This study assesses the relationship between negative interaction and body mass index values among older adults. Throughout, an emphasis is placed on probing for individual differences in response to unpleasant encounters with significant others. Individual variations in personality (introversion-extraversion) as well as social status (gender) are evaluated within this context. Tests of the complex three-way interaction between negative interaction, gender, and introversion reveal that more negative interaction is associated with higher body mass index values among elderly women who are introverted. In contrast, a significant relationship between negative interaction, introversion, and body mass failed to emerge for older men.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
KahnR. L., Social Support: Content, Causes, and Consequences, in Aging and Quality of Life, AbelesR. P.GiftH. C.OryM. G. (eds.), Springer, New York, pp. 163–184, 1984.
2.
HouseJ. S.KesslerR. C.HerzogA. R.Age, Socioeconomic Status, and Health, The Milbank Quarterly, 68, pp. 383–411, 1990.
3.
RookK. S., The Negative Side of Social Interaction: Impact on Psychological Well-Being, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, pp. 1097–1108, 1984.
4.
RookK. S., Detrimental Aspects of Social Relationships: Taking Stock of an Emerging Literature, in The Meaning and Measurement of Social Support, VeielH. O.BaumannU. (eds.), Hemisphere Publishing Company, New York, pp. 157–169, 1992.
5.
KrauseN., Issues in Measurement and Analysis in Studies of Social Support, Aging, and Health, in Aging, Stress, Social Support, and Health, MarkidesK. S.CooperC. L. (eds.), Wiley, London, pp. 43–66, 1989.
6.
BrayG. A., Effects of Obesity on Health and Happiness, in Handbook of Eating Disorders: Physiology, Psychology, and Treatment of Obesity, Anorexia, and Bulimia, BrownellK. D.ForeytJ. P. (eds.), Guilford Press, New York, pp. 3–44, 1986.
7.
Pi-SunyerF. X., Health Implications of Obesity, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 53, pp. 1595S–1603S, 1991.
8.
MansonJ. E.WillettW. C.StampferM. J., Body Weight and Mortality, New England Journal of Medicine, 333, pp. 678–685, 1995.
9.
BrownellK. D.WaddenT. A., Etiology and Treatment of Obesity: Understanding a Serious Prevalent, and Refractory Disorder, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, pp. 505–517, 1992.
10.
MurrellS. A.NorrisF. H.HutchinsG. L., Distribution and Desirability of Life Events in Older Adults: Population and Policy Implications, Journal of Community Psychology, 12, pp. 301–311, 1984.
11.
GreenoC. G.WingR. R., Stress-Induced Eating, Psychological Bulletin, 115, pp. 444–164, 1994.
12.
KrauseN., Stressors in Salient Social Roles and Well-Being in Later Life, Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 49, pp. P137–P148, 1994.
13.
GoreS.ColtenM. E., Gender, Stress, and Distress: Social-Relational Influences, in The Social Context of Coping, EckenrodeJ. (ed.), Plenum, New York, pp. 139–163, 1991.
14.
KandelD. B.DaviesM., Epidemiology of Depressive Mood in Adolescents, Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, pp. 1205–1212, 1982.
15.
ErdwinsC. J.TyerZ. E.MeilingerJ. C., A Comparison of Sex Role and Related Personality Traits in Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Women, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 17, pp. 141–152, 1983.
16.
AlportG. W., Personality: A Psychological Interpretation, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1937.
17.
McCraeR. R.JohnO. P., An Introduction to the Five-Factor Model and its Applications, Journal of Personality, 60, pp. 175–215, 1992.
18.
GrayJ. A., The Psychophysiological Nature of Introversion-Extraversion: A Modification of Eysenck's Theory, in Biological Basis of Individual Behavior, NebylitsynV. D.GrayJ. A. (eds.), Academic Press, San Diego, California, pp. 182–205, 1972.
19.
StelmackR. M., Biological Basis of Extraversion, Journal of Personality, 58, pp. 293–311, 1990.
20.
FeingoldA., Gender Differences in Personality: A Meta-Analysis, Psychological Bulletin, 116, pp. 429–456, 1994.
21.
EysenckH. J., Personality and Ageing: An Exploratory Analysis, Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 3, pp. 11–21, 1987.
22.
HallstromT.NoppaH., Obesity in Women in Relation to Mental Illness, Social Factors, and Personality Traits, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 25, pp. 75–82, 1981.
23.
NoppaH.HallstromT., Weight Gain in Adulthood in Relation to Socioeconomic Factors, Mental Illness, and Personality Traits: A Prospective Study of Middle-Aged Women, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 25, pp. 83–89, 1981.
24.
AbernathyR. P., Body Mass Index: Determination and Use, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 91, p. 843, 1991.
25.
VeielH. O., Base-Rates, Cut-Points and Interaction Effects: The Problem with Dichotomized Continuous Variables, Psychological Medicine, 18, pp. 703–711, 1988.
26.
LiangJ.GuS.KrauseN., Social Support among the Aged in Wuhan China, Asia-Pacific Population Journal, 7, pp. 33–62, 1992.
27.
EysenckH. J.EysenckB. G., Manual of the Eysenck Personality Inventory, Educational and Industrial Testing Service, San Diego, California, 1964.
28.
RevelleW.HumphreysM. S.SimonL.GillilandK., The Interactive Effect of Personality, Time of Day, and Caffeine: A Test of the Arousal Model, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 109, pp. 1–31, 1980.
29.
BusemeyerJ. R.JonesL. E., Analysis of Multiplicative Combination Rules When the Causal Variables are Measured with Error, Psychological Bulletin, 93, pp. 549–562, 1983.
30.
AikenL. S.WestS. G., Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions, Sage, Newbury Park, California, 1991.
31.
BelleD., Gender Differences in the Social Moderators of Stress, in Gender and Stress, BarnettR. C.BienerL.BaruchG. K. (eds.), Free Press, New York, pp. 257–277, 1987.
32.
AttieI.Brooks-GunnJ., Weight Concerns as Chronic Stressors in Women, in Gender and Stress, BarnettR. C.BienerL.BaruchG. K. (eds.), Free Press, New York, pp. 219–254, 1987.
33.
AneshensalC. S.RutterC. M.LachenbruchP. A., Social Structure, Stress, and Mental Health: Competing Conceptual and Analytic Models, American Sociological Review, 56, pp. 166–178, 1991.
34.
BohrnstedtG. W.MarwellG., The Reliability of Products of Two Random Variables, in Sociological Methodology, SchuesslerK. S. (ed.), Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, pp. 254–273, 1978.
