support received from other residents in the institutions is critical to the psychological well-being of residents who face physical declines and reduction in family support. This study tested whether institutional peer support would account for the detrimental effect of physical declines on depressive symptoms of Chinese older people residing in nursing homes. DESIGN A cross-sectional design was used. METHOD The study was conducted between January-March 2009 by convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 187 nursing home residents, with 54 men and 133 women. Interviews were conducted by an experienced research assistant, and responses on physical abilities and institutional peer support were collected. Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms of each participant. RESULTS Participants with poor physical abilities reported more depressive symptoms. Institutional peer support was negatively correlated with physical declines and depressive symptoms. Results of the regression analysis showed that the effect of physical declines on depressive symptoms was no longer significant when the influence of institutional peer support was statistically controlled, indicating a full mediation of institutional peer support on depression of older people. CONCLUSION Findings of this study reveal that institutional peer support positively contributes to the psychological well-being of nursing home residents.