Health psychology PhD student Patrick Klaiber has been recognized by the Mather Institute for the study Ups and Downs of Daily Life During COVID-19: Age Differences in Affect, Stress and Positive Events.
Klaiber’s research collaborators Dr. Anita DeLongis, Dr. Nancy Sin, and Jin Wen are award co-recipients of the Innovative Research on Aging Award (bronze award). The award recognizes excellent applied research which offers significant implications for the aging services industry.
“I am deeply honoured to have our work on daily stress and well-being in older adults during the COVID-19 outbreak recognized. It is great to see that our work focusing on both challenges as well as strengths in older adults is valued by professionals in the field of senior living. We hope that our research highlights the importance of identifying modifiable factors in daily life that can have positive impacts on senior living.”
Klaiber’s research revealed that older adults experienced greater emotional wellbeing and felt less stressed during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to younger and middle-age adults. The study also found that older and middle-aged adults experienced more daily positive events than younger adults. Klaiber says the difference in reported stress levels may be a result of age-related stressors and how well the different age groups respond to stress. The researchers hope their findings will help inform the development of programs and strategies to bolster mental health for adults of all age groups.
“This award is a wonderful honour! In addition to the real-world applications, I am proud of the theoretical contributions of this research. The study advances the understanding of age differences in emotions and stress reactivity during contexts of major unavoidable stress.”
Join us in congratulating Patrick Klaiber and the award co-recipients on this award!
