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Title: | Standing up to threats: Translating the two-system model of fear to balance control in older adults |
Authors: | Ellmers, TJ Wilson, MR Kal, EC Young, WR |
Keywords: | anxiety;aging;fear of falling;postural threat;conscious movement processing |
Issue Date: | 1-Dec-2021 |
Publisher: | Elsevier BV |
Citation: | Ellmers, T.J., Wilson, M.R., Kal, E.C. and Young, W.R. (2021) 'Standing up to threats: Translating the two-system model of fear to balance control in older adults', Experimental Gerontology, 158, 111647, pp. 1-36. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111647. |
Abstract: | Copyright © 2021 The Authors. The ‘two-system’ view of fear builds on traditional conceptualisations of emotion; proposing that the mechanism(s) responsible for behavioural and physiological responses to threat may be distinct from that underpinning the (conscious) emotional experience itself. We empirically tested this notion within a novel, applied context of social and economic importance: fear of falling in older adults. Older adults stood on the edge of a raised platform and were stratified based on whether they reported fear in response to this postural threat. Irrespective of whether participants reported fear, we observed behaviours indicative of postural ‘stiffening’ during the threat condition. Self-reports indicated that participants cognitively monitored these changes in balance, and fear of falling was experienced in those who interpreted these behaviours to imply that harm was likely to occur. Fearful participants exhibited additional changes in balance (increased movement complexity and altered utilisation of sensory feedback) – behaviours likely influenced by attempts to consciously control balance. Taken together, these findings provide novel insight into the systems that regulate behavioural and emotional responses to postural threats. The novel conceptual framework developed from these findings helps identify specific mechanisms that might be targeted for clinical intervention. |
Description: | Availability of data and materials: All analysed data are available via Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/pe52a/). The materials used in the study are available via the same Open Science Framework repository, otherwise they are widely available. Data analysis scripts are available via the same Open Science Framework repository (https://osf.io/pe52a/) |
URI: | https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/23709 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2021.111647 |
ISSN: | 0531-5565 |
Other Identifiers: | 111647 |
Appears in Collections: | Dept of Health Sciences Research Papers |
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FullText.pdf | Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. under a Creative Commons CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), | 2.11 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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