Does emotion regulation network mediate the effect of social network on psychological distress among older adults?

Socio-emotional interactions are integral for regulating emotions and buffering psychological distress. Social neuroscience perspectives on aging suggest that empathetic interpersonal interactions are supported by the activation of brain regions involved in regulating negative affect. The current study tested whether resting state functional connectivity of a network of brain regions activated during cognitive emotion regulation, i.e., emotion regulation network (ERN), statistically mediates the frequency of social contact with friends or family on psychological distress. Here, a 10-min resting-state functional MRI scan was collected along with self-reported anxiety/depressive, somatic, and thought problems and social networking from 90 community-dwelling older adults (aged 65-85 years). The frequency of social interactions with family, but not friends and neighbors, was associated with lower psychological distress. The magnitude of this effect was reduced by 33.34% to non-significant upon adding resting state ERN connectivity as a mediator. Follow-up whole-brain graph network analyses revealed that efficiency and centrality of the left inferior frontal gyrus and the right middle temporal gyrus relate to greater family interactions and lower distress. These hubs may help to buffer psychological problems in older adults through interactions involving empathetic and cognitive emotion regulation with close family.

Using Network Analysis to Assess the Effects of Trauma, Psychosocial, and Socioeconomic Factors on Health Outcomes Among Black Women Living with HIV.

Black women living with HIV (BWLWH) face intersectional adversities impacting their wellbeing. This study utilized network analysis to assess the associations among adversities linked to racism, sexism, HIV stigma, and socioeconomic status (income, housing, education) and determine which adversities predict mental health outcomes, HIV viral load, and medication adherence more consistently among BWLWH. 119 BWLWH aged 18 years or older completed self-report measures on sociodemographics, adversity factors, and mental health outcomes. Viral load count was obtained through blood draws, and medication adherence was measured via Wisepill adherence monitoring device. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess if the more central factors in the network also predicted health outcomes more consistently than the less central factors. The four most central factors in the network were income, housing, gendered racial microaggression (GRM) frequency, and GRM appraisal. Multiple regression analysis revealed that GRM frequency, GRM appraisal, and the number of traumas contributed uniquely and were positively associated with both depressive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. HIV-related discrimination contributed uniquely and was positively associated with HIV viral load.

Microaggressions and Discrimination Relate to Barriers to Care Among Black Women Living with HIV.

In the United States, black women living with HIV (BWLWH) represent the highest proportion of women living with HIV and dying from HIV-related illnesses when compared with women of other racial/ethnic groups. These disparities may be linked to social and structural factors faced by BWLWH, including race- and HIV-related discrimination, and gendered racial microaggressions (GRMs). GRMs are everyday insults that black women experience due to being both black and female (e.g., comments about their body). Commonly assessed barriers to HIV-related care (e.g., transportation, finance, community stigma) do not include personal experiences of race- and HIV-related discrimination and GRM. We present the cross-sectional associations between racial discrimination, HIV-related discrimination, GRM, and barriers to care. One hundred BWLWH in a large city in the Southeast United States completed baseline assessments as part of an intervention development study. At baseline assessments BWLWH completed measures on racial discrimination, HIV-related discrimination, GRM (frequency and appraisal), and barriers to care. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions controlling for age, education, and income indicated that higher race-related discrimination (ß = 0.23, p < 0.05), higher HIV-related discrimination (ß = 0.26, p < 0.01), and higher GRM (frequency: ß = 0.31, p < 0.01; appraisal: ß = 0.21, p < 0.05) significantly predicted higher total barriers to care. When all predictors were entered together GRMs contributed uniquely to total barriers to care and two subscales, while racial discrimination contributed uniquely toward one subscale. These findings further emphasize that for BWLWH interventions and policy efforts need to address racial discrimination, HIV-related discrimination, and GRM concurrently with other barriers to care, with special attention being given to daily GRM.