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Review
. 2010 Nov;136(6):1068-91.
doi: 10.1037/a0021232.

Strength and vulnerability integration: a model of emotional well-being across adulthood

Susan Turk Charles  1
Affiliations
Review

Strength and vulnerability integration: a model of emotional well-being across adulthood

Susan Turk Charles. Psychol Bull. 2010 Nov.

Abstract

The following article presents the theoretical model of strength and vulnerability integration (SAVI) to explain factors that influence emotion regulation and emotional well-being across adulthood. The model posits that trajectories of adult development are marked by age-related enhancement in the use of strategies that serve to avoid or limit exposure to negative stimuli but by age-related vulnerabilities in situations that elicit high levels of sustained emotional arousal. When older adults avoid or reduce exposure to emotional distress, they often respond better than younger adults; when they experience high levels of sustained emotional arousal, however, age-related advantages in emotional well-being are attenuated, and older adults are hypothesized to have greater difficulties returning to homeostasis. SAVI provides a testable model to understand the literature on emotion and aging and to predict trajectories of emotional experience across the adult life span.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A model of strength and vulnerability integration (SAVI).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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