Age differences in stress, coping, and appraisal: findings from the Normative Aging Study

Abstract

Controversies exist concerning the influence of age on the stress and coping process, in part due to differences in methods across studies. We examined age differences in stress, appraisal, and coping, using both semistructured interview questions and a coping checklist in middle-aged, young-old, and old-old men. Despite extensive probing, nearly a quarter of the old-old reported having had no problems and they expended less coping effort even when they did have problems. The types of problems reported varied systematically with age. Middle-aged men were more likely to appraise their problems both as challenges and as annoyances than the older men. Different age patterns emerged from the coping interviews vs the checklists, but controlling for type of problem significantly attenuated age differences. However, there were no age differences in perceived stressfulness of the problem, appraisals of harm/loss, or helpless appraisals, number of emotions reported, or coping efficacy. One interpretation of these results is that the nature of stress changes with age, from episodic to chronic, which in turn affects appraisal and coping processes.