Same old, same old? Age differences in the diversity of daily life.

Abstract

Some research suggests that compared with younger adults, older adults have more homogeneous, less diverse daily life experiences because everyday situations and activities become increasingly stable and routine. However, strong empirical tests of this assumption are scarce. In two complementary studies, we examined whether older age is associated with less diversity in daily life experiences (e.g., regarding social interaction partners, activities, and places across and within days) and, if so, to what extent health limitations account for these age differences. In Study 1, we used daily diaries to investigate diversity across days among younger (N ϭ 246; M age ϭ 21.8 years, SD ϭ 2.5) and older adults (N ϭ 119; M age ϭ 67.7 years, SD ϭ 5.3). In Study 2, we investigated diversity within days employing experience sampling methods over three weeks in an adult life span sample (N ϭ 365; range ϭ 14 -88 years). Results showed that across and within days, the daily lives of older adults were less diverse regarding their social interaction partners. Yet, older adults reported more diversity in activities within days and across days in the afternoons, whereas younger adults reported less diverse activities partly due to working or studying more often. Age differences remained statistically significant when controlling for health limitations. We conclude that age differences in the diversity of daily life are nuanced, depending on the domain and the level of analysis.

Longitudinal coupling of momentary stress reactivity and trait neuroticism: Specificity of states, traits, and age period.

“…No previous publication based on this data set addressed the longitudinal development of Big Five traits. Previous publications used single waves of the project to examine age differences in hassle responsiveness (Wrzus et al, 2013(Wrzus et al, , 2015, affective experiences (Luong et al, 2016;Riediger et al, 2009Riediger et al, , 2011Riediger et al, , 2014, or daily activities (Weber et al, 2020;Wrzus et al, 2016). Further details on previous publications are available on https://osf.io/65d2f/…”

Different Responses to Stress, Health Practices and Self-care during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Stratified Analysis

“…The daily lives of older adults are less diverse in terms of their social interaction partners. Yet, older adults report greater diversity in activities compared to younger adults as they must work or study [35]. These differences could be even more acute within a lockdown experience since confinement has significantly affected the social and studying/working habits and daily routines of young people.…”

Incorporating Ecological Momentary Assessment into multi-method investigations of cognitive aging: Promise and practical considerations

“…Critically, signal-contingent sampling has been used in many EMA studies of adult development and aging with great success (e.g., Chui et al, 2014;Pauly et al, 2019;Weber et al, 2019;Wrzus et al, 2016) and it is the most popular method for conducting experience sampling studies to date.…”