Dikla Segel, Peter Bamberger

Adjustment to Retirement:

The Moderating Role of Attachment

Introduction: Adjustment to

Retirement Retirement has become a long and

meaningful phase in the older adult’s life (e.g: Wiatrowski, 2001).

Encompasses many changes in lifestyle and requires adjustment

Inconsistencies regarding the effect of retirement on well-being (positive effects, negative effects or no effects) and the factors shaping the adjustment process (Wang, 2007).

Existing Research and Research

Gaps Research mainly focused on social attributes

as predictors of adjustment (wealth, marital status, previous employment).

Psychological variables and personality attributes have been relatively neglected (Wang & Shultz, 2009).

Personality attributes may affect how the retirement transition is framed and thus condition the effects of changes experienced

This research: Aims: To reconcile research inconsistencies and fill

research gaps by:

Identifying boundary conditions

Using a psychological framework – attachment theory

Attachment will condition the effects of changes experienced in retirement (focusing on changes in financial situation and social involvement) on well-being

Longitudinal research design

Attachment Theory as a Key

Personality Attribute Attachment is an innate behavioral system that

functions to protect from danger by proximity seeking behaviors.

It is shaped at infancy as a result of early interactions with the caregiver.

Shapes later development of other personal attributes, shapes expectation and behaviors in personal relations, coping and adjustment capabilities.

Two orthogonal dimensions underlie attachment style: avoidance and anxiety.

Attachment Style Attachment avoidance –

deactivation strategy Attachment anxiety –

hyperactivation strategy Uncomfortable with

dependence and closeness to others

Emotionally distant and self reliant

Suppress distress

Avoid support seeking

Desire very close relations and seek proximity

Depend on others for feelings of confidence and self-worth

Make catastrophic evaluations of situation

Dwell on negative emotions

Attachment Style Attachment avoidance –

deactivation strategy Attachment anxiety -

hyperactivation strategy Uncomfortable with

dependence and closeness to others

Emotionally distant and self reliant

Suppress distress

Avoid support seeking

Exposed to maladjustment

Desire very close relations and seek proximity

Depend on others for feelings of confidence and self-worth

Make catastrophic evaluations of situation

Dwell on negative emotions

Exposed to maladjustment

Attachment Security: when attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance are low

Comfortable in close relationships

Efficient in mobilizing and using social support

Appraise situations in a benign way

Sense of self-worth and high levels of self-esteem

Perceive distress and manageable

Relatively resilient to stressors

Attachment security considered a valuable personal resource while attachment insecurities (avoidance and anxiety) are a burden.

Financial Situation in Retirement and

Well-being Inconsistencies in research: some report no relation

between financial situation or financial changes and well-being in retirement (e.g: Zimmerman, 2005); others do (Cummins, 2000).

The moderating role of attachment: Attachment insecurity places the individual at a disadvantage when dealing with decline in income:

Income decline in retirement is

(almost) inevitable and hence harms the ability to exert control and may

lead to dependence. Thus,

it may cause elevated distress.

Make catastrophic appraisals of

situations. May perceive income

decline as an acute threat and respond

with elevated distress.

Anxiety Avoidance

H1: Attachment avoidance will moderate the relations between income decline and well-being, such that high levels of attachment avoidance will amplify the relation between income decline and well-being.

H2: Attachment anxiety will moderate the relations between income decline and well-being, such that high levels of attachment avoidance will amplify the relation between income decline and well-being.

Involvement Changes and

Attachment The transition to retirement may allow the elderly to

give priority to desired activities.

The ability to benefit from social involvement may be dependent on attachment style

Attachment security allows one to develop adequate social skills and social self efficacy. It allows exploration of opportunities.

The securely attached may be more able to benefit from new social roles and interactions.

may promote a perception of social

interaction as unimportant and

uninteresting

may promote hyper-vigilance to rejection cues and

perception of social interactions as

negative

Anxiety Avoidance

H3. Attachment anxiety will moderate the relation between increase in social involvement and well-being, such that high levels of attachment anxiety will weaken the relation between increased social involvement and well-being.

H4: Attachment avoidance will moderate the relation between increase in social involvement and well-being, such that high levels of attachment avoidance will weaken the relation between increased social involvement and well-being.

Method

Changes in household

income: T1-T2

Changes in involvement:

T2-T1

Well-being

(T3): •Depression •Psychosomatic complaints •Health

Attachment:

(T3)

T1 (2003):560 blue collar American workers Mean age 58

Time 2 (2008) 276 had retired

Time 3 (2010) 251 respondent Mean age 65

Measurements Involvement: 5 forms of activities: family, religious org’,

educational and cultural org’, charity & community, sports & recreation.

Attachment: Experience in Close Relationship Scale (Brennan, Clark & Shaver, 1998).

Well-being:

Depression: CESD (Radloff, 1977)

Psychosomatic complaints (Caplan,1975)

Health: Number of diagnosed illnesses (National Institute on Aging)

Analytical Procedure: linear regressions for depression and somatic complaints. Poisson regression for health.

Depression Somatic complaints

Health

B SE B SE B SE

Income change .003 .01 .01 .01 .02 .02

Involvement change -.03 .04 .05 .04 -.13 .08

Avoidance .001 .03 -.00 .03 .07 .06

Anxiety .15*** .03 .14*** .03 -.07 .06

Income*avoidance .03* .01 .05*** .01 .07** .02

Income*anxiety -.001 .02 -.04 .01 -.03 .03

Involve’*avoidance -.08 .05 .00 .05 -.03** .10

Involve’*anxiety .14** .05 .13** .05 -.12 .10

R2

0.42

0.40

-2ll = 622**

†p<0.1 *p<0.05 **p<0.01 ***p<0.001

1,35

1,4

1,45

1,5

1,55

1,6

1,65

1 2 3

De

pre

ssio

n

Decrease in income

low avoidance

mean avoidance

high avoidance

1,35 1,4

1,45 1,5

1,55 1,6

1,65 1,7

1,75 1,8

Som

atic

co

mp

lain

ts

Decrease in income

low avoidance

mean avoidance

high avoidance

†

0

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1

1,2

1,4

1,6

1,8

2

Nu

mb

er

of

illn

ess

es

Decrease in income

low avoidance

mean avoidance

high avoidance

*

**

**

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

Dep

ress

ion

Increase in involvement

low anxiety

mean anxiety

high anxiety

* †

0

0,5

1

1,5

2 So

mat

ic

com

pla

ints

Increase in involvement

low anxiety

mean anxiety

high anxiety

0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8

1 1,2 1,4 1,6 1,8

2

Nu

mb

er

of

illn

ess

es

Increase in involvement

low avoidance

mean avoidance

high avoidance

**

**

Discussion and Conclusions

The effects of changes experienced in retirement on well-being are conditioned by individuals’ attachment.

Attachment anxiety and avoidance are boundary conditions for the effects of changes in income and involvement on well-being

Income drop has negative effect on well-being only when attachment avoidance is high.

Involvement contributes to well-being when attachment is relatively secure.

Income and Avoidance Decline in income may be perceived as uncontrollable

and inevitable, thus destructive to those who are most reluctant to lose control and fear of dependence.

Avoidant individuals tendency to suppress emotions and avoid coping with their distress may be especially ineffective and extremely resource demanding in the long run dealing with chronic stress.

Alternative: Severe income decline may promote social withdrawal and aggravate avoidance tendencies.

Attachment anxiety has no effect, perhaps due to the long time gaps.

Increased social involvement decreases depression when anxiety is low or average.

Increased social involvement when attachment anxiety is high results in elevated levels of psychosomatic complaints.

High levels of anxiety are related to worries about rejection and abandonment.

It poses individuals at risk for experiencing distress caused by social interactions and hinders the ability to benefit from it.

Avoidant individuals are not as sensitive to social activities, more prone to experience physiological reactivity as a response to stress. Hence physical health is more adversely affected when avoidance is high, but not when anxiety is high.

Involvement and Attachment

Practical Implications and

Limitations Help map populations in risk for experiencing

difficulties in the adjustment process (those who may not benefit from involvement and may be distressed by income decline)

Limitations and future research:

Results may be similar for other losses and gains experienced in older adulthood. We only accounted for 2 independent variables.

Other boundary conditions for adaptation to retirement.

Additional measurements to account for both the short and long term effects.

Thank You! dikas@tx.technion.ac.il

Depression somatic Health

Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Income

Slope of income

when avoidance is

low

-0.03† 0.16 -0.02 0.01 -.05 .03

Slope of income

when avoidance is

mean

0.005 0.01 0.02† 0.009 .02 .02

Slope of income

when avoidance is

high

0.04* 0.03 .055** 0.02 .08** .03

Involvement

Slope of

involvement when

anxiety is low

-0.12* 0.06 -0.04 0.02

Slope of

involvement when

anxiety is mean

-0.02† 0.04 0.06 0.04

Slope of

involvement when

anxiety is high

0.08 0.06 .16** .06

Slope of

involvement when

avoidance is low

-.62** .12

Slope of

involvement when

avoidance is mean

-.12 .08

Slope of

involvement when

avoidance is high

.12 .12

Variable Mean SD 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00 11.00 12.00 13.00 14.00 15.00

1)gender (1=male) .63 .48

2)marital status (1=married)

.72 .45 .23**

3) retirement status (1=fully retired)

.78 .41 .07 .04

4) education 3.21 1.28 -.5*** -.14* -.08

5) time retired

1.61 .84 .15* .01 -.08 -.08

6)Age 65.2 3.67 .15* .04 .25*** -.16 -.08

7) income change 1.14 2.51 -.06

-

.24*** .02 -.008 -.05 .06

8) involvement change

.04 .60 -.10† .005 -.13* .03 -.01 -.223 -.04

9) anxiety 2.44 .89 .12* .04 .006 -.09 .11† -.1 -.12† -.06

10) avoidance 2.23 .91 .25*** -.06 .14* -.12* .10 .09 -.02 -.09 .42***

11) depression T1

1.64 .53 -.22** -.15* -.02 .14* .11† -.11† -.03 -.07 .19** .17**

12) depression T3

1.58 .52 -.13* -.14* -.01 .13* .14* -.10 -.03 -.07 .34*** .21*** .57***

13) somatic T1 1.67 .51

-

.24*** -.07 -.05 .17** .07 .10 -.05 -.08 .19** .10 .78*** .51***

14) somatic T3

1.61 .46 -.15* -.008 -.016 .13* .09 -.05 .00 .01 .33*** .12† .45*** .73*** .55***

15) health T1 .92 .92 .12† -.02 -.11† -.06 .06 .04 .08 -.13* -.04 .03 .11† .06 .16 .11†

16) health T3 1.22 1.08 .17** .02 -.04 -.11† .11† .18** .09 -.15* -.06 -.06 .10† .07 .09 .12* .61***