Regulation of affect in late adulthood: Effects of mild depressive symptoms

Abstract

Background: Recent research has highlighted the important role of emotion dysregulation in the occurrence and maintenance of depressive symptomatology.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test the effects of mild depressive symptoms (MDS) on older adults’ ability to regulate emotional experiences.

Method: A total of 70 community dwelling older adults completed self-report measures of affect and were asked to report how often they use specific emotion regulation strategies.

Results: Consistent with previous theories older adults experiencing MDS reported greater difficulties in regulating affect compared to normal controls (NCs).

Conclusion: The present results provide support for previous findings demonstrating that experiencing depressive symptoms affects the ability to regulate emotional responses. Current findings are likely to be informative in terms of understanding emotion dysregulation in older adults at risk of experiencing clinical symptoms of depression.

Keywords:

• aging
• emotion
• emotion regulation strategies
• mild depressive symptoms

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a grant awarded to the author by the College of Life Sciences and Medicine of University of Aberdeen. The author thanks those who kindly volunteered to participate in the study.