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The role of early life adversity (ELA) in the development of health disparities has not received adequate attention. The current study examined differential exposure and differential vulnerability to ELA as explanations for socioeconomic and racial disparities in body mass index (BMI). Data were derived from a sample of 150 college students (M.sub.age = 18.8, SD = 1.0; 45 % African American; 55 % European American) who reported on parents' education and income as well as on exposure to 21 early adverse experiences. Body measurements were directly assessed to determine BMI. In adjusted models, African American students had higher BMI than European Americans. Similarly, background socioeconomic status was inversely associated with BMI. Significant mediation of group disparities through the pathway of ELA was detected, attenuating disparities by approximately 40 %. Furthermore, ELA was more strongly associated with BMI for African Americans than for European Americans. Efforts to achieve health equity may need to more fully consider early adversity., Author(s): David S. Curtis[sup.1] , Thomas E. Fuller-Rowell[sup.1] , Stacey N. Doan[sup.2] , Aleksandra E. Zgierska[sup.3] , Carol D. Ryff[sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Human Development and Family Studies, [...]

Anger has been linked to cardiovascular disease, but few studies have examined the relationship between anger and type 2 diabetes. The aim was to investigate associations among different indicators of anger expression, adiposity, and nondiabetic glucose metabolism in a national survey of adults. Participants were 939 adults without diabetes in the Midlife in the US study (MIDUS II). Glucose metabolism was characterized by fasting glucose, insulin, insulin resistance, and glycosylated hemoglobin (Hb[A.sub.1c]). Spielberger's Anger Expression inventory was used to measure suppressed anger (anger-in), expressed anger (anger-out), and controlled anger (anger-control). We investigated the relationship between anger and glucose metabolism, and whether anger amplified the adverse relationship between body weight distribution (body mass index = BMI and waist-to-hip ratio = WHR) and glucose metabolism. Multivariate-adjusted analyses revealed an association between anger-out and both insulin and insulin resistance. As predicted, anger-in amplified the relationships between BMI and insulin and insulin resistance, while anger-out amplified the association between WHR and insulin and insulin resistance. Low anger-control was associated with higher glucose. None of the three anger measures was significantly associated with Hb[A.sub.1c]. Our findings extend previous research on anger as a potential risk factor for type 2 diabetes by demonstrating that anger expression is associated with clinical indicators of glycemic control, especially among those with pre-existing risk due to obesity and high central adiposity. Keywords Anger * Diabetes * Obesity * Glucose * Insulin * HOMA-IR * Insulin resistance HbA1c, Introduction Prior research has highlighted the importance of anger in the etiology of cardiovascular disease, demonstrating a strong association between anger and coronary calcification, acute myocardial infarction, subclinical atherosclerosis, and [...]

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02173.x Byline: Margie E. Lachman (1), Christina Rocke (1), Christopher Rosnick (1), Carol D. Ryff (2) Abstract: ABSTRACT We examined actual and perceived trajectories of change in life satisfaction in a national sample of 3,793 adults, ages 24 to 74 at baseline, who provided retrospective, present, and prospective ratings on two occasions 8 to 10 years apart. There was little actual change in satisfaction ratings, but there were age differences in anticipated change, with young adults expecting things to improve and older adults expecting decline. When we compared the actual (present) ratings with corresponding past or future ratings, older adults showed more temporal realism (retrospective and anticipatory ratings matched actual levels) than did young and middle-aged adults; in other words, young and middle-aged adults showed greater illusion (retrospective and prospective ratings overestimated or underestimated actual levels). At all ages, however, temporal realism was associated with more adaptive current functioning than was illusion. We discuss these findings from a life-span developmental perspective on motivational shifts from growth to maintenance and consider the implications of accuracy in evaluating the past and future. Author Affiliation: (1)Brandeis University (2)University of Wisconsin Article History: (R eceived 9/4/07; R evision accepted 2/17/08) Article note: Christina Rocke is now at the University of Zurich, and Christopher Rosnick is now at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Address correspondence to Margie E. Lachman, MS062, Psychology Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, e-mail: lachman@brandeis.edu.

Recursive partitioning is an analytic technique that is useful for identifying complex combinations of conditions that predict particular outcomes as well as for delineating multiple subgroup differences in how such factors work together. As such, the methodology is well suited to multidisciplinary, life course inquiry in which the goal is to integrate many interacting influences and understand subgroup variation. The authors conducted recursive partitioning analyses on a previously published study (D. K. Mroczek & C. M. Kolarz, 1998) that investigated life course profiles of positive and negative affect and incorporated various top-down (personality traits) and bottom-up (sociodemographic statuses, contextual influences) influences. The new analyses reveal multiway, nonlinear interactions among these variables in predicting affective experience and, importantly, life course differences in how these various factors combine. Included are details of how recursive partitioning trees are generated as well as descriptions of the software packages available for using such techniques. Overall, the methodology offers tractable strategies for discerning meaningful patterns in highly complex data sets. Keywords: recursive partitioning, negative affect, positive affect, neuroticism, extraversion Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.44.2.330.supp

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00462.x Byline: Anat Bardi (1), Carol D. Ryff (2) Abstract: ABSTRACT A longitudinal design was used to test theoretically derived interactive effects of traits on adjustment to relocation 1, 8, and 15 months after relocation of elderly women. Openness interacted with Neuroticism and with Extraversion in affecting changes in distress after relocation by amplifying the basic emotional tendencies of Neuroticism and Extraversion. These were delayed effects, occurring only 15 months after relocation. Openness also interacted with Neuroticism in predicting changes in psychological well-being with the effects occurring primarily early in postmove adjustment. In addition, Extraversion interacted with Conscientiousness and with Agreeableness in predicting changes in distress, such that the beneficial effects of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness were evident only for individuals low on Extraversion. These effects were consistent across time, showing long-term effects. Overall, the findings demonstrate the multiplicity of ways in which trait interactions predict dynamic adjustment to a life transition. Author Affiliation: (1)The University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom (2)The University of Wisconsin-Madison Article note: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Anat Bardi, Department of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP, UK; E-mail: A.Bardi@kent.ac.uk.

We selectively review the literature in behavioral and molecular genetics, including both laboratory and epidemiologic studies, with emphasis on how social environments, particularly emotion in significant social relationships, influence gene expression. Attention is given to cross-talk between human and animal studies. Environments are pivotal in understanding phenotypic outcomes, and this demands research on gene-environment interactions. Illustrative interactions, involving both behavioral and molecular genetics, are provided. Many people with susceptibility genes for diverse diseases never proceed to disease status. Substantial associational evidence implicates social environmental factors as protective agents. Mechanistic understanding of these linkages is quite advanced in some animal populations and suggests new lines of inquiry in human studies. Developing the interface between genetics, social environments, and health will require close collaboration between those well versed in molecular biology and biochemistry and persons with expertise in genetic epidemiology and social psychology. Particularly important is the identification of environmental influences that protect susceptible persons from disease incidence.

Recent theoretical accounts of emotion regulation assign an important role in this process to the prefrontal cortex, yet there is little relevant data available to support this hypothesis. The current study assessed the relation between individual differences in asymmetric prefrontal activation and an objective measure of uninstructed emotion regulation. Forty-seven participants 57 to 60 years old viewed emotionally arousing and neutral visual stimuli while eye-blink startle data were collected. Startle probes were also presented after picture presentation to capture the persistence or attenuation of affect following the offset of an emotional stimulus. Subjects with greater relative left-sided anterior activation in scalp-recorded brain electrical signals displayed attenuated startle magnitude after the offset of negative stimuli. This relation between resting frontal activation and recovery following an aversive event supports the idea of a frontally mediated mechanism involved in one form of automatic emotion regulation.

This study investigates the influence of personality on adjustment to a particular life transition, community relocation. Participants were 285 women (average age = 69.5) who were interviewed once before they moved, and then multiple times after the move. Within the context of this multiwave design, personality traits were used to predict changes in depressive symptoms (DS) and self-esteem (SE) across the move. Neuroticism and Openness to Experience predicted increases in DS over time, whereas Extraversion and Openness predicted increases in SE. Stressful reactions to the move and sense of mastery about the move partially mediated these effects. The study documents the dynamic influence of personality on positive and negative aspects of adjustment and investigates differing routes through which such effects occur.

Subjective well-being (SWB) is evaluation of life in terms of satisfaction and balance between positive and negative affect; psychological well-being (PWB) entails perception of engagement with existential challenges of life. The authors hypothesized that these research streams are conceptually related but empirically distinct and that combinations of them relate differentially to sociodemographics and personality. Data are from a national sample of 3,032 Americans aged 25-74. Factor analyses confirmed the related-but-distinct status of SWB and PWB. The probability of optimal well-being (high SWB and PWB) increased as age, education, extraversion, and conscientiousness increased and as neuroticism decreased. Compared with adults with higher SWB than PWB, adults with higher PWB than SWB were younger, had more education, and showed more openness to experience.

Because measures of personality and well-being share common affective underpinnings and items, previously reported links between these domains may be tautological. To explicate the connections between personality and well-being, 2 samples of midlife adults (N = 215 and N = 139) completed measures of personality (NEO Five-Factor Inventory; P. T Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) and psychological well-being (C. D. Ryff's, 1989b, Psychological Well-Being [PWB] inventory) that were maximally distinct, both conceptually and methodologically. Analyses included additional controls for source overlap, common affective underpinnings, and shared item content. Distinctive personality correlates were observed for the 6 PWB outcomes: self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life were linked with Neuroticism (N) Extraversion (E) and Conscientiousness (C); personal growth was linked with Openness to Experience (O) and E; positive relations with others was linked with Agreeableness (A) and E; autonomy was linked with N. Psychological wellness and its personality correlates may be more complex than prior studies suggest.

Theories about the self-concept suggest that different aspects of to the self are organized according to importance, or psychological centrality. The ways in which psychological centrality can change and how [...]

A survey of two groups of older women focused on different types of life challenges. The first was residential relocation and the second was caring for a mentally retarded son or daughter. The two challenges are different in terms of how long they last, and whether they are common, and can be anticipated. Women undergoing relocation tended to score more highly on both problem-focused and emotional coping strategies, while caregivers appeared to have adjusted to their roles. Caregivers showed a sense of purpose in life, though women relocating showed more self-esteem.

A study of the effects of psychological resources and contextual factors on emotional reactions to community relocation show that greater psychological resources help women to be more resilient to negative circumstances. Environmental mastery and autonomy reduce the subjective experience of difficulty of relocation and subsequent emotional reactions. Subjects with lower premove resources receive emotional boosts of unexpected gains.

Previous research has shown that evaluative organization of self-knowledge explains variance in self-esteem and mood beyond that accounted for by positive or negative content. Here, that model is applied to the changing self-perceptions of women in a life transition. In a sample of 120 older women who had relocated within the past year, evaluative differentiation of self-change - the tendency to perceive self-change very positively in some domains and very negatively in others - was associated with greater well-being among women whose positive domains were perceived to be important. People who perceive great improvement in at least one important domain of the self (despite sacrifice in others) may be more resilient during a life transition than those who experience the same average improvement spread evenly across domains. Having a few very important positive aspects of the self to fall back on may help to buffer the stress of a life transition.

A theoretical model of psychological well-being that encompasses 6 distinct dimensions of wellness (Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Positive Relations With Others, Purpose in Life, Self-Acceptance) was tested with data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 1,108), aged 25 and older, who participated in telephone interviews. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the proposed 6-factor model, with a single second-order super factor. The model was superior in fit over single-factor and other artifactual models. Age and sex differences on the various well-being dimensions replicated prior findings. Comparisons with other frequently used indicators (positive and negative affect, life satisfaction) demonstrated that the latter neglect key aspects of positive functioning emphasized in theories of health and well-being.

A study of 215 middle-aged parents to evaluate the effect of their children's education, job and social status on their well-being showed that the achievements and social adjustment of the children correlate to the well-being of the parents. Positive associations with others, personal development and depression of the parents depended on their perception of the adjustment of the children. Children's achievement was not affected by parental perceptions.

The role of psychosocial aspects such as coping and positive affect as a predictor of gycosylated hemoglobin levels in 97 older women without diabetes is investigated. Findings revealed that positive affect, venting and problem-focused coping predicted lower glycosylated hemoglobin levels. The moderating impacts of positive affect on problem-focused coping are also examined.

The relationship between psychological influences and lower plasma levels of interleukin-6 in elderly women is presented.

Despite the vast literature that has implicated asymmetric activation of the prefrontal cortex in approach-withdrawal motivation and emotion, no published reports have directly explored the neural correlates of well-being. Eighty-four right-handed adults (ages 57-60) completed self-report measures of eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, and positive affect prior to resting electroencephalography. As hypothesized, greater left than right superior frontal activation was associated with higher levels of both forms of well-being. Hemisphere-specific analyses documented the importance of goal-directed approach tendencies beyond those captured by approach-related positive affect for eudaimonic but not for hedonic well-being. Appropriately engaging sources of appetitive motivation, characteristic of higher left than right baseline levels of prefrontal activation, may encourage the experience of well-being.

The extent to which self-enhancing evaluations is related to mental health in a later life transition is studied. The dynamic impact of self-enhancing evaluative process on psychological well-being and depressive symptoms is also suggested.

This study investigates the consequences of perceived improvements and perceived declines in life domain functioning. Self-concept theory suggests that perceived improvement should increase both negative and positive mental health because it violates the self-consistency standard but satisfies the self-enhancement standard. Because perceived decline violates both self-consistency and self-enhancement standards, it should strongly increase negative mental health and decrease positive mental health (the 'double-dose effect'). These hypotheses were tested with data from a national probability sample and telephone interview with adults who evaluated change in functioning in six domains of life. More perceived improvement predicted increases in both negative and positive mental health. More perceived decline predicted increases in negative mental health and decreases in positive mental health. Perceived decline exhibited a double-dose effect on mental health. Findings suggest that subjective change produces complex mental health profiles because it is understood through multiple self-standards and is experienced through distinct reactive channels.

Previous research suggests that self-deception is maximized when (a) there is a lack of concrete information, and (b) the motivation to self-deceive is high. In applying this model to past, present, and future judgments about the self, the future is unique because of its uncertainty, whereas the past is unique because of its lesser relevance to current motivations. We therefore predict that people will be the most self-deceptive when thinking about their future, a prediction supported in four studies (Ns = 96, 125, 40, and 298) using various measures of self-deception and subjective well-being. Studies 1 and 2 provide basic evidence for future self-enhancement, whereas Studies 3 and 4 demonstrate that concrete information about the future reduces this bias. More generally, the findings highlight the special status of future well-being judgments as well as the flexible link between self-deception and self-evaluation.