The recent experience sampling research from April is here! Articles are organized by the following topics.
- Alcohol & Drugs
- Diet & Nutrition
- Emotion & Regulation
- General Psychological Topics
- Medical Topics
- Physical Activity
- Psychopathy
- Smoking Cessation
- Statistics/Methodology
Alcohol & Drugs
This study examined EMA data regarding opioid misuse, pain, and affect for patients with chronic pain. They found that patients who engaged in Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) saw improvements in momentary pain and positive affect, and improved positive affect was related to a decreased risk of opioid misuse.
This study used daily diaries to analyze daily stressors and alcohol and drug craving in 117 men on probation or parole. They found that increases in daily stressors were related to increases in the usage of illegal drugs.
Potential Risks of Ecological Momentary Assessment Among Persons Who Inject Drugs.
This study implemented EMA to examine EMA risks on 38 participants who inject drugs. They found that participants found most risks to be minimal, while some found that repetitive mood/drug use questioning could cause psychological and behavioral risks.
Diet & Nutrition
This study used EMA and a Fitbit to analyze weight, physical activity, and weight loss maintenance for six months. They found that daily fluctuations in weight loss maintenance were related to maintenance motivation, satisfaction with outcomes, habit, self-regulation, and stable environment.
This study utilized experience sampling methodology to study the relationship between inhibitory control and subsequent snacking behavior in 64 adults for 7 days. They found that reaction time variability in inhibitory control was significantly related to snack consumption.
In this EMA study, 51 overweight to obese adults reported eating behavior and their momentary environment for 14 days. The researchers found that the food environment predicted meals and snacking, while there was an increased probability of consumption of high-energy snacks when fast food restaurants were nearby.
Emotion & Regulation
A daily diary study of relationships between feelings of gratitude and well-being.
In this daily diary study, the relationship between feelings of gratitude and well-being was analyzed in 130 participants for two weeks. They found that daily feelings of gratitude and well-being were positively related, which complemented existing research.
Partner-Expected Affect: How You Feel Now Is Predicted by How Your Partner Thought You Felt Before.
This study used experience sampling methodology to study valence and arousal of an individual’s own feelings and the perceived feelings of their partners in 50 romantic couples. They found that an individual’s feelings were positively predicted by how their partner perceived their feelings.
Trait Acceptance Predicts Fewer Daily Negative Emotions Through Less Stressor-Related Rumination.
In this daily diary study, the relationship between acceptance and negative emotions was studied in 183 people. They found that when people were more accepting of their feelings, they experienced less daily negative emotions.
General Psychological Topics
For this EMA study, the impact of differences in neural reactivity on palatable food cues was examined in 16 women with bulimia nervosa. They found that stress increased before binge episodes, and decreased following.
In this daily diary study, social encounters and affect were monitored in middle-aged adults for 7 days. They found that individuals were more likely to interact with adult children than with parents, and they were also more likely to have negative experiences with parents than with adult children.
For this daily diary study, item selection, response scale, choice of diversity index, and other factors were analyzed in 138 adults. They found that emodiversity has the potential to contribute to the study of successful aging.
Dorsomedial prefontal cortex supports spontaneous thinking per se.
This study applied experience sampling methodology to analyze the impact of spontaneous thinking and spontaneous perception on the activation of wide-spread brain circuitries. They found that the cortical midline structures may be involved in the integrative core substrate of spontaneous thinking.
For this experience sampling study, mind wandering engaged with and without intention was analyzed. They found that intentional mind wandering was more often future-oriented and less vague, as compared to unintentional mind wandering.
In this experience sampling study, soundscape evaluations were monitored in 32 participants for seven days.They found that situational and person-related variables contributed to the judgments of pleasantness, eventfulness, and familiarity.
This experience sampling study measured momentary quality of life in university students. They found that higher momentary quality of life was related to participation in productive occupations, moderate or high occupation enjoyment, being with someone, being at home, and having good health.
This EMA study examined real-time breastfeeding behaviors and problems in first-time mothers for 8 weeks postpartum. They found that problems peaked at week 2, while interventions should address these common problems.
The Dynamics of Searching for Meaning and Presence of Meaning in Daily Life.
This daily diary study analyzed 254 undergraduate students and their well-being and meaning in life for two weeks. They found that the search for meaning in life was negatively correlated to presence and well-being between persons, but was positively correlated within persons.
The relationship between joint attention and theory of mind in neurotypical adults.
This study used experience sampling methodology to analyze the relationship between joint attention and theory of mind capabilities. They found that joint attention and theory of mind capabilities may occur independently in adults with no history of psychiatric illness.
Medical Topics
This ambulatory assessment study assessed intervention and trial procedures using aquatic therapy in boys aged 7-16 years with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. After monitoring 348 boys for six months, they found that aquatic therapy in this study was not feasible and should be optimized.
Physical Activity
In this EMA study, the relationship between activities and dietary intake between mothers and children was analyzed in 175 mothers and their children for 8 days. They found that children were more likely than their mothers to eat unhealthy food during a time period that included physical activity, but not sedentary screen activity.
Psychopathy
In this experience sampling study, the role of stress was examined in 654 individuals with varying risk for psychosis. They found that in all populations, stress was directly related to subsequent psychotic experiences.
Moving From Static to Dynamic Models of the Onset of Mental Disorder: A Review.
This review analyzed mental disorder theoretical models. They proposed that psychiatric research may benefit from the use of longitudinal assessments at the micro and macro-levels, such as EMA, that would approach psychopathology as a system rather than a category.
This study used the experience sampling method to study mood and cognitions in remitted patients with major depressive disorder. They found that patients with major depressive disorder had increased affective instability in most negative mood and cognition variables.
This study applied experience sampling methodology to study daily affect and reactivity in 55 depressed adults undergoing short-term therapy. After monitoring activities and emotion functioning eight times a day for a week, they found that there were similar broad improvements in mood, cognition, and physical functioning, while changes in reactivity to daily situations was minimal.
In this daily diary study, young adults with and without recent nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) reported social anxiety, support seeking, and usage of other coping strategies for 14 days. They found that participants with NSSI had less contact with families and friends; they also found less support from friends.
Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Aggression: A Within-Person Process Model.
In this EMA study, aggressive urges, threats, and behaviors were measured for three weeks in 117 adult women. They found that increases in negative affect predicted a higher likelihood of aggressive urges or behaviors, while BPD symptoms worsened the relationship between perceived rejection and aggression.
This study used ambulatory assessment and a novel scale to analyze vivid imagination, intrusive thoughts, perceptual sensitivity, and auditory hallucinations during self-reported psychosis-like experiences. They found that vivid imagination, intrusive thoughts, and perceptual sensitivity preceded auditory hallucinations.
This study used EMA to examine the effect of mindful emotion awareness training and treatment strategies on nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) urges and actions. They found that 8 out of 10 participants had meaningful reductions in NSSI in response to the treatments.
In this experience sampling study, researchers analyzed strong negative feedback loops between mental states that often characterize depression vulnerability. They found that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and treatment with imipramine did not significantly affect the structure of mental states.
Smoking Cessation
Day to day Variability in Self-Reported Cigarettes Per Day.
For this EMA study, smokers reported their smoking and cigarettes/day. They found that most smokers had small changes in cigarettes/day while neither smoking restrictions, dependence, nor interest in quitting predicted the variability.
This daily diary study analyzed cigarette usage and emotional/instrumental support in 83 dual-smoker couples for 22 days. They found that days with more received and proved support were correlated to fewer cigarettes smoked.
Statistics/Methodology
This study applied a multilevel stochastic differential equation (SDE) model and experience sampling methodology to study affect valence and arousal in 150 adults, capturing their affect in terms of attractor strength, attractor point, and reactivity to biopsychosocial inputs. They found that older age was related to higher arousal attractor point and the SDE model was useful for studying affect dynamics.
This review analyzed the feasibility of mobile cognitive assessments; e.g. EMA. They found that the studies they examined suggest mobile cognitive assessments may be a promising tool for clinical care and research when used with traditional assessment methods.