AGE DIFFERENCES IN THE EMOTIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF LONELINESS: A TIME-SAMPLING STUDY

摘要

The detrimental effects of loneliness has been well-established. Yet, lonely individuals with motivation to seek information and take actions (i.e., with curiosity) may experience reduced negative effect of loneliness. Previous studies demonstrated the association between loneliness and negative emotions, but did not examined its age difference nor the potential role of curiosity in moderating its effect on life satisfaction. We conducted a 2-week time-sampling study with 78 younger adults and 78 older adults to investigate the age difference in loneliness experience and the role of curiosity. While younger adults’ loneliness was associated with a wide range of emotions, including anxiety (β=.10, p=.024), sadness (β=.31, p<.001) and anger (β=.13, p<.01), lonely older adults primarily felt sad or depressed (β=.19, p=.038). For both age groups, curiosity did not moderate the negative effect of loneliness on life satisfaction.