Abstract
Negative affect (NA) has been robustly linked to poorer psychological health, including greater depressive symptoms, personal burnout, and perceived stress. These associations, known as affect-health links, have been postulated by our research team to vary with different levels of negative affect valuation (NAV), such that people who evaluate NA states as more pleasant, helpful, appropriate, and/or meaningful may show weaker affect-health links. Another affect valuation construct is ideal NA, which is the degree to which people ideally want to experience NA states (i.e., desirability of affective states). The current study extends previous research by examining these two different measures of affect valuation (NAV and ideal NA) and comparing the extent to which they moderate affect-health links for psychological health and functioning. Participants from the Health and Daily Experiences (HEADE) study (N = 162 comprising of 56 younger adults and 106 older adults) completed questionnaires in a laboratory setting and ecological momentary assessments of NA 6 times a day for 7 consecutive days (i.e., trait NA). The results demonstrated that the two affect valuation constructs were distinct and showed different patterns of buffering effects. NAV attenuated the association between trait NA and depressive symptoms, personal burnout, and intolerance of uncertainty. Ideal NA attenuated affect-health links for depressive symptoms and perceived stress. These findings point to the importance of sharpening the distinctions between various affect valuation constructs to elucidate their unique contributions to attenuating affect-health links.
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We have no known conflicts of interest to disclose. Research reported in this article was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K01AG056660 (PI: Gloria Luong). Dr. Morse is supported by the VA Office of Academic Affiliates advanced fellowship in women’s health. Dr. Chow is supported by the Intensive Longitudinal Health Behavior Cooperative Agreement Program funded by the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U24AA027684; and National Science Foundation grant IGE-1806874. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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Luong, G., Miller, J.W., Kirkland, D. et al. Valuing negative affect weakens affect-health linkages: similarities and differences across affect valuation measures. Motiv Emot 47, 347–363 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-023-10012-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-023-10012-7