Naturally Occurring Expressive Suppression is Associated with Lapses in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

Objectives: Expressive suppression (i.e., effortful regulation of overt affect) has a deleterious impact on executive functioning (EF). This relationship has potential ramifications for daily functioning, especially among older adults, because a close relationship exists between EF and functional independence. However, past research has not directly examined whether expressive suppression impacts instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). The present study examined this association among older adults. Methods: One hundred ten community-dwelling older adults completed a self-report measure of acute (past 24 hr) and chronic (past 2 weeks) expressive suppression, a timed test of IADL, and the Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale as a measure of EF. Results: High chronic expressive suppression was related to slow IADL performance beyond covariates (age, IQ, depression), but only for individuals with low EF. High acute expressive suppression was associated with lower accuracy on IADL tasks beyond covariates (IQ, depression), but this association was fully explained by EF. Conclusions: The current results suggest that expressive suppression is associated with less efficient and more error-prone IADL performance. EF fully accounted for the relationship between acute expressive suppression and IADL performance, showing that suppression is a risk factor for both poorer EF performance and functional lapses in daily life. Furthermore, individuals with weaker EF may be particularly vulnerable to the effect of chronic expressive suppression. (JINS, 2019, 25, 718–728)

It’s complicated: Executive functioning moderates impacts of daily busyness on everyday functioning in community-dwelling older adults

“…In the present study, accuracy was negatively impacted by high variability in daily busyness, but only among those with poorer EF performance. This specific impact on accuracy is consistent with our prior findings showing that certain contextual factors that tax EF resources impact accuracy (but not speed of performance; , and that they deleteriously impact daily functioning (Niermeyer & Suchy, 2020b;Suchy et al, 2019), particularly if they fluctuate from day to day . Given that lack of routine and switching among multiple tasks likely also taxes EF resources (Beuckels et al, 2019;Rubin et al, 2022;Schneider & Anderson, 2010), it follows that it, too, would lead to IADL errors.…”

“…Specifically, some contextual factors have a detrimental indirect impact on IADLs via their direct negative impact on EF, whereas others impact IADLs directly , but only among individuals who are vulnerable to such impacts due to pre-existing EF weaknesses. Extensive research supports the mediation aspect of the ConVExA model, demonstrating that (a) EF is vulnerable to a variety of contextual factors, including nonrestorative sleep (e.g., Niermeyer & Suchy, 2020a; Tinajero et al, 2018), sleep deprivation (Lim & Dinges, 2010; Waters & Bucks, 2011), pain interference (Boselie et al, 2016; Buhle & Wager, 2010; Niermeyer & Suchy, 2020a), and engagement in burdensome emotion regulation (Franchow & Suchy, 2017; Niermeyer & Suchy, 2020a,b); and (b) such factors indirectly impact IADLs via contextually induced, temporary decrements in EF (Brothers & Suchy, 2022; Niermeyer & Suchy, 2020b; Suchy et al, 2019). In contrast to the fairly extensive research supporting the mediation aspect of the ConVExA model, thus far only one study has explicitly tested the moderation component of the model (Suchy et al, 2020).…”

The effect of maternal empathy on infants’ attachment security: Moderation by maternal emotion regulation and infant temperament

“…Furthermore, expressive suppression, the other dimension of maternal emotion regulation, did not significantly moderate the relationship owing to the later employment of expressive suppression relative to cognitive reappraisal in the process of emotion regulation (Gross & John, 2003). Previous Western studies found that expressive suppression was generally linked to negative outcomes, such as poorer executive functional performance (Suchy et al, 2019) and lower interpersonal relationship satisfaction (Sasaki et al, 2021). In Chinese culture, however, expressive suppression is more prevalent, such that the negative impact tends to be smaller (Yang et al, 2021; Yuan et al, 2014).…”

Six elements test vs D-KEFS: what does “Ecological Validity” tell us?

“…Lastly, the DAILIES allowed us to examine whether our tests can predict IADLs prospectively , generalizing from performance assessed at one timepoint to a future behavior at home. In contrast, most research examines concurrent associations between EF measures and IADL tasks (e.g., Alderman et al, 2003; Conti & Brucki, 2018; Frisch et al, 2012; Suchy et al, 2019), potentially confounding results with a third variable shared in space and time, such as experiencing pain (Attridge et al, 2015; Heyer et al, 2000) or not having slept well the night before testing (Fortier-Brochu et al, 2012; Holding et al, 2021; Miyata et al, 2013). Indeed, such contextual factors have an impact on both EF (Berryman et al, 2014; Niermeyer & Suchy, 2020; Tinajero et al, 2018) and IADLs (Hicks et al, 2008; Stamm et al, 2016; Webb et al, 2018), potentially confounding concurrently observed associations.…”