We examined age differences in problem-focused and emotion-regulatory problem-solving strategy use for self-generated family problems. Young, middle-aged, and older participants generated family problem situations that were high and low in emotional salience. They were asked both how they solved the problem and how they managed emotions involved in the problem. We conducted analyses on three categories of problem-solving strategies: instrumental strategies, proactive emotion regulation, and passive emotion regulation. When regulating emotions, middle-aged adults used more proactive emotion-regulation strategies than older adults, and older adults used more passive emotion-regulation strategies than middle-aged adults. These effects were driven by the high emotional salience condition.

Age and gender differences in perceived effectiveness of problem-focused and emotion-regulatory problem-solving strategies were examined. Using the Q-sort methodology, young, middle-aged, and older participants were asked to rank order, on a continuum from least to most effective, a wide range of possible strategies for dealing with 4 hypothetical, interpersonal problem situations. In addition to global problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies, analyses were conducted on an expanded 10-category system, including 3 problem-focused and 7 emotion-focused categories. In general, participants preferred problem-focused over emotion-focused strategies. However, older adults preferred a combination of problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies, whereas middle-aged and younger age groups preferred problem-focused strategies only, as their top choices. Qualitative age and gender differences were also found in the types of strategies endorsed, particularly for the emotion-focused strategies.

Aging brings additional challenges to the task of finding one's way around a complex built environment.