Psychological Acceptance Across Adulthood: A Preregistered Meta-Analysis

Psychological acceptance is an emotion regulation strategy in which people allow thoughts and feelings to arise and pass without trying to change them. Although theory implies that acceptance will increase with age, empirical evidence remains fragmented, with studies varying in sample characteristics, effect sizes, and age ranges. To address this gap and clarify the association between age and psychological acceptance we conducted a meta-analysis. Our preregistered search (PROSPERO CRD420251103979) identified 25 studies with 31 independent samples (N = 12,561). Random-effects pooling yielded a small but robust positive association between age and psychological acceptance (r = 0.077, 95% CI 0.027–0.127), despite substantial heterogeneity between studies. Specifically, studies that sampled wider age ranges reported stronger associations, so narrow age spans may understate the association.