Vulnerabilities

Emotional

Selective reinforcement and modeling has been used to help children learn from a young age how to regulate and take accountability for their emotions. Unpleasant emotional states are managed by their subjective discomfort. Emotional vulnerability is also impacted by respondents that express feelings of sadness about the uncertainty of climate change. Increasing awareness and impact leads to heightened emotional responses. In later life, the strength and vulnerability integration (SAVI) model holds that older adults become better at avoiding situations likely to upset them, but worse at coping physiologically when strong emotional arousal cannot be avoided and persists. Along with this, emotional vulnerability can affect the physical well-being of older adults when they suppress their emotions in highly distressing situations. When these vulnerabilities are supported through conversation with an emotionally safe "other," this vulnerability can lead to resilience and the capacity to support others.