Age and sex differences in strategies of coping and defense across the life span.

Abstract

Age and sex differences in the use of coping and defense strategies were examined in life-span sample of 381 individuals. Participants responded to 2 self-report measures assessing mechanisms of coping and defense and measures assessing their level of cognitive complexity. Older adults used a combination of coping and defense strategies indicative of greater impulse control and the tendency to positively appraise conflict situations. Adolescents and younger adults used strategies that were outwardly aggressive and psychologically undifferentiated, indicating lower levels of impulse control and self-awareness. Women used more internalizing defenses than men and used coping strategies that flexibly integrated intra-and interpersonal aspects of conflict situations. Taken together, findings provide evidence for the age- and sex-specific use of strategies of coping and defense, suggesting that men and women may face different developmental tasks in the process toward maturity in adulthood.

Agency and communion attributes in adults’ spontaneous self-representations

“…These findings also suggest that communion-oriented individuals may use developmentally more mature defence mechanisms when confronted with challenging situations. This finding is consistent with results from several studies showing positive associations between age and mature coping strategies (see Diehl et al, 1996;Helson & Wink, 1987;Vaillant, 1993).Examination of the associations of agency and communion attributes with dimensions of psychological well-being showed only significant correlations for communion-related attributes. Specifically, individuals who included more communion-related attributes in the centre circle of their self-portrait display tended to have (a) a more positive attitude toward their own person (i.e., self-acceptance); (b) a greater sense of mastery and competence in managing the environment (i.e., environmental mastery); (c) warm, satisfying, and trusting Finally, findings from an analysis of variance failed to support the hypothesis that with increasing age the relative importance of agency attributes compared to communion attributes increases for women, whereas the opposite pattern can be expected for men.…”

Six-year change in affect optimization and affect complexity across the adult life span: A further examination.

“…In addition, 9 participants had incomplete data so that no valid CPI scale scores could be calculated for these individuals, resulting in a maximum sample size of 363 individuals with valid CPI scores for the first time of measurement (see Diehl et al, 1996). Equation 1 specifies that the observed score for affect optimization or affect complexity for person p at time t, Y pt , is a function of (a) that person's score (i.e., intercept) of affect optimization or affect complexity in 1992, (β 0p ; (b) that person's estimated rate of rate of change (i.e., slope) per year over the 6-year period, (β lp ; and (c) a random within-person error, e pt , representing the deviation of participant p's observed score from his or her estimated score at time t. The term (Time pt − 92) is the index for the time elapsed since 1992, corresponding to the years passed since the beginning of the study.…”

Brand relations and life course: Why old consumers love their brands

“…This ability increases with age. This has empirically been demonstrated in many studies, for example, Carstensen et al (2000) and Diehl et al (1996). The second dimension is that of cognitive-affective complexity, the ability to tolerate tension and negativity with the goal to keep an objective view of the world.…”