Centre for Policy on Ageing



Socioemotional selectivity and mental health among trauma survivors in old age
Author(s)	Derek M Isaacowitz, Timothy B Smith, Laura L Carstensen
Journal title	Ageing International, vol 28, no 2, Spring 2003
Pages	pp 181-199
Keywords	Social characteristics [elderly] ; Quality of life ; Ageing process.
Annotation	Empirical tests of socioemotional selectivity theory support the contention that the developmental trend in adulthood to focus increasingly on fewer, but emotionally significant, social partners is associated positively with psychological well-being. However, tenets of the theory also suggest conditions in which selectivity could instead lead to an increase in negative emotional experiences, for example emotional distress. This study concerns selectivity and associated well-being in survivors of the Holocaust and of Japanese-American internment camps, and of comparably-aged people who lived through World War II but did not experience major trauma. The authors predicted that selectivity would relate to positive mental health for all except the Holocaust survivors, who on average, experience elevated levels of negative affect and social networks that include other survivors also experiencing distress. Results generally supported these hypotheses, and are discussed in the light of individual and group differences. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-030813204 A
Classmark	F: F:59: BG
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.