Modeling Intraindividual Dynamics Using Stochastic Differential Equations: Age Differences in Affect Regulation

Julie Wood, Zita Oravecz, Nina Vogel, Lizbeth Benson, Sy-Miin Chow, Pamela Cole, David E Conroy, Aaron L Pincus and Nilam Ram

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2018, vol. 73, issue 1, 171-184

Abstract: Objectives: Life-span theories of aging suggest improvements and decrements in individuals’ ability to regulate affect. Dynamic process models, with intensive longitudinal data, provide new opportunities to articulate specific theories about individual differences in intraindividual dynamics. This paper illustrates a method for operationalizing affect dynamics using a multilevel stochastic differential equation (SDE) model, and examines how those dynamics differ with age and trait-level tendencies to deploy emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal and suppression).MethodUnivariate multilevel SDE models, estimated in a Bayesian framework, were fit to 21 days of ecological momentary assessments of affect valence and arousal (average 6.93/day, SD = 1.89) obtained from 150 adults (age 18–89 years)—specifically capturing temporal dynamics of individuals’ core affect in terms of attractor point, reactivity to biopsychosocial (BPS) inputs, and attractor strength. Results: Older age was associated with higher arousal attractor point and less BPS-related reactivity. Greater use of reappraisal was associated with lower valence attractor point. Intraindividual variability in regulation strategy use was associated with greater BPS-related reactivity and attractor strength, but in different ways for valence and arousal. Discussion: The results highlight the utility of SDE models for studying affect dynamics and informing theoretical predictions about how intraindividual dynamics change over the life course.

Keywords: Affect dynamics; Emotion regulation; Experience sampling; Intraindividual variability; Longitudinal analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is currently edited by Psychological Sciences - S. Duke Han, PhD and Social Sciences - Jessica A Kelley, PhD, FGSA

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