0000000000398484
AUTHOR
Gert G. Wagner
EMBEDDING CONTEXT IN INVESTIGATIONS OF AFFECTIVE VARIABILITY: AGE DIFFERENCES IN AFFECT-HEALTH LINKS
Context plays a potentially important role in explaining variability in affective experiences and yet, has often been overlooked in this line of research. The current study used data from a lifespan sample of 398 German participants ranging between 12–88 years of age (M = 40, SD = 20). Participants completed computer assisted personal interviews regarding health and well-being measures, as well as experience sampling assessments of daily affective experiences and events (e.g., uplifts). Three indices of positive affect (PA) were created: mean PA, PA reactivity to uplifts, and PA variability. In general, greater mean PA and lower PA reactivity and variability were associated with better heal…
Diurnal coupling between testosterone and cortisol from adolescence to older adulthood
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axes are typically conceptualized as mutually inhibitory systems; however, previous studies have found evidence for positive within-person associations (i.e., coupling) between cortisol and testosterone. One developmental hypothesis is that positive testosterone-cortisol coupling is unique to the adolescent period and that coupling becomes attenuated, or even switches direction, in adulthood. This study used a lifespan sample (N = 292, ages 11 to 88) to test for age-related differences in coupling between cortisol and testosterone in daily life. Participants provided salivary hormone samples at waking, 30 minu…
Genome-wide association analyses of risk tolerance and risky behaviors in over 1 million individuals identify hundreds of loci and shared genetic influences1
AbstractHumans vary substantially in their willingness to take risks. In a combined sample of over one million individuals, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of general risk tolerance, adventurousness, and risky behaviors in the driving, drinking, smoking, and sexual domains. We identified 611 approximately independent genetic loci associated with at least one of our phenotypes, including 124 with general risk tolerance. We report evidence of substantial shared genetic influences across general risk tolerance and risky behaviors: 72 of the 124 general risk tolerance loci contain a lead SNP for at least one of our other GWAS, and general risk tolerance is moderately to stro…