{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T23:35:21Z","timestamp":1780443321355,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Narra Sains Indonesia","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]],"date-time":"2026-01-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768262400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Narra J"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The global population is\u00a0experiencing rapid\u00a0aging,\u00a0and the mental health needs of older adults have become an urgent public health concern,\u00a0with anxiety\u00a0levels becoming increasingly\u00a0prevalent among older adults.\u00a0In Thailand, stress and anxiety among older adults\u00a0are\u00a0anticipated\u00a0to double in the next decade.\u00a0Neuroticism, characterized by emotional instability and an impulse for negative feelings, is\u00a0a significant psychological characteristic associated with anxiety. Older adults\u00a0with higher neuroticism\u00a0have heightened sensitivity to stress and\u00a0frequently\u00a0struggle with emotional regulation,\u00a0hence increasing their vulnerability to anxiety and other mental health disorders.\u00a0Loving-kindness, a core\u00a0Buddhist principle, has been shown to\u00a0benefit\u00a0mental health\u00a0by reducing\u00a0stress, anxiety, and depression, primarily in Western or short-term settings. However,\u00a0there is limited research assessing its role among older adults in Buddhist cultural contexts, such as\u00a0Thailand.\u00a0This study investigated whether loving-kindness moderated\u00a0the relationship between neuroticism and anxiety symptoms among 232 Thai adults aged 60 and above, using secondary data collected between December 2019 and September 2022. Measures included the Neuroticism Inventory, Core Symptom Index for anxiety, and the Inner Strength-Based Inventory for\u00a0loving-kindness. Multiple regression analysis evaluated potential moderating effects.\u00a0The results\u00a0revealed\u00a0that anxiety had a positive correlation with neuroticism and a negative correlation\u00a0with loving-kindness and education; nevertheless, an unexpected pattern occurred in the moderation analysis. Loving-kindness specifically\u00a0enhanced the correlation between\u00a0neuroticism and anxiety\u00a0at\u00a0high levels, rather than mitigating it. Older adults\u00a0exhibiting\u00a0higher levels of neuroticism and loving-kindness reported increased anxiety symptoms. Education was identified as a protective factor,\u00a0exhibiting\u00a0a negative correlation with anxiety.\u00a0Loving-kindness did not mitigate the effect of\u00a0high\u00a0neuroticism on anxiety in Thai older adults. Rather, it intensified this correlation,\u00a0indicating\u00a0that robust prosocial characteristics lacking sufficient emotional\u00a0regulation may\u00a0exacerbate\u00a0stressful emotions.\u00a0These findings contradict prevailing\u00a0theories\u00a0regarding\u00a0the universal advantages of loving-kindness and\u00a0underscore the necessity for therapies that incorporate loving-kindness with emotional regulation and self-care\u00a0in\u00a0older adults.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.52225\/narra.v6i1.3012","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,14]],"date-time":"2026-01-14T02:37:24Z","timestamp":1768358244000},"page":"e3012","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Loving-kindness moderates the association between neuroticism and anxiety symptoms among Thai older adults"],"prefix":"10.52225","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3598-9869","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Moe P.","family":"Phyu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Justin","family":"DeMaranville","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1628-0639","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peerasak","family":"Lerttrakarnnon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0486-1903","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Danny","family":"Wedding","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8365-2474","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nahathai","family":"Wongpakaran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9062-3468","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tinakon","family":"Wongpakaran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"29794","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]]},"container-title":["Narra J"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/narraj.org\/main\/article\/download\/3012\/907","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/narraj.org\/main\/article\/download\/3012\/907","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,18]],"date-time":"2026-01-18T02:38:23Z","timestamp":1768703903000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/narraj.org\/main\/article\/view\/3012"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.52225\/narra.v6i1.3012","relation":{},"ISSN":["2807-2618"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2807-2618","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]]}}}