Emotion Regulation in Older Age

TLDR

Older age is associated with losses in physical, cognitive, and social domains, yet older adults often report higher well‑being than younger adults. The article seeks to explain this well‑being enhancement by examining whether older adults exhibit enhanced emotion regulation. The authors propose that older adults achieve well‑being by selecting and optimizing specific emotion‑regulation processes to compensate for changes in internal and external resources. Based on this framework, the authors outline several directions for future research.

Abstract

Older age is normatively associated with losses in physical, cognitive, and social domains. Despite these losses, older adults often report higher levels of well-being than do younger adults. How can we explain this enhancement of well-being? In this article, we consider one possible explanation, namely, that older adults show enhanced emotion regulation. Specifically, we propose that older adults achieve well-being by selecting and optimizing particular emotion regulation processes to compensate for changes in internal and external resources. With this framework in mind, we suggest several directions for future research.