Naturalistically observed interpersonal problems and diabetes management in older adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the links between naturalistically observed and self-reported interpersonal problems, diabetes management, and glucose levels in older adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes. DESIGN: Sixty-eight older adolescents and young adults (aged 17-20 years) participated in a cross-sectional study that consisted of three home visits and a daily diary segment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants wore the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) for four days to capture interpersonal problems and wore a continuous glucose monitor for blood glucose levels. Researchers also collected HbA1c values, conducted an interview to assess diabetes management, and collected participant-reported severity of interpersonal problems. RESULTS: High EAR-observed interpersonal problems were associated with poor diabetes management. Multiple regression analyses revealed that high EAR-observed interpersonal problems continued to explain variance in poor diabetes management after including self-reported interpersonal problems and covariates. CONCLUSION: These findings corroborate literature suggesting that negative interactions are associated with type 1 diabetes management. This study is the first to use the EAR to capture naturalistically observed interactions in this population and identify its utility beyond self-reports. These findings highlight the importance of considering naturalistically observed interactions when developing interventions to promote better diabetes management in older adolescents and young adults.

Effects of daily peer problems on sleep and the severity of pediatric asthma symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: Although psychosocial stressors in the home environment place children at risk for physical health problems, less is known about whether or how peer stressors contribute to health problems in youth. The current study investigated associations between daily peer problems and asthma symptoms among adolescents with asthma. The possible mediating role of nightly sleep disturbance and the moderating role of adolescent mental health were also examined. METHOD: Adolescents (N = 297) with asthma reported on peer problems, nighttime awakenings, sleep quality, and asthma symptoms over 4 days. Youth also self-administered daily peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) assessments, and parents reported on their children's anxious-depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Adolescents encountering more daily peer problems experienced more severe asthma symptoms, but not lower PEFR. Mediation analyses demonstrated that associations between daily peer problems and subjective asthma symptoms were partially explained by more nighttime awakenings and lower sleep quality, even after accounting for potentially confounding demographic factors and adolescents' daily experiences of familial stress. However, these indirect pathways did not vary depending on youth anxious-depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide novel evidence for everyday peer stress as a developmentally relevant health risk factor among adolescents with asthma. Insofar as daily peer problems were associated with elevated asthma symptoms via impaired sleep, psychosocial interventions focusing on the peer context may help mitigate maladaptive health behaviors and asthma morbidity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Cardiometabolic Health: A Test of the John Henryism Hypothesis in African American Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: John Henryism (JH) is a form of active high-effort coping. Low-socioeconomic status (SES) African Americans adopting JH to deal with structural racism and other chronic stressors might be more likely to display cardiovascular disease risk factors. Previous tests of this hypothesis have mostly focused on the moderating role of current SES and hypertension as the outcome variable. Furthermore, most of the previous work has been conducted among young and middle-aged adults. This study aimed at extending work on the JH hypothesis by testing the combined effect of JH and childhood SES on metabolic syndrome and systemic inflammation among African American older adults. METHODS: One hundred seventy urban African American older adults (Mage = 67.64 years, 75.9% female) were recruited. Participants completed questionnaires assessing JH, childhood SES, and other variables used as covariates (ie, demographic information, chronic conditions, medication use, and health behaviors). Blood pressure, waist circumference, and blood were also collected. Triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hemoglobin A1C, and C-reactive protein levels were measured from the blood samples. RESULTS: JH was positively associated with metabolic syndrome symptoms among participants reporting low childhood SES levels, but not among those reporting high childhood SES levels. The same pattern did not emerge when we considered current SES. Similar patterns of results did not emerge as far as systemic inflammation was concerned. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the importance of considering the joint impact of objective conditions early in life and individual psychological proclivities in explaining increased risk for cardiovascular disease risk in this population.

Perceived stress is linked to heightened biomarkers of inflammation via diurnal cortisol in a national sample of adults.

Exposure to and perceptions of stress have been associated with altered systemic inflammation, but the intermediate processes by which stress links to inflammation are not fully understood. Diurnal cortisol slopes were examined as a pathway by which self-reported psychosocial stress is associated with inflammation [i.e., C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), fibrinogen, E-Selectin, and Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1)] in a large sample of adults (the Midlife in the US study; N = 914; 55.9% female; aged 34-84 years). Structural equation modeling indicated that perceived psychological stress was associated with flattened diurnal cortisol slopes and flatter diurnal cortisol slopes were, in turn, associated with heightened inflammation in these cross-sectional analyses (index of indirect pathway, ω = 0.003, 95% CI [0.001, 0.004], ωSTD = 0.027; with covariates, ω = 0.001, [0.0002, 0.002], ωSTD = 0.011). A similar indirect effect was evident for self-reported traumatic life events (ω = 0.007, [0.004, 0.012], ωSTD = 0.030); however, inclusion of covariates (i.e., age, gender, race, ethnicity, body mass index, and other factors associated with physical health) accounted for this finding (ω = 0.001, [-0.001, 0.004], ωSTD = 0.005). These results support an allostatic load model of psychosomatic health, in which cortisol (along with other stress-responsive signaling molecules) is a necessary component for understanding links between stress exposure, perceived stress, and immune functioning.

Correction to Rodriguez-Stanley et al. (2020).

Reports an error in "Housework, health, and well-being in older adults: The role of socioeconomic status" by Jacqueline Rodriguez-Stanley, María Alonso-Ferres, Samuele Zilioli and Richard B. Slatcher (Journal of Family Psychology, 2020[Aug], Vol 34[5], 610-620). In the article (http://dx.doi.org/10 .1037/fam0000630), values are incorrectly reported in columns 1-3 of Table 1 and in the "Eudaimonic well-being," "Physical health," and "Sleep dysfunction" columns of Table 2. Although the significance of the associations and analyses remain unchanged, the corrected table columns are included in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2020-09875-001.) For most adults, household chores are undesirable tasks yet need to be completed regularly. Previous research has identified absolute hours spent on household chores and one's perceived fairness of the housework distribution as predictors of romantic relationship quality and well-being outcomes. Drawing from the Equity Theory, we hypothesized that perceived fairness acts as an underlying psychological mechanism linking household chores hours to long-term effects of relationship quality, well-being, physical health, and sleep quality in a sample of 2,644 married and cohabiting adults from the Midlife Development in the U.S. study. Additionally, following the Reserve Capacity Model, socioeconomic status (SES) was tested as a moderator because of its association with exposure to stressors and psychological resources which contribute to perceived fairness. Moderated mediation results showed significant indirect effects of household chore hours through perceived fairness on prospective measures of well-being, marital quality, physical health, and sleep dysfunction among individuals of lower SES but not higher SES when controlling for age, sex, and paid work hours. These results highlight the importance of perceived fairness and the influence of SES in the links among household chores and long-term relationship processes, health, and well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Socioeconomic status and differential psychological and immune responses to a human-caused disaster.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals from different socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds may respond variably to stressful events, and such differences are likely to contribute to health disparities. The current study leveraged data collected before and after a petrochemical explosion and aimed to investigate how individuals from different SES backgrounds responded to this unexpected stressor in terms of perceived social support, perceived stress, and systemic inflammation. METHODS: Data were drawn from 124 participants (Mage = 55.9 ± 16.1 years, 69.4% female, 29.0% White) living close to a petrochemical complex where the explosion occurred in 2005. SES was assessed at baseline, and perceived stress and inflammatory markers (i.e., C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6]) were assessed at both pre- and post-explosion. Perceived social support was assessed at post-explosion. RESULTS: Lower SES was associated with less perceived social support. Lower SES was also associated with a larger increase in perceived stress and higher levels of IL-6, but not CRP. Perceived social support did not moderate or mediate the effects of SES on changes in perceived stress, IL-6, or CRP. The associations between SES and inflammatory markers were also not explained by changes in perceived stress. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study support the idea that individuals from different SES backgrounds respond differently to stressors at both the psychosocial (perceived social support and perceived stress) and biological (inflammation) levels. Our findings also suggest that these two processes appear to act independently from each other.

Housework, health, and well-being in older adults: The role of socioeconomic status.

For most adults, household chores are undesirable tasks yet need to be completed regularly. Previous research has identified absolute hours spent on household chores and one's perceived fairness of the housework distribution as predictors of romantic relationship quality and well-being outcomes. Drawing from the Equity Theory, we hypothesized that perceived fairness acts as an underlying psychological mechanism linking household chores hours to long-term effects of relationship quality, well-being, physical health, and sleep quality in a sample of 2,644 married and cohabiting adults from the Midlife Development in the U.S. study. Additionally, following the Reserve Capacity Model, socioeconomic status (SES) was tested as a moderator because of its association with exposure to stressors and psychological resources which contribute to perceived fairness. Moderated mediation results showed significant indirect effects of household chore hours through perceived fairness on prospective measures of well-being, marital quality, physical health, and sleep dysfunction among individuals of lower SES but not higher SES when controlling for age, sex, and paid work hours. These results highlight the importance of perceived fairness and the influence of SES in the links among household chores and long-term relationship processes, health, and well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).