Relationships that elicit both positive and negative emotions, known as ambivalent ties, are often linked to adverse health outcomes in later life. Their negative health impacts, however, may depend on how older adults appraise different emotional experiences (e.g., viewing relationship “ups and downs” as useful or meaningful). This study examined whether bivalent affect valuation (BAV; the extent to which people appraise both positive and negative emotions as valuable) moderates the link between ambivalent ties and health-related limitations in daily activities.
Community-dwelling older adults (N = 250, ages 65-89 years old) completed an in-person interview assessing their social ties and sociodemographic factors, followed by a self-administered questionnaire assessing their valuation of positive and negative emotions, and 5-6 days of momentary assessments examining their social encounters (every three hours) and health-related limitations each day (at bedtime).
Overall, greater exposure to ambivalent ties was associated with more health-related limitations across all days in the study period. Among older adults with greater bivalent affect valuation, however, greater exposure to ambivalent ties on a given day was associated with fewer health-related limitations that day compared to days with less exposure to ambivalent ties. Sensitivity analyses revealed that this effect was likely due to valuing negative affect, specifically.
These findings highlight the importance of considering how older adults’ valuation of their emotions, particularly their negative emotions, might influence the health-related toll of ambivalent ties.