The interaction between solo activities, preference for solitude, and SES on older adults’ vital engagement: a disposition-situation perspective — ASN Events
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  3. The interaction between solo activities, preference for solitude, and SES on older adults’ vital engagement: a disposition-situation perspective

The interaction between solo activities, preference for solitude, and SES on older adults’ vital engagement: a disposition-situation perspective (#804)

Zhixuan Lin 1 , Dwight Tse 2 , Helene Fung 1 , Jennifer Lay 3
  1. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T. Hong Kong SAR, NEW TERRITORIES, Hong Kong
  2. School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland
  3. Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

Background

Vital engagement (Nakamura & Csikzentmihalyi, 2003) has been found to benefit older adults’ psychological well-being (Lin et al., 2023). However, what factors influence their vital engagement remains unexplored. According to Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (Carstensen et al., 2003), relationship with close others is especially important for older adults so they may find higher meaning and engagement in activities with others. From a disposition-situation interaction perspective, individuals with higher preference for solitude (PFS) may find solo activities as meaningful and enjoyable as activities with others. Socioeconomic status (SES) may moderate the effect of solo activities and PFS on vital engagement as higher SES people benefit more from being independent, while lower SES people prefer being connective to others (Levine, 2017).

Aims

This study investigates the interactive effect between solo activities/activities with others, PFS, and SES on older adults’ vital engagement.

Method

A time sampling study was conducted. Participants aged 60 years or above (N = 344, Mage = 67.15, SDage = 5.26) completed surveys 3 times each day reporting: (1) the meaningfulness and engagement (vital engagement) of the activity they were doing; and (2) whether they were alone or with others doing the activity, over a 10-day period. SES and PFS were measured at the baseline phase. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data.

Results

Participants reported less vital engagement in solo activities compared to those done with others. Such difference was smaller among participants with higher PFS. The solo activities × PFS interaction was significant among participants with mean or lower SES but nonsignificant among participants with higher SES.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that: (1) being with others in activities is an important contributor to older adults’ vital engagement; (2) for older adults with higher PFS, their vital engagement remains comparably high when doing activities alone; (3) for older adults with lower SES, the disposition-situation consistency is more essential for their vital engagement.

  1. Nakamura, J., & Csikzentmihalyi, M. (2003). The construction of meaning through vital engagement. 83–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/10594-004
  2. Lin, Z., Chin, D. C., Fung, H. H., Lay, J. C., &. Tse, D. C. (2023). Hot weather and affect: Meaningful activities as a buffer for older adults with low socioeconomic status. [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
  3. Carstensen, L. L., Fung, H. H., & Charles, S. T. (2003). Socioemotional selectivity theory and the regulation of emotion in the second half of life. Motivation and emotion, 27, 103-123. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024569803230
  4. Levine, C. S. (2017). Psychological buffers against poor health: The role of the socioeconomic environment. Current Opinion in Psychology, 18, 137–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.08.028
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