The recent experience sampling research from July is here! Keep checking this list as more articles are published.
- Adolescent Studies
- Alcohol & Drugs
- Diet & Nutrition
- Emotion & Regulation
- General Psychological Topics
- Medical Topics
- Physical Activity
- Physiological Sensors
- Psychopathy
- Smoking Cessation
- Statistics/Methodology
Adolescent Studies
Violence exposure is associated with adolescents’ same- and next-day mental health symptoms.In this 30-day EMA study, 151 young adolescents were assessed three times a day via mobile phones. Mental health and violence exposure were both partially assessed by parental reports. Results from multilevel modeling showed adolescents were more likely to exhibit anger, depression, and conduct problems on days when they were exposed to violence. Additionally, depression symptoms lingered several days following the violence exposure.
Reducing concussion symptoms among teenage youth: Evaluation of a mobile health app.
Youth aged 13-18 experiencing concussion symptoms 3 or more weeks after injury participated in this EMA study. All participants were given standard treatment for concussion symptoms, but those in the experimental group also used a mobile health application as a gamified symptoms journal. Results showed that symptoms and optimism improved more for the group using the mobile health application than those who were not.
Momentary emotion identification in female adolescents with and without anorexia nervosa.In this controlled 2-day ecological momentary assessment study, the influence of time of day on emotion identification in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) was studied. Assessments were compared with those of a non-anorexia nervosa control group (HC). Results showed that whereas HC participants showed a rise in emotion identification during daytime, AN participants did not, suggesting that AN has an inhibitory effect on this function.
Alcohol & Drugs
Diet & Nutrition
Higher BMI is associated with stronger effects of social cues on everyday snacking behaviour.
Two combined EMA studies tested the relationship between BMI, social cues, and snacking behavior. 122 participants with BMIs ranging from 8.34 to 45.71 kg/m2 took part in a two week study during which they were asked to log their everyday snacking behavior. Results showed that people with higher BMIs were more likely to consume high-energy snack when alone, and were more likely to consume low-energy snacks in social settings.
Emotion & Regulation
Experience sampling and psychophysiological ambulant assessment methods were used to compare social stress responses in the lab versus in daily life. Stress was measured through self report and heart rate. Results showed a heightened physiological response to the experimental stress.
General Psychological Topics
In this experimental study, researchers used variants of the model Best Estimate and Sampling Tools (BEAST) to study choice behavior. Specifically, they looked at anomalies and contradictory behaviors. Results showed that anomalies can be understood by assuming high sensitivity to the expected return, and by 4 distinct tendencies: pessimism, bias toward equal weighting, sensitivity to payoff sign, and an effort to minimize the probability of immediate regret.
Sense of Threat as a Mediator of Peritraumatic Stress Symptom Development During Wartime: An Experience Sampling Study.A 30-day twice-daily smartphone-based assessment was conducted. 182 highly exposed individuals participated in the study, some of whom were affected by severe mental illness. Multilevel modeling was conducted and revealed that exposure both directly and indirectly affected the level of peritraumatic stress symptoms present due to sense of threat.
407 university students participated in this ESM study. Sampling techniques measured students’ classroom practices, perceptions, engagement, and perceived learning throughout the one-semester course. The study further evaluated the association between these general and specific factors and both student classroom practices and educational outcomes. Data allowed for the construction of a two-level bifactor model. One significant finding was the positive relationship between seating and engagement, and thus, overall course grade.
Medical Topics
Physical Activity
This ESM intervention assists the spouses of patients with dementia. Results showed that participants perceived the intervention as supportive and that a large percentage of participants applied feedback to their daily lives. These results indicate that future implementation of the ESM intervention is likely to be feasible in regular health care.
Reciprocal within-day associations between incidental affect and exercise: An EMA study.
Ecological momentary assessment was used by participants to self-report their workouts and exercise each day. Surveys were also completed using EMA to assess incidental affective valence. Autoregressive models were used to assess the relationship between affect and exercise. Results showed a positive feedback loop between positive affect and exercise, in which people were more likely to exercise if they were experiencing positive affect, and more likely to report positive affect if they had previously exercised that day.
Physiological Sensors
Psychopathy
Associations of borderline personality disorder traits with stressful events and emotional reactivity in women with bulimia nervosa.Participants with a Bulimia Nervosa diagnosis completed a baseline assessment of personality pathology traits. For two-weeks, participants reported affective state and occurrence of stressful life events several times each day. Results showed certain BPD traits were significantly associated with the frequency of stressful events.
Trajectories of higher- and lower-order dimensions of negative and positive affect relative to restrictive eating in anorexia nervosa.118 women with anorexia nervosa were assessed on their higher and lower order positive and negative affect relative to restrictive eating. Results showed that guilt (lower-order NA) increased before restrictive behaviors, and decreased following restrictive behaviors. Several more correlations were found in relation to affect and restrictive eating.
In this review, researchers examine the feasibility and acceptability of using EMA and EMI in the treatment of psychotic disorders. They compared 9 different studies, all meeting specific criteria. Results support the clinical utility of using EMA/I for psychotic disorders.
Smoking Cessation
Statistics/Methodology