Alschuler, K. N., Hoodin, F., Murphy, S. L., Rice, J., & Geisser, M. E. (2011). Factors contributing to physical activity in a chronic low back pain clinical sample: A comprehensive analysis using continuous ambulatory monitoring. Pain.
Back pain is one of the most common causes of disability in industrialized nations. Despite this, the variables that contribute to disability are not well understood and optimal measurement strategies of disability have not yet been determined. The present study sought to comprehensively assess the strongest predictors of physical activity as a proxy for disability. New patients in a chronic pain specialty clinic completed questionnaires to assess the predictors of physical activity and engaged in 5days of home data collection wearing an accelerometer to assess physical activity in daily life, which is how disability was operationalized in this study. Analysis of repeated measures patient data revealed that, of 3 composite variables each representing a theoretical model, the model representative of operant factors significantly predicted physical activity. Subsequent analyses showed that pain sensitivity, fear avoidance, and solicitous spousal responses account for a significant amount of the variance in physical activity. These findings suggest that external sources of reinforcement or punishment may serve to influence physical behavior beyond that of internal cues such as fear avoidance or pain. Implications for treatment are discussed, including the potential benefits of specifically incorporating the patient’s sources of operant reinforcement or punishment into treatment
Anestis, M. D., Silva, C., Lavender, J. M., Crosby, R. D., Wonderlich, S. A., Engel, S. G. et al. (2011). Predicting nonsuicidal self-injury episodes over a discrete period of time in a sample of women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa: An analysis of self-reported trait and ecological momentary assessment based affective lability and previous suicide attempts. Int J Eat.Disord..
OBJECTIVE: To examine the moderating effect of trait affective lability on the relationship between past suicidal behavior and future nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). METHOD: A total of 127 adult females diagnosed with bulimia nervosa took part in this study. We hypothesized that individuals with greater levels of self-reported trait affective lability and a greater number of past suicide attempts would engage in a greater number of NSSI episodes over the course of 2 weeks than would individuals lacking elevations in one or both of those variables, controlling for average level of negative affect and affective lability as measured through ecological momentary assessment (EMA). RESULTS: The two-way interaction of trait affective lability and past suicidal behavior predicted participants’ number of NSSI episodes during the course of the study. DISCUSSION: Interaction of self-reported trait affective lability and past suicidal behavior may exhibit clinical utility in the prediction of patients’ imminent risk of engaging in NSSI. (c) 2011 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2011;)
Anjum, B., Verma, N. S., Tiwari, S., Singh, R., Mahdi, A. A., Singh, R. B. et al. (2011). Association of salivary cortisol with chronomics of 24 hours ambulatory blood pressure/heart rate among night shift workers. Biosci.Trends, 5, 182-188.
Recent studies indicate a circadian rhythm in blood pressure and heart rate and its association with various neurotransmitters. In the present study, we examine the circadian nature of blood pressure/heart rate and salivary cortisol in night shift workers and whether these circadian changes produced by night shifts are reversible. Sixteen healthy nurses of both genders, aged 20-40 years, performing day and night shift duties, were randomly selected out of 22 who volunteered for this study. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was done in all the subjects and salivary cortisol levels were analyzed during both day and night shift duties. There were clinically significant changes in the Acrophase of blood pressure and cortisol levels, indicating ecphasia (odd timing of systolic blood pressure) individually during night as well as day shifts. However, this pattern was statistically not significant. A reverse pattern of Acrophase was observed in 8 out of 16 subjects when they were posted on day shift. No significant change was found in midline estimating statistics of rhythm (MESOR) of blood pressure values. Changes in Double amplitude (Predictable change) were observed in 8 subjects during night shifts as well as in 7 subjects during day shifts. However, the pattern was not similar and night workers had an altered circadian pattern in the night as well as during day shifts. Changes in Double amplitude, Acrophase and Salivary cortisol were found during night as well as day shifts but these changes were not statistically significant (p > 0.05) due to incomplete recovery during day shifts (changes again seen when they came back to day shifts). Salivary cortisol levels were lowest in early morning, increased at midnight and further increased in the afternoon during night shifts along with ecphasia. It is possible that nurses working the night shift felt more tired due to the altered circadian cycle
Beatty, D. L., Kamarck, T. W., Matthews, K. A., & Shiffman, S. (2011). Childhood socioeconomic status is associated with psychosocial resources in African Americans: the Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project. Health Psychol, 30, 472-480.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether lower childhood socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with fewer psychosocial resources independent of adult SES, and whether these associations differed by race/ethnicity. METHOD: Cross-sectional study of 342 middle-aged (M = 60.5 +/- 4.7) African American (n = 49) and Caucasian (n = 293) adults. Childhood SES and adult SES were assessed via highest parental education and participant education, respectively. Participants completed: (a) 6 days of ecological momentary assessment via electronic diaries to assess social support and the number of social interactions and (b) self-report measures of social support, social network diversity, and coping-specifically, active, planning, and emotion focused coping. RESULTS: The interaction term for childhood SES and race/ethnicity significantly predicted several psychosocial resources. Lower childhood SES was associated with less perceived social support in daily life, a less diverse social network, and more limited use of proactive coping strategies in adulthood among African Americans, regardless of adult SES. Comparable associations were not observed among Caucasians. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood SES is associated with psychosocial resources in adulthood among African Americans, independent of SES in adulthood. Given emerging associations between childhood SES and health in adulthood, future studies to disentangle the role of psychosocial resources as a mediating pathway and to further examine racial/ethnic variations across these associations are warranted
Beets, M. W., Morgan, C. F., Banda, J. A., Bornstein, D., Byun, W., Mitchell, J. et al. (2011). Convergent Validity of Pedometer and Accelerometer Estimates of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity of Youth. J Phys Act Health, 8 Suppl 2, S295-S305.
BACKGROUND: Pedometer step-frequency thresholds (120 steps.min-1, SPM) corresponding to moderate-to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) have been proposed for youth. Pedometers now have internal mechanisms to record time spent at or above a user-specified SPM. If pedometers provide comparable MVPA (P-MVPA) estimates to those from accelerometry, this would have broad application for research and the general public. The purpose of this study was to examine the convergent validity of P-MVPA to accelerometer-MVPA for youth. METHODS: Youth (N = 149, average 8.6 years, range 5 to 14 years, 60 girls) wore an accelerometer (5-sec epochs) and a pedometer for an average of 5.7 +/- 0.8 hours.day-1. The following accelerometer cutpoints were used to compare P-MVPA: Treuth (TR), Mattocks (MT), Evenson (EV), Puyau (PU), and Freedson (FR) child equation. Comparisons between MVPA estimates were performed using Bland-Altman plots and paired t tests. RESULTS: Overall, P-MVPA was 24.6 min +/- 16.7 vs. TR 25.2 min +/- 16.2, MT 18.8 min +/- 13.3, EV 36.9 min +/- 21.0, PU 22.7 min +/- 15.1, and FR 50.4 min +/- 25.5. Age-specific comparisons indicated for 10 to 14 year-olds MT, PU, and TR were not significantly different from P-MVPA; for the younger children (5-8 year- olds) P-MVPA consistently underestimated MVPA. CONCLUSIONS: Pedometer-determined MVPA provided comparable estimates of MVPA for older children (10-14 year-olds). Additional work is required to establish age appropriate SPM thresholds for younger children
Belcher, A. J., Laurenceau, J. P., Graber, E. C., Cohen, L. H., Dasch, K. B., & Siegel, S. D. (2011). Daily support in couples coping with early stage breast cancer: Maintaining intimacy during adversity. Health Psychol.
Objective: Recent work has identified intimacy as a potentially important determinant of psychological adjustment in couples coping with cancer. Little work has examined specific social support processes within the context of the everyday life of couples’ cancer experience. Specifically, we examined the links between breast cancer patient reports of receiving support from one’s spouse/partner (support receipt) and spouse reports of providing support to the patient (support provision) with daily intimacy outcomes. We hypothesized that both patient and spouse would benefit from support receipt and support provision. Method: Forty-five women with early stage breast cancer and their spouses independently completed an Internet-based electronic diary assessing support receipt, support provision, and relationship intimacy for seven consecutive evenings shortly after surgery. Study outcomes consisted of daily relationship intimacy reported by each partner. Results: As hypothesized, when controlling for patient report of support receipt, spouse report of support provision was uniquely associated with a significant additional increase in feelings of relationship intimacy for patients. Moreover, the independent effects of support receipt and support provision were also found to be beneficial for nonpatient spouses’ daily feelings of intimacy. Conclusion: Findings highlight the use of dyadic diary methods and corresponding modeling to uncover the unique benefits of support provision that may sometimes occur outside the awareness of the recipient. Results are discussed in terms of conceptualizing the cancer experience in a shared interpersonal context, whereby patients and their spouses can both benefit from support as they adjust to cancer together.
Bentall, R. P., Myin-Germeys, I., Smith, A., Knowles, R., Jones, S. H., Smith, T. et al. (2011). Hypomanic personality, stability of self-esteem and response styles to negative mood. Clin.Psychol Psychother, 18, 397-410.
OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to study dysfunctional self-schematic processes, abnormal coping styles, over-responsiveness to reward stimuli (indicative of an over-sensitive behavioural activation system) and stability of self-esteem in relation to subclinical hypomania. DESIGN: Three cross-sectional studies were conducted on selected students on the basis of their scores on the Hypomanic Personality Scale (HPS) (study 1) and on elevated HPS and Dysfunctional Attitude Scale scores (studies 2 and 3). METHODS: In studies 1 and 2, participants completed questionnaires and kept a self-esteem diary for 6 days. In study 3, the experience sampling method was used to assess momentary self-esteem, emotion and use of different coping styles over a 6-day period. RESULTS: Study 1 demonstrated that hypomanic traits are associated with high fluctuations in self-esteem. In study 2, high scores on both the HPS and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, but not the HPS alone, were associated with bipolar spectrum symptoms. These participants showed more evidence of alcohol and substance abuse, greater self-esteem fluctuation and dysfunctional coping styles (rumination and risk-taking) compared with controls. Changes in self-esteem were related to the use of these strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Vulnerability to bipolar disorder is associated with a combination of depression-related and reward-related processes. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Bexelius, C., Sandin, S., Trolle, L. Y., Litton, J. E., & Lof, M. (2011). Estimation of physical activity levels using cell phone questionnaires: a comparison with accelerometry for evaluation of between-subject and within-subject variations. J Med Internet Res, 13, e70.
BACKGROUND: Physical activity promotes health and longevity. Further elaboration of the role of physical activity for human health in epidemiological studies on large samples requires accurate methods that are easy to use, cheap, and possible to repeat. The use of telecommunication technologies such as cell phones is highly interesting in this respect. In an earlier report, we showed that physical activity level (PAL) assessed using a cell phone procedure agreed well with corresponding estimates obtained using the doubly labeled water method. However, our earlier study indicated high within-subject variation in relation to between-subject variations in PAL using cell phones, but we could not assess if this was a true variation of PAL or an artifact of the cell phone technique. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to compare within- and between-subject variations in PAL by means of cell phones with corresponding estimates using an accelerometer. In addition, we compared the agreement of daily PAL values obtained using the cell phone questionnaire with corresponding data obtained using an accelerometer. METHODS: PAL was measured both with the cell phone questionnaire and with a triaxial accelerometer daily during a 2-week study period in 21 healthy Swedish women (20 to 45 years of age and BMI from 17.7 kg/m(2) to 33.6 kg/m(2)). The results were evaluated by fitting linear mixed effect models and descriptive statistics and graphs. RESULTS: With the accelerometer, 57% (95% confidence interval [CI] 40%-66%) of the variation was within subjects, while with the cell phone, within-subject variation was 76% (95% CI 59%-83%). The day-to-day variations in PAL observed using the cell phone questions agreed well with the corresponding accelerometer results. CONCLUSIONS: Both the cell phone questionnaire and the accelerometer showed high within-subject variations. Furthermore, day-to-day variations in PAL within subjects assessed using the cell phone agreed well with corresponding accelerometer values. Consequently, our cell phone questionnaire is a promising tool for assessing levels of physical activity. The tool may be useful for large-scale prospective studies
Bledow, R., Schmitt, A., Frese, M., & Kuhnel, J. (2011). The affective shift model of work engagement. J Appl.Psychol.
On the basis of self-regulation theories, the authors develop an affective shift model of work engagement according to which work engagement emerges from the dynamic interplay of positive and negative affect. The affective shift model posits that negative affect is positively related to work engagement if negative affect is followed by positive affect. The authors applied experience sampling methodology to test the model. Data on affective events, mood, and work engagement was collected twice a day over 9 working days among 55 software developers. In support of the affective shift model, negative mood and negative events experienced in the morning of a working day were positively related to work engagement in the afternoon if positive mood in the time interval between morning and afternoon was high. Individual differences in positive affectivity moderated within-person relationships. The authors discuss how work engagement can be fostered through affect regulation.
Bookstaver, D. A. & Hatzigeorgiou, C. (2011). Assessment of the white-coat effect among hypertensive patients presumed to be at goal. Ann Pharmacother., 45, 910-915.
BACKGROUND: There are limited studies that explore the rate of existent uncontrolled hypertension versus a significant white-coat effect. Likewise, few studies have described the physician’s response to the results of an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) study. OBJECTIVE: To determine the percentage of treated hypertensive patients referred for ABPM based on discrepant office and home blood pressures who had achieved goal blood pressure and to determine the degree of white-coat effect in these patients. METHODS: Medical records of 222 consecutive patients were reviewed. Patients without a clinic visit since a medication change and those with <70% valid readings on ABPM were excluded. The proportion of patients at their goal blood pressure during ABPM was determined. Clinic blood pressure readings prior to ABPM were compared to daytime ABPM readings to calculate the white-coat effect. The percentage of patients whose blood pressure decreased by 10% or more in the night interval versus the daytime period was calculated. Changes to antihypertensive therapy were determined for the 6-month post-ABPM period. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-three patients met the inclusion criteria. Mean (SD) clinic blood pressure was 158/77 (13/10) mm Hg, compared to mean daytime ABPM readings of 127/70 (12/9) mm Hg. Sixty-seven percent of patients were at goal blood pressure. The mean white-coat effect was 31/7 (16/9) mmHg and was significantly greater in patients who were at goal versus those who were not (p < 0.01). A 10% or higher overnight dip occurred in 28% of those at goal. Therapy was not escalated 6 months after ABPM in 91% of patients who were at goal during the test despite a mean post-ABPM clinic blood pressure of 151/74 mm Hg. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients with incongruent clinic and home blood pressure readings were at goal after ABPM evaluation. Further study is needed regarding demographic or clinical characteristics that can be used to help predict which patients may be experiencing a significant white-coat effect and are actually at goal in an ambulatory setting
Brown, L. H., Strauman, T., Barrantes-Vidal, N., Silvia, P. J., & Kwapil, T. R. (2011). An experience-sampling study of depressive symptoms and their social context. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 199, 403-409.
Both clinical and subclinical depression are associated with social impairment; however, few studies have examined the impact of social contact in the daily lives of people with depressive symptoms. The current study used the experience-sampling methodology to examine associations between depressive symptoms, social contact, and daily life impairment in 197 young adults. Depressive symptoms were associated with increased isolation, negative affect, anhedonia, and physical symptoms, decreased positive affect, and social and cognitive impairment in daily life. For people with more depressive symptoms, being with social partners who were perceived as close was associated with greater decreases in negative affect, as well as increases in positive affect. Ironically, participants with depressive symptoms reported spending less time with people whom they perceived as close, minimizing the protective effects of socializing. These results suggest that people experiencing depressive symptoms may be especially sensitive to the nature of social interactions.
Buckner, J. D., Crosby, R. D., Silgado, J., Wonderlich, S. A., & Schmidt, N. B. (2011). Immediate antecedents of marijuana use: An analysis from ecological momentary assessment. J Behav Ther Exp.Psychiatry, 43, 647-655.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit substance. Marijuana craving, anxiety, and peer marijuana use are thought to play important roles in the etiology and maintenance of marijuana use. The present study aimed to identify patterns between marijuana use and these affective and situational risk factors in the natural environment. METHODS: The sample consisted of 49 current marijuana users (38.8% female), 63.2% of whom evinced a current cannabis use disorder. Ecological momentary assessment was used to collect multiple daily ratings of marijuana craving, state anxiety, and peer marijuana use over two weeks. Mixed effects linear models were used to examine within- and between-day antecedents, correlates, and consequences of marijuana use. RESULTS: Between-day analyses indicated that marijuana use days were associated with higher marijuana craving but lower state anxiety. Within-day analyses confirmed that marijuana craving was higher prior to marijuana use and lower following use. Anxiety was related to marijuana craving. Although anxiety was somewhat higher prior to marijuana use, it did not decrease significantly following use. The vast majority of marijuana use occurred when others were also using marijuana. LIMITATIONS: The sample was comprised of college students, a group at particular risk for marijuana use and use-related problems. Future work is necessary to determine whether results generalize to other populations. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the contention that marijuana craving, anxiety, and peer use play important roles in the maintenance of marijuana use
Buckner, J. D., Zvolensky, M. J., Smits, J. A. J., Norton, P. J., Crosby, R. D., Wonderlich, S. A. et al. (2011). Anxiety sensitivity and marijuana use: An analysis from ecological momentary assessment. Depression and Anxiety, 28, 420-426.
Background: The cognitive factor of Anxiety Sensitivity (AS; the fear of anxiety and related bodily sensations) is theorized to play a role in cannabis use and its disorders. Lower-order facets of AS (physical concerns, mental incapacitation concerns, and social concerns) may be differentially related to cannabis use behavior. However, little is known about the impact of AS facets on the immediate antecedents of cannabis use. Methods: This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to prospectively examine the relations between specific facets of AS, cannabis craving, state anxiety, and cannabis use in the natural environment using real-world data about ad lib cannabis use episodes. Participants were 49 current cannabis users (38.8% female). Results: AS-mental incapacitation fears were related to significantly greater severity of cannabis-related problems at baseline. During the EMA period, AS-mental incapacitation and AS-social concerns significantly interacted with cannabis craving to prospectively predict subsequent cannabis use. Specifically, individuals with higher craving and either higher AS-mental incapacitation or AS-social concerns were the most likely to subsequently use cannabis. In contrast to prediction, no AS facet significantly moderated the relationship between state anxiety and cannabis use. Conclusions: These findings suggest facets of AS (mental incapacitation and social fears) interact with cannabis craving to predict cannabis use. Findings also suggest differential relations between facets of AS and cannabis-related behaviors.
Ceja, L. a. & Navarro, J. (2011). Dynamic patterns of flow in the workplace: Characterizing within-individual variability using a complexity science approach. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 627-651.
As a result of the growing interest in studying employee well-being as a complex process that portrays high levels of within-individual variability and evolves over time, this present study considers the experience of flow in the workplace from a nonlinear dynamical systems approach. Our goal is to offer new ways to move the study of employee well-being beyond linear approaches. With nonlinear dynamical systems theory as the backdrop, we conducted a longitudinal study using the experience sampling method and qualitative semi-structured interviews for data collection; 6981 registers of data were collected from a sample of 60 employees. The obtained time series were analyzed using various techniques derived from the nonlinear dynamical systems theory (i.e., recurrence analysis and surrogate data) and multiple correspondence analyses. The results revealed the following: 1) flow in the workplace presents a high degree of within-individual variability; this variability is characterized as chaotic for most of the cases (75%); 2) high levels of flow are associated with chaos; and 3) different dimensions of the flow experience (e.g., merging of action and awareness) as well as individual (e.g., age) and job characteristics (e.g., job tenure) are associated with the emergence of different dynamic patterns (chaotic, linear and random)
Collip, D., Nicolson, N. A., Lardinois, M., Lataster, T., van, O. J., & Myin-Germeys, I. (2011). Daily cortisol, stress reactivity and psychotic experiences in individuals at above average genetic risk for psychosis. Psychol Med, 41, 2305-2315.
BACKGROUND: Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis abnormalities have been found in patients with a psychotic disorder and first-degree relatives of patients with a psychotic disorder react with subtle increases in non-clinical psychotic experiences and negative emotions in the face of everyday stress. The current study investigated whether HPA axis functioning is altered in individuals at above average genetic risk for psychotic disorder, examining diurnal cortisol profiles, cortisol reactivity to daily stressors and the association between HPA axis activity and subclinical psychotic experiences.MethodParticipants included siblings of patients with a psychotic disorder (n=60) and a healthy comparison group (n=63). The Experience Sampling Method (a structured diary technique) was employed to assess stress, psychotic experiences, negative affect and salivary cortisol repeatedly in the flow of daily life. RESULTS: Multi-level analyses revealed higher diurnal cortisol levels and heightened cortisol reactivity to negative daily events in siblings compared with controls. Diurnal cortisol slope did not differ between the two groups, but momentary increases in psychotic experiences and negative affect were associated with increased cortisol in the sibling group. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support altered HPA axis activity in individuals at above average genetic risk for psychotic disorder, as evidenced by higher diurnal cortisol levels and increased cortisol reactivity to daily stress. Results also suggest a dynamic association between cortisol secretion and the intensity of psychotic-like experiences and negative emotions in daily life, although the direction of this association remains to be elucidated
Cook, J. E., Calcagno, J. E., Arrow, H., & Malle, B. F. (2011). Friendship trumps ethnicity (but not sexual orientation): Comfort and discomfort in inter-group interactions. Br.J Soc.Psychol.
An experience sampling study tested the degree to which interactions with out-group members evoked negative affect and behavioural inhibition after controlling for level of friendship between partners. When friendship level was statistically controlled, neither White nor Black participants reported feeling more discomfort interacting with ethnic out-group members compared to ethnic in-group members. When partners differed in sexual orientation, friendship level had a less palliating effect. Controlling for friendship, both gay and straight men - but not women - felt more behaviourally inhibited when interacting with someone who differed in sexual orientation, and heterosexual participants of both genders continued to report more negative affect with gay and lesbian interaction partners. However, gay and lesbian participants reported similar levels of negative affect interacting with in-group (homosexual) and out-group (heterosexual) members after friendship level was controlled. Results suggest that much of the discomfort observed in inter-ethnic interactions may be attributable to lower levels of friendship with out-group partners. The discomfort generated by differences in sexual orientation, however, remains a more stubborn barrier to comfortable inter-group interactions
Corder, K., van Sluijs, E. M., Goodyer, I., Ridgway, C. L., Steele, R. M., Bamber, D. et al. (2011). Physical activity awareness of British adolescents. Arch Pediatr.Adolesc.Med, 165, 603-609.
OBJECTIVES: To assess adolescent physical activity (PA) awareness and to investigate associations with biologic and psychosocial factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study from November 1, 2005, through July 31, 2007 (the ROOTS study). SETTING: Population-based sample recruited from Cambridgeshire and Suffolk schools (United Kingdom). PARTICIPANTS: Of 799 participants, 43.6% were male. The mean (SD) age was 14.5 (0.5) years. MAIN EXPOSURES: Self-rated PA perception, self-reported psychosocial factors, and measured anthropometry. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured PA with accelerometry for 5 days. Inactive was defined as less than 60 minutes per day of moderate and vigorous PA (MVPA) measured by accelerometry. Associations between awareness (agreement between self-rated and accelerometry-measured active/inactive) and potential correlates were investigated using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: Approximately 70.1% of adolescents were inactive (81.2% of girls and 55.8% of boys; odds ratio [OR], 3.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.41-4.82). There were 52.6% of all girls (64.8% of inactive girls) and 33.6% of all boys (60.3% of inactive boys) who inaccurately rated themselves as active (overestimators). Compared with girls accurately describing themselves as inactive (28.6%), girl overestimators had lower fat mass (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.70-0.99), higher socioeconomic status (high vs low OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.07-5.32), more parent support (OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.12-2.22), and better family relationships (OR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.09- 0.67). Among boys accurately describing themselves as inactive (22.1%), overestimators had lower fat mass (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.77-0.96) and reported more peer support (OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.32-2.30) and less teasing (OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.61-0.92). CONCLUSIONS: A substantial number of adolescents believe themselves to be more physically active than they really are. They may be unaware of potential health risks and unlikely to participate in PA promotion programs. Increasing information of PA health benefits beyond weight control might encourage behavior change
Cousins, J. C., Whalen, D. J., Dahl, R. E., Forbes, E. E., Olino, T. M., Ryan, N. D. et al. (2011). The bidirectional association between daytime affect and nighttime sleep in youth with anxiety and depression. J Pediatr.Psychol, 36, 969-979.
OBJECTIVE: This study examines relationships between affect and sleep in youth with affective disorders using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). METHODS: Participants included 94 youth, ages 8-16 (M = 11.73, 53% female) years with an anxiety disorder only (n = 23), primary major depressive disorder (with and without a secondary anxiety diagnoses; n = 42), and healthy controls (n = 29). A cell phone EMA protocol assessed affect and actigraphy measured sleep. RESULTS: The patterns of bidirectional relationships between affect and sleep differed across diagnostic groups. Higher daytime positive affect and positive to negative affect ratios were associated with more time in bed during the subsequent night for youth with primary depression and less time in bed for youth with anxiety only. More time asleep was associated with more positive affect for both diagnostic groups the following day. CONCLUSIONS: This relationship may be important to consider in the treatment of youth affective disorders
Csernansky, J. G. & Smith, M. J. (2011). Thought, feeling, and action in real time -monitoring of drug use in schizophrenia. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 168, 120-122.
Comments on an article by J. Swendsen et al. (see record 2011-10071-014). Swendsen and colleagues report that substance use, mood states, and psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia patients can be measured in real time. The findings in this article offer a new strategy for investigating cause-and-effect relationships between environmental infl uences and psychopathology. Swendsen and colleagues used computerized ambulatory monitoring to record alcohol or drug use and psychotic symptoms and mood states in 145 schizophrenia patients. The schizophrenia patients were trained to use a personal digital assistant (PDA) to complete 15-minute electronic interviews, and the PDAs were programmed to prompt the participant four times each day (between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.) for 1 week. The study findings revealed that the use of cannabis increased the risk of experiencing psychotic symptoms, while decreasing perceived negativity. In contrast, the use of alcohol was not temporally associated with the risk of experiencing psychotic symptoms or negative mood states. The work presented by Swendsen and colleagues demonstrates that the use of a novel technique, computerized ambulatory monitoring, is feasible and can be used to unravel relationships between substance use, experience, and psychopathology.
De, M. F., De, B., I, Deforche, B., Ottevaere, C., & Cardon, G. (2011). Measuring physical activity using accelerometry in 13-15-year-old adolescents: the importance of including non-wear activities. Public Health Nutr, 1-10.
OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to examine the impact of non-wear activities registered in diaries when using accelerometers to assess physical activity (PA) in young adolescents. DESIGN: Data arise from a large-scale cross-sectional study on PA. PA was objectively assessed using Actigraph accelerometers (Actigraph MTI, Manufacturing Technology Inc., Pensacola, FL, USA) during seven consecutive days. Non-wear time activity diaries were provided to register the activities for which the accelerometer was removed. After correction to deal with over-reporting, the registered minutes of PA were used to replace periods of non-wear time measured by the accelerometer. SETTING: Between October 2008 and May 2009 adolescents were recruited by home visits in Ghent (Belgium). SUBJECTS: Young adolescents (n 513; 48.6 % boys) aged 13 to 15 years. RESULTS: Of the total sample, 49.9 % registered at least one activity of moderate to vigorous intensity in the non-wear time activity diary. More adolescents registered an activity performed on a weekday than on a weekend day and the registered mean number of minutes of moderate to vigorous PA were higher on weekend days. Repeated-measures (M)ANOVA tests revealed a significant difference between the mean minutes with and without non-wear activities for all PA intensities, regardless of adolescents’ socio-economic status or gender. More adolescents achieved the PA recommendations after inclusion of the non-wear activities irrespective of accelerometer thresholds used. CONCLUSIONS: The collection of information regarding non-wear time by non-wear time activity diaries when using accelerometers in 13-15-year-old adolescents can lead to different PA outcomes at the individual level and therefore can improve the ability to accurately measure PA
Dimotakis, N., Scott, B. A., & Koopman, J. (2011). An experience sampling investigation of workplace interactions, affective states, and employee well-being. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 572-588.
We report an experience sampling study examining the within-individual effects of workplace interpersonal interaction characteristics on affect at work and daily well-being. A sample of 60 full-time employees completed measures of interpersonal interaction characteristics and affective states during each of 10 workdays and a measure of job satisfaction at the end of each workday. Overall, the employees provided 380 day-level data points. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results indicated that interpersonal interaction characteristics were associated with affective states and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the effects of workplace interpersonal interactions on job satisfaction were mediated by affective states. Finally, positive affect mitigated the detrimental association between negative affect and job satisfaction
Ekelund, U., Tomkinson, G., & Armstrong, N. (2011). What proportion of youth are physically active? Measurement issues, levels and recent time trends. Br.J Sports Med, 45, 859-865.
AIM: The aim of this review is to summarise issues surrounding the measurement of physical activity (PA) by self-report and accelerometry in youth (2-18 years old). Current levels and temporal trends in PA and sport participation and the effect of assessment method on data interpretation will be summarised. METHODS: Relevant papers were extracted from a computerised literature search of MEDLINE and personal databases. Additional papers were extracted from reference lists of recently published reviews. RESULTS: The criterion validity (direct comparison with an objective method) of self-reported instruments is low to moderate, with correlation coefficients generally between 0.3 and 0.4. Self-report instruments overestimate the intensity and duration of PA and sport participation. The interpretation of PA data from accelerometry is a challenge, and specific issues include the definition of intensity thresholds and the influence of age on intensity thresholds. Recent data on self-reported PA in youth suggest that between 30% and 40% are sufficiently active. Prevalence values for sufficiently active youth measured by accelerometry range between 1% and 100%, depending on the intensity thresholds used. Sport participation is likely to contribute to higher levels of PA. The available evidence does not support the notion that PA levels and sport participation in youth have declined in recent decades. CONCLUSION: The number of youth meeting current PA guidelines varies by assessment method and the intensity thresholds used when PA is measured by accelerometry. The available evidence does not firmly support the notion that PA in young people has declined during the last decades. It is unlikely that any self-report method is sufficiently accurate for examining cross-cultural differences and temporal trends in young people’s PA and sport participation over time. Surveillance systems therefore need to strive for an international standardisation using objective measurements of PA to complement existing self-report instruments
Elfering, A. & Grebner, S. (2011). Ambulatory assessment of skin conductivity during first thesis presentation: Lower self-confidence predicts prolonged stress response. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 36, 93-99.
In this field study self-confidence was tested to predict the course of galvanic electrodermal stress response prior, during and after public speaking. Ten graduate students initially rated their self-confidence and afterwards presented their thesis proposals orally in a 10-min presentation to their supervisor and peers. Galvanic skin response level was measured throughout and analysed for 10 min prior to, during, and 10 min after the presentation. Two major galvanic electrodermal stress response types were observed. Five students showed a healthy response, i.e. an anticipatory increase in electrodermal conductance, followed by a decrease after termination of the presentation. The other five students showed a steady increase of skin conductance during and after their presentation (prolonged response). In line with the allostatic load model the prolonged response group reported significantly lower self-confidence before presentation than the healthy response group (p < 0.01). Self-confidence is a resource in novices facing an unfamiliar stressor.
Fonareva, I., Amen, A. M., Ellingson, R. M., & Oken, B. S. (2011). Differences in stress-related ratings between research center and home environments in dementia caregivers using ecological momentary assessment. Int Psychogeriatr., 1-9.
Background: Clinicians and researchers working with dementia caregivers typically assess caregiver stress in a clinic or research center, but caregivers’ stress is rooted at home where they provide care. This study aimed to compare ratings of stress-related measures obtained in research settings and in the home using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).Methods: EMA of 18 caregivers (mean age 66.4 years +/-7.8; 89% females) and 23 non-caregivers (mean age 66.4 years +/-7.9; 87% females) was implemented using a personal digital assistant. Subjects rated their perceived stress, fatigue, coping with current situation, mindfulness, and situational demand once in the research center and again at 3-4 semi-random points during a day at home. The data from several assessments conducted at home were averaged for statistical analyses and compared with the data collected in the research center. Results: The testing environment had a differential effect on caregivers and non-caregivers for the ratings of perceived stress (p < 0.01) and situational demand (p = 0.01). When tested in the research center, ratings for all measures were similar between groups, but when tested at home, caregivers rated their perceived stress as higher than non-caregivers (p = 0.02). Overall, caregivers reported higher perceived stress at home than in the research center (p = 0.02), and non-caregivers reported greater situational demand in the research center than at home (p < 0.01).Conclusions: The assessment method and environment affect stress-related outcomes. Evaluating participants in their natural environment provides a more sensitive measure of stress-related outcomes. EMA provides a convenient way to gather data when evaluating dementia caregivers
Gallagher, M. W., Schoemann, A. M., & Pressman, S. D. (2011). Mastery beliefs and intraindividual variability of anxiety. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 35, 227-231.
Individual differences in perceived ability to exercise control have long been considered to be an important predictor of who develops mental illness, particularly anxiety disorders. Although numerous studies have demonstrated a link between mastery and anxiety, few studies have used longitudinal methods that allow for more sophisticated analyses and stronger conclusions. The present study examines how mastery beliefs determine vulnerability to anxiety by examining the longitudinal course of anxiety within a 13-day ecological momentary assessment period and a 14 weeks biweekly assessment period. Results demonstrated that mastery beliefs predict both lower levels of mean levels of anxiety across time and less intraindividual variability in anxiety within days. These results suggest that mastery beliefs may provide a protective buffer against the experience of anxiety.
Geschwind, N., Peeters, F., Drukker, M., van, O. J., & Wichers, M. (2011). Mindfulness training increases momentary positive emotions and reward experience in adults vulnerable to depression: A randomized controlled trial. J Consult Clin.Psychol, 79, 618-628.
Objective: To examine whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) increases momentary positive emotions and the ability to make use of natural rewards in daily life. Method: Adults with a life-time history of depression and current residual depressive symptoms (mean age = 43.9 years, SD = 9.6; 75% female; all Caucasian) were randomized to MBCT (n = 64) or waitlist control (CONTROL; n = 66) in a parallel, open-label, randomized controlled trial. The Experience Sampling Method was used to measure momentary positive emotions as well as appraisal of pleasant activities in daily life during 6 days before and after the intervention. Residual depressive symptoms were measured using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Hamilton, 1960). Results: MBCT compared to CONTROL was associated with significant increases in appraisals of positive emotion (b* = .39) and activity pleasantness (b* = .22) as well as enhanced ability to boost momentary positive emotions by engaging in pleasant activities (b* = .08; all ps < .005). Associations remained significant when corrected for reductions in depressive symptoms or for reductions in negative emotion, rumination, and worry. In the MBCT condition, increases in positive emotion variables were associated with reduction of residual depressive symptoms (all ps < .05). Conclusions: MBCT is associated with increased experience of momentary positive emotions as well as greater appreciation of, and enhanced responsiveness to, pleasant daily-life activities. These changes were unlikely to be pure epiphenomena of decreased depression and, given the role of positive emotions in resilience against depression, may contribute to the protective effects of MBCT against depressive relapse.
Giesbrecht, G. F., Campbell, T., Letourneau, N., Kooistra, L., & Kaplan, B. (2011). Psychological distress and salivary cortisol covary within persons during pregnancy. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
The mechanisms whereby maternal stress during pregnancy exerts organizational effects on fetal development require elaboration. The aim of this study was to assess the plausibility of cortisol as a biological link between maternal psychological distress during pregnancy and fetal development. Previous research has resulted in equivocal findings for between-persons differences in stress and cortisol. Ecological momentary assessment was used to simultaneously assess mood and cortisol 5 times daily for 3 days in 83 women (gestational ages 6-37 weeks). Results from multilevel analysis indicated a robust within-person association between negative mood and cortisol. For each 1.0% increase in negative mood there was a corresponding 1.9% increase in cortisol. This association was unaffected by advancing gestational age. The results suggest that cortisol is a plausible biological mechanism for transducing the effects of maternal psychological distress during pregnancy to fetal development
Goldschmidt, A. B., Engel, S. G., Wonderlich, S. A., Crosby, R. D., Peterson, C. B., Le, G. D. et al. (2011). Momentary Affect Surrounding Loss of Control and Overeating in Obese Adults With and Without Binge Eating Disorder. Obesity (Silver.Spring).
Research suggests that loss of control (LOC) while eating (the sense that one cannot control what or how much one is eating) is a more salient feature of binge eating than the amount of food consumed. This study examined the unique contributions of LOC and episode size to negative affect surrounding eating episodes in binge eating disorder (BED) and obesity. Twenty-two obese adults with (n = 9) and without (n = 13) BED completed daily records of eating patterns and mood using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Linear mixed modeling revealed that across groups, greater premeal self-reported LOC was associated with higher premeal negative affect independent of episode size. For individuals with BED, greater premeal self-reported LOC was associated with higher postmeal negative affect, regardless of the amount of food eaten, whereas for obese controls, the combination of LOC and consumption of large amounts of food was associated with lower postmeal negative affect. Results indicate that LOC, but not the quantity of food consumed, is associated with momentary distress related to aberrant eating in BED. Findings also highlight the need for further research investigating the emotional context surrounding aberrant eating in obese individuals without BED
Greasley, A. E. & Lamont, A. (2011). Exploring engagement with music in everyday life using experience sampling methodology. Musicae Scientiae, 15, 45-71.
Recent qualitative research has highlighted differences in people’s music-listening behaviour according to their level of involvement with and interest in music, yet these findings are mainly based on retrospective accounts of patterns of behaviour (Greasley, 2008: Greasley & Lamont, 2006: Lonie, 2009). Experience sampling methodology (ESM) is a valuable tool for studying music in everyday contexts, and it has been shown to increase people’s conscious awareness of the role of music in their lives (Sloboda, O’Neill, & Ivaldi, 2001). Using ESM, the present study explored differences in people’s everyday engagement with music by recruiting three different types of listener: those identified as having low, moderate, or high engagement with music. Over seven days, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 2 5 young adults (aged 18-30) on what they were doing while hearing music (e.g., activities) and the functions/ effects of music (e.g., reasons influencing choices). Post-study interviews with 23 participants then generated retrospective accounts about specific musical experiences. Analysis revealed two broad types of listener: the less engaged, who listened for fewer hours a week (min = 3 hours, mean = 12 hours), were less likely to be hearing self-chosen music, and were more likely to listen to music to pass time, out of habit or to help them feel less alone: and the highly engaged, who listened for a greater number of hours per week (mean = 21 hours, max = 40 hours), were more likely to be hearing self-chosen music, and were more likely to use music to evoke specific moods, create an atmosphere, or enhance an activity. The study confirmed the usefulness of ESM for investigating the complex (and interacting) factors involved in people’s daily musical choices, and highlighted ways in which music can fulfil different functions concurrently. Findings show that future research on everyday musical behaviour should continue to account for the context of music listening in shaping responses to and uses of music; and account for individual differences in people’s levels of engagement with music.
Hamer, M. & Tsuda, A. (2011). Editorial: Psychobiological approaches to stress and health: Recent progress. Japanese Psychological Research, 53, 111-112.
In this special issue of Japanese Psychological Research we focus on novel psychobiological approaches that are relevant to health outcomes. Several studies have been conducted in naturalistic settings using ambulatory sampling methods, which are particularly important because such methods have the advantage of ecological validity, evaluating biological activity in real life rather than the artificial conditions of a laboratory or clinic. Psychobiology is the study of complex biological responses to mental stress and psychological factors, which helps to tease apart the connection between mind and body. In summary, this edition of Japanese Psychological Research presents some of the recent developments in the area of psychobiology.
Hong, R. Y. & Paunonen, S. V. (2011). Personality vulnerabilities to psychopathology: Relations between trait structure and affectivecognitive processes. Journal of Personality, 79, 527-561.
The present research examined (a) the relations among various affectivecognitive vulnerabilities to psychopathology, (b) the relations between vulnerabilities and dispositional traits, and (c) the mediating role of vulnerabilities between dispositional traits and psychopathological symptoms. Selfreport questionnaires were administered to two independent samples in Study 1 (total N = 274), whereas a longitudinal experiencesampling method was employed in Study 2 (N = 100). All samples consisted of college students. Results suggested that affectivecognitive vulnerabilities showed a pattern of intercorrelations consistent with a 2factor model representing general vulnerability to internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, respectively. The vulnerabilities also revealed common and unique aspects when mapped onto the trait structure represented by the FiveFactor Model. Most important, affectivecognitive vulnerabilities were found to constitute proximalspecific mechanisms that mediated between distalbroad dispositional vulnerabilities, such as Neuroticism, and different psychopathological symptoms. Our data support a model of personalitypsychopathology relations that benefits from an integration of both the dispositional trait and socialcognitive approaches.
Jahng, S., Solhan, M. B., Tomko, R. L., Wood, P. K., Piasecki, T. M., & Trull, T. J. (2011). Affect and alcohol use: an ecological momentary assessment study of outpatients with borderline personality disorder. J Abnorm.Psychol, 120, 572-584.
Alcohol use may be viewed as an attempt (albeit maladaptive) to regulate negative emotional states. We examined associations between both negative and positive affects and alcohol use in outpatient women diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD; n=74), a prototype of emotional dysregulation, as well as a psychiatric control group of women with current depressive disorder (major depressive disorder/dysthymic disorder [MDD\DYS]; n=50). Participants completed randomly prompted reports of mood and alcohol use up to six times a day over a 28-day period using electronic diaries. Mean levels of either positive or negative affects did not distinguish between drinkers and nondrinkers in either diagnostic group. However, levels of both negative and positive affects were positively associated with alcohol use at the momentary level in BPD drinkers. More robust findings were obtained with respect to within-person affective variability, which was related to alcohol use in multiple ways. BPD drinkers showed higher within-person variability for most negative affects than BPD nondrinkers; MDD\DYS drinkers in general showed less within-person variability than MDD\DYS nondrinkers for negative affects. Multilevel lagged analyses for BPD drinkers indicated that alcohol use was positively related to variability in all affects, concurrently, but fewer significant effects of affect variability on the next day’s drinking or significant effects of alcohol use on the next day’s affect variability were observed. Among MDD\DYS drinkers, we observed more significant associations between affect variability on next day’s alcohol use and of alcohol use on next day’s affect variability. We discuss theoretical and methodological issues relevant to these findings as well as implications for future research
Jern, P., Gunst, A., Sandqvist, F., Sandnabba, N. K., & Santtila, P. (2011). Using ecological momentary assessment to investigate associations between ejaculatory latency and control in partnered and non-partnered sexual activities. Journal of Sex Research, 48, 316-324.
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) was used to investigate associations between, and variations in, ejaculatory control and ejaculation latency time (ELT) over repeated measurements of sexual activities. Differences between measures recorded in partnered or non-partnered settings were also investigated. The sample consisted of 21 male Finns aged 18 years or above, contributing a total of 158 reports of partnered and non-partnered sexual activities over a six-week period. In the context of non-partnered sexual activities, after controlling for within-subjects dependence, ELTs between events were predictive of one another, but ELT did not predict ejaculatory control when measured simultaneously, nor at subsequent events. Also, ejaculatory control could not predict simultaneously measured ELT or ejaculatory control at subsequent events. During partnered sexual activities, both ejaculatory control and ELT could be accurately predicted by observing ejaculatory control at prior events. In this context, ejaculatory control could also reliably predict simultaneously measured ELT. ELT or ejaculatory control during partnered sexual activity could not be predicted by observing ELT at prior events. Between-event correlations were generally low, indicating considerable variation in ejaculatory functioning over time. EMA is a thrifty assessment method for studying variations in ejaculatory function, and is likely suitable for studying sexual dysfunctions in general.
Jones, V., Bults, R., de, W. R., Widya, I., Batista, R., & Hermens, H. (2011). Experience with Using the Sensewear BMS Sensor System in the Context of a Health and Wellbeing Application. Int J Telemed.Appl., 2011, 671040.
An assessment of a sensor designed for monitoring energy expenditure, activity, and sleep was conducted in the context of a research project which develops a weight management application. The overall goal of this project is to affect sustainable behavioural change with respect to diet and exercise in order to improve health and wellbeing. This paper reports results of a pretrial in which three volunteers wore the sensor for a total of 11 days. The aim was to gain experience with the sensor and determine if it would be suitable for incorporation into the ICT system developed by the project to be trialled later on a larger population. In this paper we focus mainly on activity monitoring and user experience. Data and results including visualizations and reports are presented and discussed. User experience proved positive in most respects. Exercise levels and sleep patterns correspond to user logs relating to exercise sessions and sleep patterns. Issues raised relate to accuracy, one source of possible interference, the desirability of enhancing the system with real-time data transmission, and analysis to enable real-time feedback. It is argued that automatic activity classification is needed to properly analyse and interpret physical activity data captured by accelerometry
Kikuchi, H., Yoshiuchi, K., Yamamoto, Y., Komaki, G., & Akabayashi, A. (2011). Does sleep aggravate tension-type headache?: An investigation using computerized ecological momentary assessment and actigraphy. Biopsychosoc.Med, 5, 10.
BACKGROUND: Both insufficient sleep and oversleeping have been reported as precipitating and aggravating factors of tension-type headache (TTH). However, previous studies relied on recalled self-reports, and the relationship has not been confirmed prospectively and objectively in a daily life situation. Recently, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) using electronic diaries, i.e., computerized EMA, is used to record subjective symptoms with the advantages of avoiding recall bias and faked compliance in daily settings. In addition, actigraphy has become an established method to assess sleep outside laboratories. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the within-individual effect of sleep on the following momentary headache intensity in TTH patients during their daily lives utilizing EMA and actigraphy. METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with TTH wore watch-type computers as electronic diaries for seven consecutive days and recorded their momentary headache intensity using a visual analog scale of 0-100 approximately every six hours, on waking up, when going to bed, and at the time of headache exacerbations. They also recorded their self-report of sleep quality, hours of sleep and number of awakenings with the computers when they woke up. Physical activity was continuously recorded by an actigraph inside the watch-type computers. Activity data were analyzed by Cole’s algorithm to obtain total sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep latency, wake time after sleep onset and number of awakenings for each night. Multilevel modeling was used to test the effect of each subjective and objective sleep-related variable on momentary headache intensity on the following day. RESULTS: Objectively measured total sleep time was significantly positively associated with momentary headache intensity on the following day, while self-reported sleep quality was significantly negatively associated with momentary headache intensity on the following day. CONCLUSIONS: Using computerized EMA and actigraphy, longer sleep and worse sleep quality were shown to be related to more intense headache intensity on within-individual basis and they may be precipitating or aggravating factors of TTH
Koval, P. & Kuppens, P. (2011). Changing emotion dynamics: Individual differences in the effect of anticipatory social stress on emotional inertia. Emotion.
Emotional inertia-the degree to which people’s feelings carry over from one moment to the next-is an important property of the temporal dynamics of emotions. Thus far, emotional inertia has only been examined as a stable, trait-like characteristic. However, internal or external events (e.g., stress) may trigger changes in people’s emotion dynamics, particularly among individuals with heightened sensitivity to such events. The current study investigated how emotional inertia is influenced by the anticipation of social stress, and how this effect is moderated by individual differences in depression, self-esteem, and fear of negative evaluation. We measured participants’ (n = 71) emotional inertia in daily life using experience sampling before and after experimentally manipulating anticipatory social stress. Consistent with previous research, psychological maladjustment was associated with higher emotional inertia during “normal” daily life. However, when anticipating a socially stressful event, levels of emotional inertia dropped, particularly among participants scoring high on depression and fear of negative evaluation and low on self-esteem. These results demonstrate that emotion dynamics can vary as a function of contextual factors and identify moderators of such variation.
Kratz, A. L., Davis, M. C., & Zautra, A. J. (2011). Attachment predicts daily catastrophizing and social coping in women with pain. Health Psychol.
Objective: To examine how anxious and avoidant adult attachment styles moderate within-day associations between pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, and social coping. Method: Two-hundred and ten women with osteoarthritis and/or fibromyalgia from the community completed an initial questionnaire assessing attachment dimensions and a 30 day electronic diary. Outcomes were measured with daily ratings of pain intensity, catastrophizing, and social coping. Results: Attachment anxiety showed a context-specific relation with catastrophizing: days of increased pain predicted greater increases in pain catastrophizing for women who were anxious compared to nonanxious women. Attachment avoidance scores were related to higher mean levels of pain intensity and pain catastrophizing, and lower mean levels of social coping, across the diary period. In addition, compared to nonavoidant women, avoidant women showed smaller increases in use of social coping strategies on days of high catastrophizing. Conclusions: Dimensions of adult attachment, anxiety and avoidance, predict different aspects of daily pain and pain coping in women with chronic pain. Findings suggest that a social development perspective can inform our understanding of adjustment to chronic pain and the creation and use of more effective prevention and treatment strategies.
Kronick, I., Auerbach, R. P., Stich, C., & Kn+ñuper, B. +. (2011). Compensatory beliefs and intentions contribute to the prediction of caloric intake in dieters. Appetite, 57, 435-438.
One cognitive process that impacts dieters decision to indulge is the activation of compensatory beliefs. Compensatory beliefs (CBs) are convictions that the consequences of engaging in an indulgent behaviour (eating cake) can be neutralized by the effects of another behaviour (skipping dinner). Using experience sampling methodology, this study hypothesized that, in addition to the cognitive processes associated with restraint and disinhibition, compensatory thinking contributes to the prediction of caloric intake. Results indicated that higher scores on CB, CI and TFEQ-D predicted a greater number of portions eaten signifying that, along with disinhibition, compensatory thinking predicts caloric intake in dieters.
Larson, E. & von Eye, A. (2010). Beyond flow: Temporality and participation in everyday activities. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64, 152-163.
Experience sampling examined how temporality, the lived experience of time, varied related to specific activity qualities and experiences in everyday life. Thirty-five students completed electronic surveys regarding their current activity and feelings and rated the activity’s novelty and complexity, their depth of emotional and intellectual engagement, the direction and depth of attention, and the demands of the activity on their skills. Using configural frequency analysis and an analysis of narrative responses, configurations of factors (types) associated with variations in perceived temporalities were described. Four composite types identified occurred with any temporality. In most habitual activities, time was perceived as passing the same as clock time. Most faster or timeless temporalities occurred in complex, novel, and skill-requiring activities that engaged participants. Unexpected activity configurations were also associated with accelerated perceptions of time. Occupational therapists may use this knowledge to assist clients to redesign activities that promote positive experiences without high activity demands.
Loney, T., Standage, M., Thompson, D., Sebire, S. J., & Cumming, S. (2011). Self-report vs. objectively assessed physical activity: Which is right for public health? Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 8, 62-70.
Background: To examine the agreement between self-reported and objectively assessed physical activity (PA) according to current public health recommendations. Methods: One-hundred and fourteen British University students wore a combined accelerometer and heart rate monitor (Actiheart; AHR) to estimate 24-hour energy expenditure over 7 consecutive days. Data were extracted based on population-based MET-levels recommended to improve and maintain health. On day 8, participants were randomly assigned to complete either the short-form International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) or the Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ). Estimates of duration (IPAQ; N = 46) and frequency (LTEQ; N = 41) of PA were compared with those recorded by the AHR. Results: Bland-Altman analysis showed the mean bias between the IPAQ and AHR to be small for moderate-intensity and total PA, however the 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were wide. The mean number of moderate bouts of PA estimated by the LTEQ was similar to those derived by the AHR but the 95% LOA between the 2 measures were large. Conclusions: Although self-report questionnaires may provide an approximation of PA at a population level, they may not determine whether an individual is participating in the type, intensity, and amount of PA advocated in current public health recommendations.
Mannini, A. & Sabatini, A. M. (2011). Accelerometry-based classification of human activities using markov modeling. Comput.Intell.Neurosci., 2011, 647858.
Accelerometers are a popular choice as body-motion sensors: the reason is partly in their capability of extracting information that is useful for automatically inferring the physical activity in which the human subject is involved, beside their role in feeding biomechanical parameters estimators. Automatic classification of human physical activities is highly attractive for pervasive computing systems, whereas contextual awareness may ease the human-machine interaction, and in biomedicine, whereas wearable sensor systems are proposed for long-term monitoring. This paper is concerned with the machine learning algorithms needed to perform the classification task. Hidden Markov Model (HMM) classifiers are studied by contrasting them with Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) classifiers. HMMs incorporate the statistical information available on movement dynamics into the classification process, without discarding the time history of previous outcomes as GMMs do. An example of the benefits of the obtained statistical leverage is illustrated and discussed by analyzing two datasets of accelerometer time series
Martinez-Gomez, D., Eisenmann, J. C., Healy, G. N., Gomez-Martinez, S., Esperanza, D. L., Dunstan, D. W. et al. (2011). Sedentary Behaviors and Emerging Cardiometabolic Biomarkers in Adolescents. J Pediatr..
OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of objectively measured sedentary time and television (TV) viewing time with emerging inflammatory and endothelial function markers in adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: This study comprised 183 adolescents (88 girls), aged 13 to 17 years. Sedentary time and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was objectively measured with accelerometry, whereas TV viewing time was self-reported. White blood cell counts and levels of C-reactive protein, complement factors C3 and C4, interleukin-6, adiponectin, leptin, intercellular adhesion molecule 1, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, E-selectin, L-selectin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 were measured in fasted blood samples. RESULTS: Sedentary time was not significantly associated with any of the examined cardiometabolic markers after controlling for potential confounders. However, TV viewing time was positively associated with soluble endothelial adhesion molecules intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (standardized beta = 0.19, P = .008), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (beta = 0.17, P = .020), L-selectin (beta = 0.18, P = .013), and E-selectin (beta = 0.16, P = .023) concentrations, after controlling for sex, age, pubertal status, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, body mass index, and total sedentary time. CONCLUSIONS: High TV viewing time may play a key role in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases through the cell adhesion molecules in adolescence
Meuret, A. E., Rosenfield, D., Wilhelm, F. H., Zhou, E., Conrad, A., Ritz, T. et al. (2011). Do Unexpected Panic Attacks Occur Spontaneously? Biol.Psychiatry.
BACKGROUND: Spontaneous or unexpected panic attacks, per definition, occur “out of the blue,” in the absence of cues or triggers. Accordingly, physiological arousal or instability should occur at the onset of, or during, the attack, but not preceding it. To test this hypothesis, we examined if points of significant autonomic changes preceded the onset of spontaneous panic attacks. METHODS: Forty-three panic disorder patients underwent repeated 24-hour ambulatory monitoring. Thirteen natural panic attacks were recorded during 1960 hours of monitoring. Minute-by-minute epochs beginning 60 minutes before and continuing to 10 minutes after the onset of individual attacks were examined for respiration, heart rate, and skin conductance level. Measures were controlled for physical activity and vocalization and compared with time matched control periods within the same person. RESULTS: Significant patterns of instability across a number of autonomic and respiratory variables were detected as early as 47 minutes before panic onset. The final minutes before onset were dominated by respiratory changes, with significant decreases in tidal volume followed by abrupt carbon dioxide partial pressure increases. Panic attack onset was characterized by heart rate and tidal volume increases and a drop in carbon dioxide partial pressure. Symptom report was consistent with these changes. Skin conductance levels were generally elevated in the hour before, and during, the attacks. Changes in the matched control periods were largely absent. CONCLUSIONS: Significant autonomic irregularities preceded the onset of attacks that were reported as abrupt and unexpected. The findings invite reconsideration of the current diagnostic distinction between uncued and cued panic attacks
Moore, T. M., Elkins, S. R., McNulty, J. K., Kivisto, A. J., & Handsel, V. A. (2011). Alcohol use and intimate partner violence perpetration among college students: Assessing the temporal association using electronic diary technology. Psychology of Violence.
Objectives: The primary goals of this study were to assess the temporal relationship between alcohol use and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration using state-of-the-art electronic diary assessment methods and to examine the extent to which distal factors (e.g., sex, psychopathology, relationship satisfaction) moderated that association. Method: Participants were 184 male and female college students in dating relationships who used a handheld computer to answer daily questions about alcohol use and IPV every day for 2 months. Results: Based on a total of 7,775 daily electronic diary reports, results showed that the odds of perpetrating psychological and physical aggression were 2.19 and 3.64 times greater, respectively, on drinking days relative to nondrinking days. Men evidenced 7.03 greater odds of engaging in psychological aggression on drinking days, whereas women had only 1.60 greater odds of engaging in psychological aggression on drinking relative to nondrinking days. Conclusion: Findings suggest the need to provide intervention early in dating relationships to reduce alcohol use to reduce the risk of IPV.
Munsch, S., Meyer, A. H., Quartier, V., & Wilhelm, F. H. (2011). Binge eating in binge eating disorder: A break-down of emotion regulatory process? Psychiatry Res.
Current explanation models for binge eating in binge eating disorder (BED) mostly rely on bulimia nervosa (BN) models although research indicates different antecedents for binge eating in BED. This study investigates antecedents and maintaining factors in terms of positive mood, negative mood and tension in a sample of 22 women with binge eating disorder using ecological momentary assessment during one week. Values for negative mood were higher and those for positive mood lower during binge days compared with non-binge days. During binge days, negative mood and tension both strongly and significantly increased and positive mood strongly and significantly decreased at the first binge episode, followed by a slight though significant, and longer lasting decrease (negative mood, tension) or increase (positive mood) during a 4-h observation period following binge eating. Binge eating in BED seems to be triggered by an immediate break-down of emotion regulation. There are no indications of an accumulation of negative mood triggering binge eating followed by immediate reinforcing mechanisms in terms of substantial and stable improvement of mood as observed in BN. These differences implicate a further specification of etiological models and could serve as a basis for developing new treatment approaches for BED
Oerlemans, W. G., Bakker, A. B., & Veenhoven, R. (2011). Finding the Key to Happy Aging: A Day Reconstruction Study of Happiness. J Gerontol.B Psychol Sci Soc.Sci.
Objectives: The main aim of this study was to examine the roles of physical passivity and extraversion in the relationship between daily engagement in activities and daily happiness among older adults. Method: A day reconstruction method was used to accurately examine day-to-day activities and happiness. In total, 438 participants completed a monthly electronic diary survey over a 2-year period, generating 79,181 reported activities and momentary happiness scores. Results: The results show that happiness increases when older adults combine effortful social, physical, cognitive, and household activities with restful activities. Furthermore, participation in social activities mediated the direct relationship between extraversion and happiness. Also, individuals who score high on extraversion derive greater happiness from social activities compared with their low-extravert counterparts. Conclusions: The study extends activity theory by demonstrating that combining effortful activities with restful activities leads to greater happiness among older adults. Also, personality traits such as extraversion play a decisive role in the kind of activities that contribute most to daily happiness
Oliver, M., Badland, H., Mavoa, S., Duncan, M. J., & Duncan, S. (2010). Combining GPS, GIS, and accelerometry: Methodological issues in the assessment of location and intensity of travel behaviors. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 7, 102-108.
Background: Global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), and accelerometers are powerful tools to explain activity within a built environment, yet little integration of these tools has taken place. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of combining GPS, GIS, and accelerometry to understand transport-related physical activity (TPA) in adults. Methods: Forty adults wore an accelerometer and portable GPS unit over 7 consecutive days and completed a demographics questionnaire and 7-day travel log. Accelerometer and GPS data were extracted for commutes to/from workplace and integrated into a GIS database. GIS maps were generated to visually explore physical activity intensity, GPS speeds and routes traveled. Results: GPS, accelerometer, and survey data were collected for 37 participants. Loss of GPS data was substantial due to a range of methodological issues, such as low battery life, signal drop out, and participant noncompliance. Nonetheless, greater travel distances and significantly higher speeds were observed for motorized trips when compared with TPA. Conclusions: Pragmatic issues of using GPS monitoring to understand TPA behaviors and methodological recommendations for future research were identified. Although methodologically challenging, the combination of GPS monitoring, accelerometry and GIS technologies holds promise for understanding TPA within the built environment.
PalmierClaus, J. E. (2011). ‘Translating assessments of the film of daily life into person-tailored feedback interventions in depression’: Reply. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 123, 403-404.
Reply by the current authors to the comments made by M. Wichers et al. (see record 2011-07882-011) on the original article (see record 2011-00882-003). Wichers et al. raise a timely and important issue when considering experience sampling (ESM) as a clinical tool; that is, do its advantages outweigh it practical limitations? Their sample, although small, suggests that ESM based intervention is both feasible and acceptable in certain individuals with depression. In addition to confirming this in larger numbers of participants, further published research is required to establish which subgroups of patients most benefit from this kind of intervention. The use of ESM as an intervention, in addition to a monitoring tool, may have merits across diagnostic groups. Past research has sometimes observed reactivity to the ESM and it will be interesting to establish how much of the therapeutic effect is due to monitoring alone. esm software installed on familiar forms of technology (e.g. mobile phones) may help to facilitate these interventions in large numbers of patients, whilst in vivo monitoring (e.g. real-time uploading) would also facilitate efficient patient-practitioner correspondence.
Peng, J. X., Ferguson, S., Rafferty, K., & Kelly, P. D. (2011). An efficient feature selection method for mobile devices with application to activity recognition. Neurocomputing: An International Journal.
This paper presents a feature selection method for data classification, which combines a model-based variable selection technique and a fast two-stage subset selection algorithm. The relationship between a specified (and complete) set of candidate features and the class label is modeled using a non-linear full regression model which is linear-in-the-parameters. The performance of a sub-model measured by the sum of the squared-errors (SSE) is used to score the informativeness of the subset of features involved in the sub-model. The two-stage subset selection algorithm approaches a solution sub-model with the SSE being locally minimized. The features involved in the solution sub-model are selected as inputs to support vector machines (SVMs) for classification. The memory requirement of this algorithm is independent of the number of training patterns. This property makes this method suitable for applications executed in mobile devices where physical RAM memory is very limited. An application was developed for activity recognition, which implements the proposed feature selection algorithm and an SVM training procedure. Experiments are carried out with the application running on a PDA for human activity recognition using accelerometer data. A comparison with an information gain-based feature selection method demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
Peters, E., Lataster, T., Greenwood, K., Kuipers, E., Scott, J., Williams, S. et al. (2011). Appraisals, psychotic symptoms and affect in daily life. Psychol Med, 1-11.
BACKGROUND: Psychological models of psychosis were examined using Experience Sampling Methods (ESM) to explore relationships between dimensions and appraisals of key symptoms and affect.MethodIndividuals were signalled to complete ESM booklets 10 times per day for six consecutive days; 534 data points were obtained from 12 out-patients with psychosis. RESULTS: Although only 3.6% of spontaneous thoughts were psychosis related, these predicted more negative and less positive affect. Delusions and hallucinations, when present, were rated at a moderate level of intensity, and intensity was associated with distress, interference and preoccupation. Symptom dimensions were related to each other, with weaker associations with delusional conviction, which, it is hypothesized, may represent a separate factor. Conviction and appraisals relating to insight and decentring (‘my problems are something to do with the way my mind works’) were highly variable. Decentring appraisals of delusions, but not insight, were associated with less distress. Appraisals about the power of voices were strong predictors of negative affect and symptom distress. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that ESM is a useful methodology to capture ‘online’ variability in psychotic phenomenology and provides evidence supporting cognitive models, which posit that psychotic symptoms are multi-dimensional phenomena, shaped by appraisals that, in turn, predict their emotional and behavioural sequelae
Poole, L., Steptoe, A., Wawrzyniak, A. J., Bostock, S., Mitchell, E. S., & Hamer, M. (2011). Associations of objectively measured physical activity with daily mood ratings and psychophysiological stress responses in women. Psychophysiology, 48, 1165-1172.
The aim of this study was to examine associations of objectively measured physical activity with daily mood ratings and psychophysiological stress responses. We recruited 40 healthy females (aged 28.7 -¦ 6.1 yrs) who completed a onceaday mood rating scale for 7 days, along with a 7day assessment of physical activity using accelerometers and psychophysiological stress testing. The findings suggest that levels of physical activity as measured using an accelerometer are associated with both depressive symptoms over the past 2 weeks (CESD) (r=.33, p=.038) and with daily positive emotional style (r=.49, p=.001). The relationship between physical activity and positive emotional style remained after controlling for age, body mass index, and negative emotional style (t=3.31, p=.002). Physical activity was not related to any psychophysiological stress responses.
Ridgers, N. D. & Fairclough, S. (2011). Assessing free-living physical activity using accelerometry: Practical issues for researchers and practitioners. European Journal of Sport Science, 11, 205-213.
Physical activity is an integral component of a healthy lifestyle, with relationships documented between physical activity, chronic diseases, and disease risk factors. There is increasing concern that many people are not sufficiently active to benefit their health. Consequently, there is a need to determine the prevalence of physical activity engagement, identify active and inactive segments of the population, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. The aim of the present study was to identify and explain a number of methodological and decision-making processes associated with accelerometry, which is the most commonly used objective measure of physical activity in child and adult research. Specifically, this review addresses: (a) pre-data collection decisions, (b) data collection procedures, (c) processing of accelerometer data, and (d) outcome variables in relation to the research questions posed. An appraisal of the literature is provided to help researchers and practitioners begin field-based research, with recommendations offered for best practice. In addition, issues that require further investigation are identified and discussed to inform researchers and practitioners of the surrounding debates. Overall, the review is intended as a starting point for field-based physical activity research using accelerometers and as an introduction to key issues that should be considered and are likely to be encountered at this time.
Robertson, B. M., Piasecki, T. M., Slutske, W. S., Wood, P. K., Sher, K. J., Shiffman, S. et al. (2011). Validity of the Hangover Symptoms Scale: Evidence from an Electronic Diary Study. Alcohol Clin.Exp.Res.
Background: The Hangover Symptoms Scale (HSS) assesses the frequency of 13 symptoms experienced after drinking in the past year. Cross-sectional analyses in college drinkers showed preliminary evidence for the validity of the HSS (Slutske et al., 2003). The current investigation extended this work by examining the construct validity of the HSS in an ecological momentary assessment investigation. Methods: Frequent drinkers (N = 404) carried electronic diaries to track their daily experiences over 3 weeks. Each morning, the diary assessed prior-night drinking behaviors, the presence of current hangover, and intensity of current headache and nausea. Results: Adjusting for sex and body mass, the HSS significantly predicted diary endorsement of hangover (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.78 to 2.49, p < 0.001). Participants who endorsed the HSS headache and nausea items were especially likely to report the elevations of corresponding symptoms in diary records made the morning after drinking. HSS scores incrementally predicted hangover when the number of drinks consumed in the episode was covaried but did not moderate the relationship between the number of drinks and diary hangover reports. Conclusions: The HSS appears to be a valid tool for hangover research. Higher HSS scores identify individuals who complain of “real world” hangovers and who may be especially likely to display particular symptoms after a night of drinking. Past hangovers predicted future hangovers, suggesting hangovers do not necessarily discourage or inhibit future drinking, at least across the several-week time interval studied here. There is a need to develop and evaluate complementary measures that can more directly index individual differences in hangover susceptibility in survey designs
Schimpl, M., Moore, C., Lederer, C., Neuhaus, A., Sambrook, J., Danesh, J. et al. (2011). Association between Walking Speed and Age in Healthy, Free-Living Individuals Using Mobile Accelerometry-A Cross-Sectional Study. PLoS.One., 6, e23299.
CONTEXT: Walking speed is a fundamental parameter of human motion and is increasingly considered as an important indicator of individuals’ health status. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship of gait parameters, and demographic and physical characteristics in healthy men and women. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Recruitment of a subsample (n = 358) of male and female blood donors taking part in the Cambridge CardioResource study. Collection of demographic data, measurement of physical characteristics (height, weight and blood pressure) and assessment of 7-day, free-living activity parameters using accelerometry and a novel algorithm to measure walking speed. Participants were a median (interquartile range[IQR]) age of 49 (16) years; 45% women; and had a median (IQR) BMI of 26 (5.4). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Walking speed. RESULTS: In this study, the hypothesis that walking speed declines with age was generated using an initial ‘open’ dataset. This was subsequently validated in a separate ‘closed’ dataset that showed a decrease of walking speed of -0.0037 m/s per year. This is equivalent to a difference of 1.2 minutes, when walking a distance of 1 km aged 20 compared to 60 years. Associations between walking speed and other participant characteristics (i.e. gender, BMI and blood pressure) were non-significant. BMI was negatively correlated with the number of walking and running steps and longest non-stop distance. CONCLUSION: This is the first study using accelerometry which shows an association between walking speed and age in free-living, healthy individuals. Absolute values of gait speed are comparable to published normal ranges in clinical settings. This study highlights the potential use of mobile accelerometry to assess gait parameters which may be indicative of future health outcomes in healthy individuals
Schimpl, M., Lederer, C., & Daumer, M. (2011). Development and validation of a new method to measure walking speed in free-living environments using the actibelt(R) platform. PLoS.One., 6, e23080.
Walking speed is a fundamental indicator for human well-being. In a clinical setting, walking speed is typically measured by means of walking tests using different protocols. However, walking speed obtained in this way is unlikely to be representative of the conditions in a free-living environment. Recently, mobile accelerometry has opened up the possibility to extract walking speed from long-time observations in free-living individuals, but the validity of these measurements needs to be determined. In this investigation, we have developed algorithms for walking speed prediction based on 3D accelerometry data (actibelt(R)) and created a framework using a standardized data set with gold standard annotations to facilitate the validation and comparison of these algorithms. For this purpose 17 healthy subjects operated a newly developed mobile gold standard while walking/running on an indoor track. Subsequently, the validity of 12 candidate algorithms for walking speed prediction ranging from well-known simple approaches like combining step length with frequency to more sophisticated algorithms such as linear and non-linear models was assessed using statistical measures. As a result, a novel algorithm employing support vector regression was found to perform best with a concordance correlation coefficient of 0.93 (95%CI 0.92-0.94) and a coverage probability CP1 of 0.46 (95%CI 0.12-0.70) for a deviation of 0.1 m/s (CP2 0.78, CP3 0.94) when compared to the mobile gold standard while walking indoors. A smaller outdoor experiment confirmed those results with even better coverage probability. We conclude that walking speed thus obtained has the potential to help establish walking speed in free-living environments as a patient-oriented outcome measure
Seo, M. G., Bartunek, J. M., & Barrett, L. F. (2010). The role of affective experience in work motivation: Test of a conceptual model. J Organ Behav, 31, 951-968.
The purpose of this paper was to contribute to understanding of the crucial role of emotion in work motivation by testing a conceptual model developed by Seo, Barrett, and Bartunek (2004) that predicted the impacts of core affect on three behavioral outcomes of work motivation, generative-defensive orientation, effort, and persistence. We tested the model using an Internet-based investment simulation combined with an experience sampling procedure. Consistent with the predictions of the model, pleasantness was positively related to all three of the predicted indices. For the most part, these effects occurred indirectly via its relationships with expectancy, valence, and progress judgment components. Also as predicted by the model, activation was directly and positively related to effort
Silk, J. S., Stroud, L. R., Siegle, G. J., Dahl, R. E., Lee, K. H., & Nelson, E. E. (2011). Peer acceptance and rejection through the eyes of youth: pupillary, eyetracking and ecological data from the Chatroom Interact task. Soc.Cogn Affect.Neurosci..
We developed an ecologically valid virtual peer interaction paradigm-the Chatroom Interact Task in which 60 pre-adolescents and adolescents (ages 9-17 years) were led to believe that they were interacting with other youth in a simulated internet chatroom. Youth received rejection and acceptance feedback from virtual peers. Findings revealed increased pupil dilation, an index of increased activity in cognitive and affective processing regions of the brain, to rejection compared to acceptance trials, which was greater for older youth. Data from a cell-phone Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) protocol completed following the task indicated that increased pupillary reactivity to rejection trials was associated with lower feelings of social connectedness with peers in daily life. Eyetracking analyses revealed attentional biases toward acceptance feedback and away from rejection feedback. Biases toward acceptance feedback were stronger for older youth. Avoidance of rejection feedback was strongest among youth with increased pupillary reactivity to rejection, even in the seconds leading up to and following rejection feedback. These findings suggest that adolescents are sensitive to rejection feedback and seek to anticipate and avoid attending to rejection stimuli. Furthermore, the salience of social rejection and acceptance feedback appears to increase during adolescence
Silk, J. S., Forbes, E. E., Whalen, D. J., Jakubcak, J. L., Thompson, W. K., Ryan, N. D. et al. (2011). Daily emotional dynamics in depressed youth: A cell phone ecological momentary assessment study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 110, 241-257.
This study used a new cell phone ecological momentary assessment approach to investigate daily emotional dynamics in 47 youths with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 32 no-psychopathology controls (CON) (ages 7-17 years). Information about emotional experience in the natural environment was obtained using answer-only cell phones, while MDD youths received an 8-week course of cognitive behavioral therapy and/or psychopharmacological treatment. Compared with CON youths, MDD youths reported more intense and labile global negative affect; greater sadness, anger, and nervousness; and a lower ratio of positive to negative affect. These differences increased with pubertal maturation. MDD youths spent more time alone and less time with their families than CON youths. Although differences in emotional experiences were found across social contexts, MDD youths were more negative than CON youths in all contexts examined. As the MDD participants progressed through treatment, diagnostic group differences in the intensity and lability of negative affect decreased, but there were no changes in the ratio of positive to negative affect or in measures of social context. We discuss methodological innovations and advantages of this approach, including improved ecological validity and access to information about variability in emotions, change in emotions over time, the balance of positive and negative emotions, and the social context of emotional experience.
Stepp, S. D., Hallquist, M. N., Morse, J. Q., & Pilkonis, P. A. (2011). Multimethod Investigation of Interpersonal Functioning in Borderline Personality Disorder. Personal Disord., 2, 175-192.
Even though interpersonal functioning is of great clinical importance for patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), the comparative validity of different assessment methods for interpersonal dysfunction has not yet been tested. This study examined multiple methods of assessing interpersonal functioning, including self- and other-reports, clinical ratings, electronic diaries, and social cognitions in three groups of psychiatric patients (N=138): patients with (1) BPD, (2) another personality disorder, and (3) Axis I psychopathology only. Using dominance analysis, we examined the predictive validity of each method in detecting changes in symptom distress and social functioning six months later. Across multiple methods, the BPD group often reported higher interpersonal dysfunction scores compared to other groups. Predictive validity results demonstrated that self-report and electronic diary ratings were the most important predictors of distress and social functioning. Our findings suggest that self-report scores and electronic diary ratings have high clinical utility, as these methods appear most sensitive to change
Sweeney, C. K., Goldner, J., & Richards, M. H. (2011). Exposure to community violence and daily feeling states among urban African American youth. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 39, 114-131.
This longitudinal study examined the relationships between exposure to community violence and daily feeling states among 175 6th- through 8th-grade African American students. The relationships were tested both cross-sectionally and longitudinally over the 3-year span. Four daily feeling state subscales: contented, hostile, anxious, and dysphoric were developed from a factor analysis of the 30 Experience Sampling Method (ESM) feeling states. Cross-sectionally, regression analyses indicated that exposure to violence individually predicted most feeling states and more variability in most feeling states in 7th and 8th grades. When feeling states were entered into regressions together, fewer predicted violence exposure. Longitudinally, regression analyses revealed that more variability in dysphoric feelings in 6th grade predicted exposure to violence in 7th grade, while 6th-grade hostile and anxious feelings predicted 8th-grade exposure change. Longitudinal analyses did not indicate that exposure to community violence predicted later daily feeling states. Preventive and intervention implications are addressed.
Takano, K. & Tanno, Y. (2011). Diurnal variation in rumination. Emotion, 11, 1046-1058.
The present study investigated the daily fluctuation of ruminative thinking and its individual differences by using the experience sampling method. Participants recorded their thought contents and negative affect eight times a day for a week at semirandom intervals. High-trait ruminators showed high levels of self-focus, unpleasantness, and uncontrollability in their thoughts over the sampling course. These variables were interacted to predict the levels of concurrent negative affect: Self-focus was strongly associated with increased levels of negative affect when the thought was highly unpleasant and uncontrollable. A composite measure of rumination, including self-focus, unpleasantness, and uncontrollability, exhibited diurnal variation, which was assimilated by a quadratic function of time of day. However, there were differences in the estimated parameters of diurnal trajectories between high and low levels of depression, which indicated that individuals with higher levels of depression are more likely to engage in rumination in the evening, not in the morning, than those with lower levels of depression. These findings suggest that rumination in the evening would play an important role in the exacerbation and maintenance of depression.
Vissers, P. A., Jones, A. P., Corder, K., Jennings, A., van Sluijs, E. M., Welch, A. et al. (2011). Breakfast consumption and daily physical activity in 9-10-year-old British children. Public Health Nutr, 1-10.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between breakfast consumption and physical activity in a well-characterised sample of English children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study using food diaries to record breakfast consumption and accelerometry to assess physical activity. SETTING: Norfolk county, England. SUBJECTS: Children (n 1697) aged 9-10 years from the SPEEDY (Sport, Physical Activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young people) study. RESULTS: Boys who consumed a poor-quality breakfast based on dairy product, cereal and fruit intakes spent approximately 7 min more time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during weekday afternoons and evenings compared with those who did not consume breakfast (P < 0.05). On weekend days, boys who consumed a poor- or good-quality breakfast spent approximately 6 and 5 min less time respectively being sedentary during the mornings compared with breakfast non-consumers (P < 0.05). Boys who consumed a good-quality breakfast spent almost 3 min more in MVPA during the morning on weekend days compared with non-consumers, and boys who consumed a poor- or good-quality breakfast were 22 % and 16 % more active overall respectively than breakfast non-consumers (P < 0.05). During the rest of the day, boys who consumed a good-quality breakfast spent about 11 min less time being sedentary (P < 0.05) and 7 min more time in MVPA (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although some associations between breakfast consumption and physical activity were detected for boys, the present study does not provide strong evidence that failing to consume breakfast, or having a low energy intake at breakfast time, is detrimental to children’s physical activity levels
Walsh, M. A., Royal, A., Brown, L. H., Barrantes-Vidal, N., & Kwapil, T. R. (2011). Looking for bipolar spectrum psychopathology: identification and expression in daily life. Compr.Psychiatry.
OBJECTIVES: Current clinical and epidemiological research provides support for a continuum of bipolar psychopathology: a bipolar spectrum that ranges from subclinical manifestations to full-blown bipolar disorders. Examining subthreshold bipolar symptoms may identify individuals at risk for clinical disorders, promote early interventions and monitoring, and increase the likelihood of appropriate treatment. The present studies examined the construct validity of bipolar spectrum psychopathology using the Hypomanic Personality Scale. METHODS: Study 1 used interview and questionnaire measures of bipolar spectrum psychopathology in a sample of 145 nonclinically ascertained young adults. Study 2 assessed the expression of the bipolar spectrum in daily life using experience sampling methodology in the same sample. RESULTS: In study 1, Hypomanic Personality Scale scores were positively associated with clinical bipolar disorders, bipolar spectrum disorders, the presence of hypomania or hyperthymia, depressive symptoms, poor psychosocial functioning, cyclothymia, irritability, and symptoms of borderline personality disorder. In study 2, bipolar spectrum psychopathology was associated with negative affect, thought disturbance, risky behavior, and measures of grandiosity. These findings remained independent of clinical bipolar disorders. CONCLUSIONS: In the present studies, bipolar-like disruptions in cognition, affect, and behavior were not limited to clinical diagnoses or mood episodes, providing further validation of the bipolar spectrum construct. The bipolar spectrum model appears to provide a conceptually richer basis for understanding and ultimately treating bipolar psychopathology than current diagnostic formulations
Waters, A. J., Marhe, R., & Franken, I. H. (2011). Attentional bias to drug cues is elevated before and during temptations to use heroin and cocaine. Psychopharmacology (Berl).
RATIONALE: Relapse is an important problem in substance dependence treatment. When drug users try to abstain from drug use, they often report strong temptations to use drugs. Temptation episodes have commonalities with relapse episodes, and assessment of temptation episodes may help to identify individuals at risk of relapse. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine affect and cognition prior to and during temptation episodes by administering self-report and implicit cognitive assessments on a handheld computer (PDA) using Ecological Momentary Assessment. METHODS: Heroin-dependent patients (N = 68) attending a drug detoxification unit completed up to four random assessments (RAs) per day on a PDA for 1 week. They also completed an assessment when they experienced a temptation to use drugs (temptation assessment; TA). RESULTS: Participants completed 1,482 assessments (353 TAs, 1,129 RAs). The rate of TAs was maximal during the first 2 days. Participants reported higher levels of negative affect, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating, and more positive explicit attitudes to drugs, at TAs compared to RAs. In addition, they exhibited elevated attentional bias to drug cues (assessed using the modified Stroop task) at TAs compared to RAs. Implicit affective associations with drug cues (assessed using the Implicit Association Test) were not different at TAs compared to RAs. Attentional bias was elevated in the 1 h prior to the entry of a temptation episode. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated attentional bias may be a harbinger of temptation episodes. Interventions that target cognitions prior to or during temptation episodes may reduce the probability or severity of a temptation episode
Wichers, M., Simons, C. J., Kramer, I. M., Hartmann, J. A., Lothmann, C., Myin-Germeys, I. et al. (2011). Momentary assessment technology as a tool to help patients with depression help themselves. Acta Psychiatr Scand., 124, 262-272.
Wichers M, Simons CJP, Kramer IMA, Hartmann JA, Lothmann C, Myin-Germeys I, van Bemmel AL, Peeters F, Delespaul P, van Os J. Momentary assessment technology as a tool to help patients with depression help themselves. Objective: Given high relapse rates and residual symptoms in depression, new strategies to increase treatment effectiveness are required. A promising avenue is to investigate how electronic momentary assessment technology may contribute to clinical assessment and interventions in depression. Method: A literature search was conducted focusing on the potential contribution of momentary assessments to clinical applications in depression. Results: Momentary assessments are able to reveal subtle, small but repetitive and relevant patterns of emotional expression that predict future course of depression. A momentary assessment tool may expose manageable pieces of daily life behaviour contributing to the depressive experience that patients can influence. The use of this explicit knowledge of daily life experience is understudied with regard to its contribution to diagnostic assessment, monitoring of treatment effects and feedback interventions in depressed patients. The clinical application of momentary assessments may stimulate a shift from passive consumption of treatment to an active role for patients in their recovery and increased patient ownership. Conclusion: The precise, prospective and fine-grained information that momentary assessment technology provides may contribute to clinical practice in various ways. Future studies should examine the clinical impact of its use and the feasibility of its implementation in mental health care
Wichers, M., Hartmann, J. A., Kramer, I. M. A., Lothmann, C., Peeters, F., van Bemmel, L. et al. (2011). Translating assessments of the film of daily life into persontailored feedback interventions in depression. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 123, 402-403.
Comments on an article by Palmier-Claus et al. (see record 2011-00882-003). Palmier-Claus et al. advocate the use of ESM (experience sampling) in clinical practice. ESM has the power to uncover subtle and fine-grained patterns of affect and behavior in the flow of daily life with relevance to relapse and recovery in depression. Despite the recent rise in new mobile health interventions, no study has yet tried to translate the film of daily lifeas acquired with ESM into person-tailored feedback on relevant patterns of emotions and behavior in depression. We report on a first, ongoing study in which depressed patients collect ESM data over a 6-week period and receive weekly verbal and graphical feedback on daily life contexts in relation to their momentary emotional responses. Also, they receive feedback on changes in relevant emotional and behavioral patterns over time. Thus, although some aspects of PsyMates use are relatively demanding, most patients in the feedback condition indicated that they wished to continue using it. These preliminary results are promising for the future use of ESM in interventions. However, the current sample size is very small. The final results of this study and those of other future studies need to be awaited to assess how patients experience PsyMate interventions and whether the intervention, in combination with antidepressant medication or as an adjunct to psychotherapy, may improve treatment effectiveness.
Wilt, J., Funkhouser, K., & Revelle, W. (2011). The dynamic relationships of affective synchrony to perceptions of situations. Journal of Research in Personality, 45, 309-321.
Most theories of affect predict that affects of opposite valence should be negatively correlated (de-synchronous) or independent (asynchronous) within individuals. Such theories were challenged by the finding that the association between energetic arousal and tense arousal ranged from de-synchrony to synchrony (Rafaeli, Rogers, & Revelle, 2007). In this paper, we report two experience-sampling studies employing cell-phone text-messaging aimed at further exploring individual differences in affective experience. Results showed that within-person relationships between energetic arousal and tense arousal ranged from de-synchrony to synchrony, but that within-person relationships between Pleasant and Unpleasant affect varied from strong de-synchrony to weak de-synchrony. Individual differences in within-person EA-TA associations were related to perceiving threatening situations as incentives and to interactions between affective traits.
Witkiewitz, K., Desai, S. A., Steckler, G., Jackson, K. M., Bowen, S., Leigh, B. C. et al. (2011). Concurrent drinking and smoking among college students: An event-level analysis. Psychol Addict.Behav .
Cigarette smoking and drinking commonly co-occur among college students, a population that is at high risk for developing alcohol and nicotine use disorders. Several studies have been conducted that have examined predictors of drinking or smoking to gain a better understanding of the antecedents of engaging in these behaviors. Yet, few studies have examined specific factors that influence concurrent smoking and drinking in this population. The current study used data from a 21-day electronic diary-based study of college students (n = 86) who engaged in concurrent drinking and smoking to examine event-level associations between alcohol use and cigarette smoking in the student’s natural environment. We specifically focused on within-person analyses of contexts in which students reported smoking and drinking simultaneously in comparison to contexts in which students reporting drinking without smoking. Situational contexts included environmental setting, whether s/he was alone or with others, and changes in stress and urges to smoke before initiating drinking. Results indicated that students drank more while smoking and smoked three times as many cigarettes, on average, during drinking episodes. Being with others at a party or a bar was associated with increased odds of smoking while drinking. Likewise, increased stress since the prior assessment predicted a greater likelihood of smoking while drinking. Based on the findings from the present study, it is important for future prevention and intervention efforts to consider social settings and heightened stress among students as potential risk factors for engaging in concurrent drinking and smoking.
Xia, Y., Cheung, V., Garcia, E., Ding, H., & Karunaithi, M. (2011). Development of an automated physical activity classification application for mobile phones. Stud.Health Technol Inform., 168, 188-194.
Background. Physical activity classification is an objective approach to assess levels of physical activity, and indicates an individual’s degree of functional ability. It is significant for a number of the disciplines, such as behavioural sciences, physiotherapy, etc. Accelerometry is found to be a practical and low cost method for activity classification that could provide an objective and efficient measurement of people’s daily activities. Methods. This paper utilises a mobile phone with a built-in tri-axial accelerometer sensor to automatically classify normal physical activities. A rule-based activity classification model, which can recognise 4 common daily activities (lying, walking, sitting, and standing) and 6 transitions between postural orientations, is introduced here. In this model, three types of statuses (walking/ transition, lying, and sitting/standing) are first classified based on the kinetic energy and upright angle. Transitions are then separated from walking and assigned to the corresponding type using upright angle algorithm. To evaluate the performance of this developed application, a trial is designed with 8 healthy adult subjects, who are required to perform a 6-minute activity routine with an iPhone fixed at the waist position. Results. Based on the evaluation result, our application measures the length of time of each activity accurately and the achieved sensitivity of each activity classification exceeds 90% while the achieved specificity exceeds 96%. Meanwhile, regarding the transition identification, the sensitivities are high in stand-to-sit (80%) and low in sit-to-stand (56%)
Zunker, C., Peterson, C. B., Crosby, R. D., Cao, L., Engel, S. G., Mitchell, J. E. et al. (2011). Ecological momentary assessment of bulimia nervosa: Does dietary restriction predict binge eating? Behav Res Ther, 49, 714-717.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between caloric restriction (CR) and binge eating (BE) using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Participants included 133 women with bulimia nervosa (BN) who completed an EMA protocol for 2 weeks. Logistic regression analyses tested whether CR increased the probability of BE episodes. The results revealed that the odds of BE increased on the day that restriction occurred as well as on the following day. In addition, both restriction and BE on one day predicted the likelihood of BE the subsequent day, but restriction for two days prior to the episode failed to add additional information for predicting BE. These findings support the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) model of BN, suggesting that self-reported dietary restriction is predictive of subsequent BE episodes, and that reducing dietary restriction in treatment may lead to improvements in bulimic symptoms