The contribution of vulnerability to emotional contagion to the expression of psychological distress in older adults

TL;DR

This study explores how vulnerability to emotional contagion influences psychological distress in older adults, finding it to be a key factor.

Contribution

The study identifies vulnerability to emotional contagion as a significant predictor of psychological distress in older adults.

Findings

Vulnerability to emotional contagion strongly relates to anxiety and depression in older adults.

Social network satisfaction and coping styles also influence psychological distress profiles.

The study highlights the need for longitudinal research to clarify causal relationships.

Abstract

This study examines the differential weight of a wide range of factors—sociodemographic factors, indicators of autonomy, social support, coping styles, vulnerability to emotional contagion, and empathy—in the presence of two profiles of psychological distress and in their absence. This cross-sectional study included 170 older adults. As assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), 65.9% of the individuals in the sample had a clinical or subthreshold level of anxiety and depression (score > 1). Based on the HADS’s clinical cutoff scores for the anxiety and depression subscales, three profiles were created for the no distress, anxiety, and anxious depression groups. The profiles did not differ on demographic indicators except for sex. Vulnerability to emotional contagion, satisfaction with the social network and coping styles emerged as factors weighing the likelihood of being in either of the psychological distress groups relative to individuals with no distress. After controlling for adversity and psychotropic treatment, vulnerability to emotional contagion had the strongest relationship with both psychological distress profiles. Future research, such as a prospective longitudinal study, may provide an opportunity to explain the direction of the relationship between psychological distress and the factors studied, particularly vulnerability to emotional contagion.

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