Daily stressor control buffers stressor-related negative and positive affect associations

Appraisals of daily stressors (e.g., daily stressor control) have been theorized to be associated with better short-term and long-term health and well-being. Although daily stressor control has been identified as a resource for buffering same-day and next-day affective responses to daily stressors, little work has explored associations across type of daily stressor. As such, the current study aimed to understand the potential protective utility of perceived stressor control for daily stressor-affect associations. Using the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDEIII; n = 1,263, Mage = 62.62, 57.20% women), two-level multilevel models revealed a protective pattern where stressor control was associated with dampened affective response to daily stressors, particularly for interpersonal stressors (ps < .05). On days when people perceived more control over their arguments or avoided arguments participants exhibited less negative and positive affective reactivity compared to days with less perceived control. Perceived control over daily interpersonal and home stressors were associated with dampened negative and positive affective reactivity, respectively. Results underscore the importance of perceived stressor control for interpersonal and home stressors and the utility of perceived control as a protective factor for the more immediate/same day effects of daily stress. Individuals may aim to leverage resources (e.g., social support, active coping) to feel more in control of their own daily interpersonal stress.