Negative Affect and Stress: A Dynamical Systems Analysis

In the vast literature of developmental psychology, there is a great deal of conceptual debate surrounding definitions of resilience, change, and process. It is argued that at the interface of theory and method lies a unique opportunity to develop our notions of resilience-as-process, test these using newer analytical techniques such as Dynamical Systems Analysis (DSA), and, therein arrive at better elaborated theoretical depictions of development that may, in turn, beg for ever more sophisticated methods for capturing and analyzing change. In the present study, resilience is defined as the human capability to resist, cope with, recover from, and succeed in the face of adverse circumstances (Masten & Powell, 2003), with adversity defined as the myriad stressors individuals encounter as they age. As individuals develop, age-related stressors abound, and the ability to manage one's emotions has been suggested as a fundamental component of maintaining well-being in the face of this stress. The present study examined the lived experience of elders, and investigating first the daily dynamic experience of negative affect (NA), and its relationship to a person's general proclivity toward negative emotionality (i.e., a stable negative emotional equilibrium). After this relationship was described, the focus shifted toward understanding the predictors or correlates of daily fluctuations in NA from a resilience perspective. Finally, within the stress-and-coping framework, resilience is understood as a process whereby resilience resources intervene in the relationship between the experience of stress and feelings of well-being. Therefore, the relationship between daily perceived stress and daily NA was examined. After understanding the extent to which these experiences tend to be tied together (in terms of strength and nature of coupling), second order models were used to explore the extent to which resilience resources predicted the parameters of association between changes in NA and in Stress.