Affective Reactions to daily interpersonal stressors: Moderation by family involvement and gender

2022  Journal Article

Affective Reactions to daily interpersonal stressors: Moderation by family involvement and gender

Pub TLDR

This study adds to the understanding of how interpersonal daily stressors affect emotional well-being, highlighting the significant role of gender in moderating these effects.

The findings have implications for developing more targeted interventions to mitigate the negative impacts of daily stressors on mental health, particularly by considering gender differences in emotional reactivity.

DOI: 10.1177/02654075221125431    PubMed ID: 37063346
 

College of Health researcher(s)

OSU Profile

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine whether family involvement and gender moderated daily changes in affect associated with interpersonal stressors. Adults (N = 2022; Mage = 56.25, Median = 56, SD = 12.20, Range = 33–84) from the second wave of the National Study of Daily Experiences participated in eight consecutive daily diaries. Each day they reported whether a daily interpersonal stressor occurred, whether family was involved, and their positive and negative affect. Results from multilevel models indicated that family involvement did not significantly moderate daily interpersonal stressor-affect associations; however, gender was a significant moderator in some instances. Women showed greater increases in negative affective reactivity to arguments and avoided arguments compared to men. Further, compared to men, women reported larger decreases in positive affective reactivity, but only for avoided arguments. Neither family involvement, gender, nor the interaction between family involvement and gender predicted affective residue. Gender differences in daily interpersonal stressors and affective reactivity may be attributable to overarching gender norms and roles that are still salient in the U.S. Our results suggest that daily interpersonal stressors may be detrimental to affective well-being, regardless of family involvement. Future work should explore associations between daily interpersonal stressors and family involvement by specific relationship roles, such as mother or spouse, for a more comprehensive understanding of what stressor characteristics impact daily affective well-being.

Witzel, D.D., Chandler, K.D., Stawski, R.S.(2022)Affective Reactions to daily interpersonal stressors: Moderation by family involvement and genderJournal of Social and Personal Relationships40(3)