Neuroticism Moderates the Daily Relation Between Stressors and Memory Failures

Shevaun D. Neupert*, Daniel K. Mroczek, Avron Spiro

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present investigation extends previous work on the relationship between daily stressors and memory failures in a naturalistic setting by examining whether this relationship varies across levels of neuroticism. A daily diary study of 333 older adults (mean age = 73.27 years, SD = 7.17) in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study (see A. Spiro & R. Bossé, 2001, for additional information) was used to examine whether there were neuroticism differences in cognitive reactivity to daily stressors. Multilevel models indicated that on days when people high in neuroticism experienced stressors, particularly interpersonal stressors, they were more likely to report memory failures compared to those who were lower in neuroticism. The findings may have important implications for age-related cognitive decline.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)287-296
Number of pages10
JournalPsychology and Aging
Volume23
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2008

Keywords

  • daily stressors
  • interpersonal stressors
  • intraindividual variability
  • memory failures
  • neuroticism

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geriatrics and Gerontology
  • Social Psychology
  • Aging

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