Emotion Dysregulation and Aging

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of literature relevant to understanding relations between aging and emotion dysregulation. Although a number of studies suggest that aging leads to shifts in emotion regulation and emotional well-being, the extent to which aging affects emotion dysregulation is less clear. To clarify the effects of aging on emotion dysregulation, this chapter begins by examining shifts in effectiveness of emotion regulation that occur with age, considering pertinent theories, and then expands on these findings by examining more specifically how context appropriateness of emotions, consequences of emotions on behavior, duration of emotions, and etiology and presentation of psychopathology are altered by aging processes. Finally, this chapter concludes by identifying gaps in the literature and recommendations for future empirical endeavors to advance our current understanding of effects of aging on emotion dysregulation.