Life Experiences, Strength of Emotional Response, and Sex-specific Mortality Risk Zones

Lauren Hale
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Lauren Hale: Princeton University

No 296, Working Papers from Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Office of Population Research.

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce a new operationalization of the concept of allostatic load -- the cumulative biological burden exacted on the body through attempts to adapt to life's demands. We use a recursive partitioning (RP) methodology to specify categories of low, intermediate, and high risks of later-life mortality. The risk categories are defined in terms of either low or high ranges of values on the biomarkers, each of which has been implicated as an indicator of possible dysregulation in one or more biological systems. We find that the cumulation of positive life experiences is positively related to membership in a low mortality risk zone, thereby supporting our contention that our operationalization of allostatic load is interpretable as a biological signature of adaptation to life challenges. We also find sex differences in risk categories and their corresponding associations with emotional response profiles.

JEL-codes: J19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-01
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