A lifetime of experiences: Understanding older adults’ subjective evaluations of negative life events

Background: Individuals accumulate experiences with major life events throughout their lifespan. These experiences not only differ in type, number, and timing, but also in how they are subjectively evaluated. That is, a divorce might be considered negative for some and positive for others, and the same person might even evaluate repeated divorces differently over time. Despite this variability, current lifespan approaches on cumulative adversity do not yet incorporate these subjective evaluations.

Study Setup (Methods): Data on 31 types of negative life events were obtained from individuals aged 60 years and older, reflecting experiences with these events across the lifespan (Nindividuals= 283; Nevents = 5,649). For each event occurrence, we collected retrospective information on when they occurred (i.e., recency) and the subjectively evaluated valence and impact.

Results: We will present initial findings on both inter- and intra-individual variability in the subjective evaluations (i.e., valence and impact) of life events. To what extent are some life events rated more negative or impactful than others? Subsequently, using mixed-effects models with events nested within individuals, we will address two research questions: a) To what extent do recency and event type relate to the subjective evaluations of life events? b) To what extent is the subjective evaluation of life events related to the accumulation (i.e., number, valence, and impact) of previous events?

Discussion: Our study aims to refine theories about cumulative adversity by incorporating subjective evaluations of life events across the lifespan, thereby challenging assumptions of event equivalence both between and within individuals.