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. 2024 Feb 9:15:1332124.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1332124. eCollection 2024.

The effect of age and resilience on the dose-response function between the number of adversity factors and subjective well-being

Shulan Hsieh  1   2   3 , Yun-Hsuan Chang  1   4   5 , Zai-Fu Yao  6   7   8   9 , Meng-Heng Yang  1 , Cheng-Ta Yang  1   2   10
Affiliations

The effect of age and resilience on the dose-response function between the number of adversity factors and subjective well-being

Shulan Hsieh et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: Encountering challenges and stress heightens the vulnerability to mental disorders and diminishes well-being. This study explores the impact of psychological resilience in the context of adverse events, considering age-related variations in its influence on well-being.

Methods: A total of 442 participants (male vs. female =48% vs. 52%) with a mean age of 41.79 ± 16.99 years were collected and completed the following questionnaires Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey (BBTS), Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Peace of Mind (PoM), The World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), and Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ). They all underwent structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Results: Participants were categorized based on adversity levels: 34.39% faced one, 26.24% none, and 19.91, 9.50, and 8.14% encountered two, three, and four adversities, respectively. This categorization helps assess the impact on participants' experiences. As adversity factors increased, PoM decreased. Controlling for age improved PoM model fit (ΔR2 = 0.123, p < 0.001). Adversity factors and age explained 14.6% of PoM variance (df = 2, F = 37.638, p < 0.001). PoM decreased with more adversity and increased with higher age.

Conclusion: The study found most participants faced at least one adversity. Adversity negatively affected PoM scores, while resilience acted as a protective factor. Resilience plays a crucial role in buffering the impact of adversities on well-being. Among those with high adversity, higher resilience correlated with stronger DMN-right frontal pole connectivity. Brain volume showed no significant differences, but the quality of life and social support varied between subgroups, with no differences in personal demographic and biophysical features.

Keywords: adversity; aging; dose–response; resilience; well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The number (the x-axis) and proportion (denoted on the top of each bar) of participants who had experienced how many numbers (0 ~ 5) of adverse events (the x-axis).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The number (the upper x-axis) and proportion (the lower x-axis) of participants who indicated the presence of that specific adversity (the y-axis).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The left panel shows the scatter plot of Peace of Mind (PoM) and the number of adversities. The blue line represents the negative correlation. The right panel shows the boxplot for each number of adversity factors (x-axis) against PoM scores (y-axis). The box represents the data’s interquartile range (IQR), with the central line within the box indicating the median PoM score. The “whiskers” extend to the highest and lowest values within 1.5 times the IQR. Data points beyond the whiskers are considered outliers and plotted individually as dots.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Dose–response effects of the number of adversity factors on PoM score per age. Each color represents a different number of adversity factors. The lines represent fitted polynomial curves.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Dose–response effects of the number of adversity factors on PoM score per BRS score. Each color represents a different number of adversity factors. The lines represent fitted polynomial curves.
Figure 6
Figure 6
3D transparent brain perspective view, with the red area representing the brain cluster displaying significant differences after the Generalized Linear Model (GLM) contrast. The figure presents the coordinates of brain images in MNI (Montreal Neurological Institute) space.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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