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The Complexity of Emotions in Later Life

Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Indiana.

Address correspondence to Anthony D. Ong, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, 118 Haggar Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556. E-mail: aong{at}nd.edu

The complexity of positive and negative emotions was examined in a sample of 40 adults between the ages of 60 and 85 years. Participants' emotional experiences were assessed by use of a 30-day assessment protocol. Results suggest that different vulnerability and resilience factors are implicated in the intraindividual experience of positive and negative emotions. Individual differences in perceived stress and neuroticism were associated with less differentiation and fewer co-occurrences of positive and negative emotional experiences. In contrast, dispositional resilience predicted greater differentiation and more co-occurrences of affective states. Findings are interpreted within the framework of life-span theories of emotions.