The importance of emotional awareness for understanding depression and life satisfaction across the adult lifespan

Eckland, Nathaniel S

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116017 Copy

Description

Title

The importance of emotional awareness for understanding depression and life satisfaction across the adult lifespan

Author(s)

Eckland, Nathaniel S

Issue Date

2021-12-01

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Berenbaum, Howard

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Berenbaum, Howard

Committee Member(s)

• Roberts, Brent W
• Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth
• Laurent, Heidemarie K
• Hankin, Benjamin L

Department of Study

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Emotion
• Depression
• Well-Being

Abstract

Traditional views of well-being include the direct experience of emotion, but rarely consider affective factors outside of direct emotional experiences. Emotional awareness involves the meta-cognitive monitoring, evaluation, and judgment one makes about their emotions. To the extent that emotions provide useful information about one’s goals and goal progress, being able to understand that information should facilitate goal attainment and promote psychological well- being and mental health. Therefore, the present research tests ways in which emotional awareness may contribute to psychological well-being across the adult lifespan. Study 1 indicated that emotional and goal clarity are separable constructs both linked to depression and life satisfaction. Furthermore, emotional clarity appears to increase linearly from young adulthood into older adulthood. Study 2 showed that age, depression, and life satisfaction were only weakly associated with emotion differentiation. However, emotion differentiation moderated the links between mean-level affect and psychological well-being outcomes. Implications for aging research and clinical intervention are discussed.

Graduation Semester

2022-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116017

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Nathaniel Eckland

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