UC Irvine

Acceptance (i.e., embracing emotions and thoughts without judging them) is an emotion regulation strategy that can benefit mental and physical health. To shed more light on its proximal physiological mechanisms, the present laboratory-based study examined links between the habitual use of acceptance and vagal reactivity during instructed emotion regulation in late life, when acceptance may become particularly important. In a sample of 129 older adults (aged 64–83), we examined habitual emotional acceptance (using questionnaires) and vagal reactivity (using respiratory sinus arrhythmia) during instructed emotion regulation (as participants watched loss-themed film clips while instructed to regulate their emotions, controlling for respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity during “just-watch” trials). Specificity analyses examined (a) other habitual emotion regulation strategies (i.e., detachment, reappraisal) and (b) sympathetic nervous system reactivity (using preejection period) during emotion regulation. Results showed that habitual emotional acceptance (but not detachment or reappraisal) was associated with greater respiratory sinus arrhythmia (but not preejection period) reactivity during instructed emotion regulation. Results remained stable when controlling for age, gender, respiration rate and amplitude, and health behaviors. These findings show that habitual acceptance is linked to greater vagal reactivity during instructed emotion regulation and provide novel insights into late-life emotion regulation.