Relationship of events and affect in the daily life of an elderly population

The relationship between positive and negative events and emotional well-being for depressed and nondepressed residents of a nursing home and congregate housing care facility was examined. For 30 consecutive working days, each of 79 participants was presented with the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Positive and Negative Affect rating scales. Events during the previous 24 hr were elicited by an open-ended format. Results indicated that variations in daily events (e.g., health, family, self-initiated, and social events) were related to residents' affect, and there was congruence between mood and event valence when the effects of psychopathology and residence were removed. Thus, regardless of diagnosis or residential setting, people's moods showed a relationship to the quality of daily events. Findings also indicated that ratings of residents' affect could be translated into audits for institutional quality.