Age, marital satisfaction, and optimism as predictors of positive sentiment override in middle-aged and older married couples.

This study examined whether positive sentiment override (greater positive appraisal of spouse's affiliative behavior than is warranted by observed behavior) occurred more frequently in older compared with middle-aged married couples and whether age differences were mediated by older adults' greater marital satisfaction when controlling for optimism. Participants included 270 middle-aged (40-50 years old) and older (60-70 years old) couples who discussed a marital disagreement and completed an errand task. Couples provided appraisals of their spouse's affiliation, and the authors coded affiliative interactions using the structural analysis of social behavior. Hierarchical multivariate linear modeling indicated that older husbands and wives viewed their spouse's behavior as more positive during disagreement interactions than did independent observers; in the errand task, only older wives demonstrated positive sentiment override. Age differences in positive sentiment override were mediated by marital satisfaction, even when controlling for optimism. The results are consistent with theories of emotion regulation, such as socioemotional selectivity theory, that suggest that older adults are biased toward the positive aspects of close relationships.

Utilizing topology to generate and test theories of change.

Statistical and methodological innovations in the study of change are advancing rapidly, and visual tools have become an important component in model building and testing. Graphical representations such as path diagrams are necessary, but may be insufficient in the case of complex theories and models. Topology is a visual tool that connects theory and testable equations believed to capture the theorized patterns of change. Although some prior work has made use of topologies, these representations have often been generated as a result of the tested models. This article argues that utilizing topology a priori, when developing a theory, and applying analogous statistical models is a prudent method to conduct research. This article reviews topology by demonstrating how to build a topological representation of a theory and recover the implied equations, ultimately facilitating the transition from complex theory to testable model. Finally, topologies can guide researchers as they adjust or expand their theories in light of recent model testing.

Fractals, Vigilance, and Adolescent Diabetes Management: A Case for When Regulation May Be Difficult to Measure With the Current Medical Standards.

Temporal patterning in blood glucose (BG) consistent with fractals-how BG follows a repetitive pattern through resolutions of time-was used to examine 2 different samples of adolescents with Type 1 diabetes (10-14 years). Sample 1 contained 10 adolescents with longtime series for accurate estimations of long-term dependencies associated with fractals. The second contained 94 adolescents measured multiple times daily over a 2-week period corresponding to psychosocial measures. In both samples, temporal dependencies in BG showed patterns consistent with fractals. In the second sample, temporal dependencies were associated with indicators of vigilant regulation including adolescents' higher anxiety, mothers' higher monitoring, and intrusive support. The existence of temporal dependencies in BG moderated the relationship between glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and indicators of low BG risk but not the relationship between HbA1c and high BG risk. These results show how a biomedical indicator may be susceptible to metric issues associated with fractals.