State mindfulness and affective well-being in the daily lives of middle-aged and older adults.

Abstract

Contemporary conceptualizations of mindfulness refer to paying attention to the present moment with an open and nonjudgmental attitude. Empirical research is increasingly focusing on mindfulness as a dynamic and multifaceted state that can fluctuate across situations and time. The present study aimed to extend existing knowledge by using experience-sampling methodology to examine state-level mindfulness, pleasant/unpleasant event occurrence, and affective well-being in the everyday lives of middle-aged and older adults. A community-based sample of 157 participants aged 53–86 (M = 69.36, SD = 5.80) was recruited in May–June 2020. Participants completed assessments of multidimensional state mindfulness, hassle and uplift occurrence, and positive and negative affect on their smartphones, four times a day over 10 consecutive days. (Total observations: 4,761; M = 30.32, SD = 8.78.) Multilevel models indicated that the state mindfulness-facets present-moment attention and nonjudgmental acceptance were predictive of greater affective well-being in older adulthood. Furthermore, nonjudgmental acceptance appeared to buffer affective reactivity to daily hassles, and importantly, this effect was stronger at older ages. Mindful states did not appear to provide any further boost to uplift-related mood. The findings suggest that occasions characterized by relatively high present-moment attention and nonjudgmental acceptance may contribute to enhanced emotional well-being in later adulthood. Furthermore, adopting a nonevaluative and accepting orientation toward momentary experiences may be a psychological strategy that has particular utility for mitigating emotional reactivity to daily stressors with increasing age. Future research should investigate multidimensional state mindfulness and affective well-being for middle-aged and older adults participating in mindfulness-based interventions.

Testing a model of biopsychosocial successful aging based on socioemotional selectivity theory in the second half of life

“…This finding is consistent with many research findings conducted both in our country (i.e. Turkey) and in other countries and is one of the most well-known findings of the SST in the literature (Lang and Carstensen, 2002;Mahlo and Windsor, 2021;Soylu and Ozekes, 2020).…”

What Do We Know About Aging and Emotion Regulation?

“…Thus, older adults may be better at emotion regulation because they are willing to accept short-term discomfort for longer term well-being (although this might speak against SST’s present-oriented focus). A recent experience-sampling study of state mindfulness found that the mindfulness facet of nonjudgmental acceptance predicted more momentary positive affect and less momentary negative affect and less reactivity to hassles, especially among relatively older participants (Mahlo & Windsor, 2021). The complex interface of possible reduced reactivity and enhanced acceptance with age warrants further study: It may be that older adults are better at using acceptance to modulate their responses, or they may have lessened responses and thus infer that they must be accepting them.…”

Awareness of age-related gains and losses as moderators of daily stress reactivity in middle- and older-adulthood

“…For 10 consecutive days, participants received a link to the evening survey at approximately 8:00 p.m., which was available for 3 h. The survey measured daily stressors, AARC, vitality and affect. Participants also received survey links at randomly spaced intervals four times per day as part of a larger study [see (44)], however, the variables reported here were only assessed in the evening surveys. A response-based compensation approach was offered as follows: Participants received $10 AUD as base compensation, with tiered incentives offered for greater completion of daily surveys (over 60% = an additional $25, over 80% = an additional $40).…”