Loneliness and Daily Stressors: The Protective Role of Daily Positive Events

Lonely individuals are particularly vulnerable to daily stressors. Yet, less is known about the protective role of daily positive social events on days lonely individuals experience a stressor. The current study examined whether experiencing a positive social event on the same day as a stressor helps lonely individuals maintain their daily emotional well-being. Participants from the Midlife in the United States Survey II and the National Study of Daily Experiences II reported their trait-levels of loneliness. A subset of the participants (N=1,730) also completed eight days of daily interviews and reported experiences of stressful events, positive social events, and emotions. On days lonely individuals reported experiencing a stressor, experiencing a positive social event was associated with a less increase in daily negative affect. However, this buffering effect did not generalize to non-lonely individuals. Results highlight a protective asset that might be important for helping lonely individuals maintain daily well-being.