Diary Approach Research Articles

Childhood emotional maltreatment predicts social well-being beyond individual well-being: a daily diary study

ABSTRACT Childhood emotional maltreatment can have a profound impact on well-being. However, past research has largely focused on individual well-being, making it noteworthy to examine whether childhood emotional maltreatment predicts social well-being beyond individual well-being. To fill this gap, the current study employed a daily diary approach to investigate the independent effect of childhood emotional maltreatment on social well-being, and examined gratitude’s mediating role in the relationship. A total of 483 participants (Mage = 19.30, SDage = 2.12) completed daily surveys for 14 consecutive days. The results of the multilevel regression analysis indicated that childhood emotional maltreatment negatively and independently predicted social well-being, even after controlling for individual well- being, other forms of maltreatment (i.e. physical and sexual maltreatment), age and gender. Moreover, multilevel mediation analysis elucidated that gratitude served as a mediating factor in this association. In summary, these findings underscore the adverse effects of emotional maltreatment on social well-being and suggest gratitude as a possible intervention focus.

Sleep Bad, Feel Bad: Unpacking the Role of Exercise and Socializing

This study investigates the daily associations between sleep disturbances and emotional well-being, focusing on exercise and social interaction as potential moderating factors. Using a longitudinal daily diary approach, we analyzed data from 455 participants (mean age = 41.98 years, 382 females) who reported daily diaries over 20 days. Multilevel modeling was employed to analyze both within- and between-person relations between sleep variables (duration, efficiency, difficulty falling asleep) and next day positive/negative affect. The analysis also explored the moderating roles of exercise and socializing, adjusting for age, sex, and COVID-related variables. Our findings indicate that at both within- and between-person levels, higher sleep efficiency predicted increased positive affect and reduced negative affect; conversely, difficulty falling asleep predicted diminished positive affect and heightened negative affect. Sleep duration had a nonlinear relationship with positive and negative affect, with both longer and shorter than usual sleep duration predicting less positive and more negative affect. Exercise and socializing showed different moderating roles in the relationship between sleep and negative affect. Exercise was found to mitigate the negative impact of poor sleep on negative affect, whereas extended socializing amplified the salutary impact of good sleep on reducing negative affect. Our findings underscore the importance of sleep health in daily emotional well-being, suggesting associations between sleep efficiency, difficulty falling asleep, and next-day affect at both within- and between-person levels. Furthermore, the distinct moderation patterns of exercise and socializing provide unique insights into the interplay of sleep, exercise, and social interaction, allowing more targeted interventions.

Examining the association among adolescents' emotional clarity, emotion differentiation, and the regulation of negative and positive affect using a daily diary approach.

Emotional clarity and emotion differentiation (ED) are two core aspects of the application of emotional knowledge. During adolescence, novel emotional experiences result in temporary decreases of differentiation and clarity. These temporary difficulties might profoundly impact choices of regulatory strategies. And indeed, prior research has shown that lower emotional clarity and emotion differentiation are each associated with higher use of putatively maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in youth. The two constructs, however, are rarely examined together, and it remains unclear how they are associated in daily life, particularly in children and adolescents. In addition, previous studies have focused on the regulation of negative but not positive affect. To address these gaps, the present study used an intensive longitudinal design in youth. Between June 2021 and March 2022, 172 children and adolescents (M = 12.99 years) completed a 28-day diary (> 3,500 entries in total) reporting daily affect, emotional clarity, and the use of five emotion regulation strategies in response to negative and positive affect (i.e., rumination, dampening, behavioral avoidance, negative and positive suppression). As predicted, on both between- and within-person levels, higher emotional clarity was associated with decreased use of all maladaptive emotion regulation strategies after adjusting for mean affect intensity. Results for emotion differentiation were mostly nonsignificant. Only higher daily positive emotion differentiation was associated with decreased rumination. In sum, this innovative study explores multiple aspects of emotional knowledge usage and regulation during a critical developmental stage and emphasizes the role of emotional clarity in the regulation of negative and positive affect. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Soliciting Diaries for "Real-Time" Insights Into the COVID-19 Pandemic: Methodological Reflections on Using Digital Technologies to Engage the Public.

To discuss the opportunities and challenges of the qualitative solicited diary approach using digital technologies as an innovative way to access insights into people's lives and their unique stories in times of COVID-19-related social distancing in Switzerland. This case study provides reflective arguments from a social science perspective for the selection of different (digital) diary designs to optimize data collection in the SNSF-funded project "PubliCo - an experimental online platform for COVID-19-related public perception." The findings highlight some opportunities of using (digital) diaries, such as empowering participants, gathering real-time data, and ethical and methodological challenges when it comes to gaining access to alternative narratives. To gain in-depth insights during a crisis and to reach the lesser-heard voices that are central to democratic debates, it is necessary to adapt data gathering methods and build trust with diverse communities. While digital technologies open up new possibilities for public engagement, there is a need to think critically how data gathering is approached, how trustworthy the results are, and whose voices are captured, amplified, or left out.

Supplemental Material for Examining the Association Among Adolescents’ Emotional Clarity, Emotion Differentiation, and the Regulation of Negative and Positive Affect Using a Daily Diary Approach

Supplemental Material for Examining the Association Among Adolescents’ Emotional Clarity, Emotion Differentiation, and the Regulation of Negative and Positive Affect Using a Daily Diary Approach

The burdens and benefits of managing and engaging: a diary study approach to person-centred risk assessment of top executives and works council members

The present diary study investigates the impact of daily effort–reward imbalance (ERI), subjective stress and the cortisol awakening response (CAR) as an objective measure on work engagement of top managers and high-level works council members (N = 45) on three consecutive working days. In the scope of psychosocial risk assessment, we argue that focusing on ERI as a generalized work characteristic might be more suitable for work re-design of higher leadership positions because of their highly dynamic and unpredictable psychosocial work characteristics, while at the same time having more access to job resources. The analyses reveal that both baseline and daily ERI, as well as subjective stress, influence work engagement. Our results suggest that interventions to reduce daily levels of ERI may improve the work environment of top managers and works councils by promoting work engagement and related positive health outcomes in the scope of person-centred risk assessment.

Vaccination homophily in ego contact networks during the COVID-19 pandemic

Vaccine hesitancy is an inevitable risk for societies as it contributes to outbreaks of diseases. Prior research suggests that vaccination decisions of individuals tend to spread within social networks, resulting in a tendency to vaccination homophily. The clustering of individuals resistant to vaccination can substantially make the threshold necessary to achieve herd immunity harder to reach. In this study, we examined the extent of vaccination homophily among social contacts and its association with vaccine uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary using a contact diary approach in two cross-sectional surveys. The results indicate strong clustering among both vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. The most powerful predictor of vaccine uptake was the perceived vaccination rate within the egos’ social contact network. Vaccination homophily and the role of the interpersonal contact network in vaccine uptake were particularly pronounced in the networks of close relationships, including family, kinship, and strong social ties of the ego. Our findings have important implications for understanding COVID-19 spread dynamics by showing that the strong clustering of unvaccinated individuals posed a great risk in preventing the spread of the disease.

Studying naturally occurring involuntary autobiographical memories with the diary approach: A comparison of diary methods

AbstractOur aim in the current study was to examine how different diary methods might impact the results of involuntary memory studies. We compared three different commonly used diary methods, record all memories experienced per day, record up to two memories per day, or record only the first two per day. Results showed that the record‐all group had the most memories, and in all conditions, more memories were recorded during the first week compared to the second week. Additionally, results showed that the record any‐two group reported more perceptually cued memories compared to the other two conditions, and the record‐all group reported the most memory cued memories. The record‐all group reported being the most confident in their involuntary memories. The results may help explain some discrepancies in the literature, and they may assist future researchers by allowing them to tailor their methods according to their research questions.

Capturing the perspectives of African American informal dementia caregivers: a phenomenological study

ABSTRACT Dementia can be overwhelming to families and their caregivers. Informal caregiving is a widespread mode of providing dementia care in African American communities, yet impact of caregiving on informal or family caregivers in African American communities is burdensome. This study aimed to describe the lived experiences of informal caregivers of African American People Living with Dementia (PLWD) to understand their perceptions of dementia and dementia care, caregiver support needs, and service needs. Interpretive phenomenological qualitative inquiry guided this study to understand caregivers’ experiences and needs. Ten family caregivers of African American PLWD in the community participated in this study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and a diary study approach to document and interpret caregivers’ experiences. The data analysis was based on procedures of content analysis. Four major themes emerged from the in-depth interviews: caregiver burden, familism, lack of information and community-based resources, and desire and need for culturally appropriate community-based resources. Triangulated diary entry data complemented the in-depth interviews with similar themes. This study highlights how African American informal caregivers of PLWD face various caregiving needs and challenges in dementia care including lack of culturally appropriate community resources and information. The study illustrates that African American cultural beliefs of familism are significant aspects of their caregiving experience and their coping strategies. These study results provide a useful foundation for various stakeholders to develop culturally targeted interventions and programs to support African American informal caregivers and their family members with dementia.

Experiencing more meaningful coincidences is associated with more real-life creativity? Insights from three empirical studies.

Literature suggests a link between creativity and the perception of meaningful patterns in random arrangements, which is coined apophenia, patternicity, synchronicity, or the experience of meaningful coincidences. However, empirical research did not establish a clear link between real-life creativity and the experience of meaningful coincidences. In this three-study approach, we consistently found a connection between the experience of meaningful coincidences and creative activities as well as creative achievements. However, we did not obtain a consistent link with openness to experience or with peoples' creative potential. By applying an internet daily diary approach, we found that the experience of meaningful coincidences fluctuates from day to day and that the number of perceived coincidences is associated with positive and negative affect. A third preregistered study showed that positive and negative affect might not serve as a strong mechanism that mediates the link between meaningful coincidences and real-life creative activities. We need further research to explore the reason for this robust link between meaningful coincidences and real-life creativity.

Psychological stress and psychological well-being among sports coaches: A close proximity longitudinal daily diary study

It is essential to understand sports coaches’ experiences of psychological stress and psychological well-being (PWB) on a daily basis to better equip coaches to manage stress and improve well-being. Coaches make a vital contribution to sport and, given the potentially stressful nature of coaches’ roles, are required to manage their own PWB and performance alongside that of the athletes with whom they work. To better understand how to support coaches, we explored coaches’ experiences of stressors, primary appraisals, coping, and PWB using a close proximity longitudinal daily diary approach. Five sports coaches (one woman and four men) each completed an interval-contingent, daily diary over a 28-day period. The diary facilitated understanding of the coaches’ experiences of their worlds and captured descriptions of the coaches’ daily lives. Underpinned by our constructivist paradigm and following an abductive approach to data analysis, four experiences are presented (preparing for major events and championships, competition, admin and national governing body-related tasks, and work-life balance) using a trajectory approach. This method of data presentation allows understanding of each coach’s journey through their experiences as they occurred over the 28-day period. The experiences are categorized into themes representing stressors, primary appraisals, coping, and PWB. Collectively, the findings highlight that coaches experienced certain stressors (e.g., athlete-related) on a regular basis, and that they appraised (e.g., as a challenge) and coped with these experiences in different ways (e.g., via information seeking). The findings also demonstrate that stress experiences influenced different elements of the coaches’ PWB (e.g., relationships with others, personal growth) and that, occasionally, coaches may experience delayed or inaccessible appraisals of a stressor.

Effects of daily fluctuations in seep and intraindividual sleep variability on mood, motivation and sleepiness in university students: a wearable and digital diary approach

Effects of daily fluctuations in seep and intraindividual sleep variability on mood, motivation and sleepiness in university students: a wearable and digital diary approach

The effects of illegitimate tasks on employee silence and voice behavior: moderated mediation model

PurposeBased on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to examine the impact of daily illegitimate tasks on employees' daily silence and daily voice behavior, as well as the mediating role of daily ego depletion and the moderating role of trait mindfulness.Design/methodology/approachThrough daily diary approach, 81 employees were followed for 10 consecutive workdays. Multilevel analysis was employed to examine the hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe results showed that daily illegitimate tasks are positively related to daily silence behavior and negatively related to daily voice behavior; daily ego depletion plays a mediating role in these relationships. Trait mindfulness moderates the effect of daily illegitimate tasks on daily ego depletion and the indirect effect of daily illegitimate tasks on daily silence and daily voice.Practical implicationsManagers should be mindful of minimizing the assignment of illegitimate tasks. Additionally, it is recommended that the organization provide training courses for employees to help them reduce ego depletion. Finally, organizations should focus on fostering high levels of mindfulness among their employees.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by investigating the immediate impact of illegitimate tasks on employee voice and silence at within-person level. By doing so, it enhances comprehension of the consequences associated with illegitimate tasks. Meanwhile, this study offers additional insights into the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions of the effect of illegitimate tasks from a resource perspective.

Relationships among teacher enjoyment, emotional labor, and perceived student engagement: A daily diary approach

The present daily diary study among 587 Canadian primary and secondary school teachers assessed teachers' genuine expression, faking, hiding of happiness and enthusiasm, and their daily associations with perceived student emotional and behavioral engagement. Moreover, we measured teachers' trait enjoyment before and after the diary study to examine whether teacher trait enjoyment predicted the use of emotional labor strategies that, in turn, were related to teachers' perceptions of their students' engagement. In addition, we examined whether perceived student engagement predicted future levels of teacher trait enjoyment. Results from multilevel structural equation modeling showed that, at the between-person level, teachers who had higher levels of trait enjoyment tended to spontaneously show their positive feelings to their students (β = 0.381, p < .001), which was further positively related to student engagement (β = 0.257, p < .001). In turn, teachers' perceptions of heightened student engagement led to even greater enjoyment in the future (β = 0.134, p < .05). In contrast, teacher trait enjoyment was negatively related to faking (β = −0.297, p < .001) and hiding positive emotions (β = −0.130, p < .05), but was further unrelated to student engagement or future enjoyment. At the within-person level, genuine expression of positive emotions was positively related to student engagement (β = 0.219, p < .001), faking was negatively related to student engagement (β = −0.134, p < .001), and hiding was unrelated to student engagement.

Outcome-oriented resilience moderates the relationship between emotion-focused coping style and negative affect: evidence from a daily diary approach

Outcome-oriented resilience moderates the relationship between emotion-focused coping style and negative affect: evidence from a daily diary approach

Social anxiety and emotion regulation flexibility: a daily diary approach

ABSTRACT Previous research suggests that social anxiety symptoms are maintained and intensified by inflexible emotion regulation (ER). Therefore, we examined whether trait-level social anxiety moderates ER flexibility operationalised at both between-person (covariation between variability in emotional intensity and variability in strategy use across occasions) and within-person (associations between emotional intensity and strategy use on a given day) levels. In a sample of healthy college-aged adults (N = 185, M age = 21.89), we examined overall and emotion-specific intensities (shame, guilt, anxiety, anger, sadness) and regulatory strategies (i.e. experiential avoidance, expressive suppression, and rumination) in response to each day’s most emotionally intense event over 6 days. During the study period, we found a positive association between variability in emotional intensity and variability of experiential avoidance in individuals with lower, rather than higher, levels of trait social anxiety after controlling for key covariates (i.e. gender, personality traits, and stress exposure). However, we did not find evidence for the moderating role of trait social anxiety in ER flexibility assessed at within-person levels. Our findings highlight the need to delineate dynamic ER flexibility across everyday events.

Postponing sleep after a stressful day: Patterns of stress, bedtime procrastination, and sleep outcomes in a daily diary approach.

Sleep problems and stress are common among students and are associated with negative effects on academic performance as well as mental and physical health risks, but studies exploring mediating factors between stress and sleep on a daily basis are scarce. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of daily stress, Bedtime procrastination (BP) (i.e., postponing bedtime without external reasons), and sleep outcomes controlling for trait factors such as self-control. N=96 students at a German university (M=22.2years, SD=4.0) wore a sleep-tracking wearable (Fitbit Charge HR) for two weeks to assess sleep duration and to calculate the gap between the intended time to go to sleep and the objectively measured time of falling asleep. Stress, intended time to go to sleep, and sleep quality were assessed via daily diaries. Established questionnaires were used to measure trait self-control, trait BP, and smartphone addiction. Multilevel analyses indicated that more stress experienced during the day was associated with more BP (b=2.32, p=0.008), shorter sleep duration (b=-3.46, p=0.003), and lower sleep quality (b=1.03, p=0.005) after controlling for several trait factors. The association of daily stress with sleep outcomes (quality and duration) was partly mediated by BP. Our findings indicate that BP might be one factor that contributes to stress-linked decreases in sleep duration and quality. Potential reasons for stress-related later time to fall asleep-like higher physiological arousal or stress-related worries-should be investigated in future studies.

Motivational Profile as a Predictor of Physical Activity Among US Adults During the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Daily Diary Study.

This study used a daily diary approach to examine associations between day-level physical activity (PA) behavior, PA-specific motivational profile, and days since the COVID-19 national emergency declaration during the early months (April-June 2020) of the pandemic. A total of 468 US adults (Mage = 34.8y, 79% female) participated in a 28-day smartphone-based daily diary study assessing PA. A baseline survey assessed PA and motivation for PA using the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire. Multilevel linear regression models examined the main effects and interactions of motivational profile and time (days since the US March 13, 2020, COVID-19 national emergency declaration) on daily PA minutes. Latent profile analysis identified 4 distinct motivational profiles for PA among this sample: profile 1: high amotivation (n = 100, 21%); profile 2: low controlled motivation (n = 55, 12%); profile 3: high external regulation (n = 47, 10%); and profile 4: moderate autonomous motivation (n = 266, 57%). After controlling for baseline PA, there were significant interactions between profile and time on daily PA (-0.21, P < .01). Profile 2 showed greater decreases in daily PA minutes over time than profile 1 (b = -0.29, P < .01). Profiles 3 and 4 did not indicate significant decreases in PA compared with profile 1 (b = 0.14, P = .31 and b = -0.16, P = .05, respectively). Contrary to previous research, individuals with lower controlled or moderate autonomous motivation demonstrated the largest decreases in PA over time, whereas individuals with higher amotivation or external regulation demonstrated smaller decreases over time. These findings suggest that external motivation may have provided short-term protection against declines in PA observed during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How do young people move around in urban spaces?: Exploring trip patterns of generation-Z in urban areas by examining travel histories on Google Maps Timeline

Generation Zs have become dominant in the urban areas of various metropolitan cities worldwide, including in developing countries such as Indonesia. Their number has been estimated to be more than one-quarter of the population, and it is expected that they will become the largest generation in the coming years. Their contribution to the number of trips in urban areas has been significant, making it important to examine their travel patterns. The aim of this study had been to investigate the travel patterns of Generation Zs in the urban areas of developing countries such as Indonesia, where public transportation systems are not yet adequate and urban mobility is dominated by private vehicles (motorcycles and cars). This study had explored the travel behavior of Generation Zs, specifically their trip chains and mileage. This study had attempted to fill the research gap in travel pattern analysis using a travel diary approach, which is usually conducted over a relatively short period. Typically, a travel diary survey is only conducted over a few days or weeks since the approach requires significant time and is costly, while it is also susceptible to reporting and transcription errors. By utilizing travel history data from Google Maps Timeline, this study had observed the movement history of 434 Generation-Z individuals aged 17–24 years for 153 days (from August to December 2022). This approach is considered an alternative or complement to the travel diary survey, which had been commonly used. In the analysis, we had also considered gender, financial ability, home location, and workplace or campus location to discover how many trips had been made and how far people had traveled for their daily activities, both on weekdays and weekends. There had been a total of 213,094 trips observed, 63% of which had been made by motorcycle, and 35% of which had been made by car. (The remainder had been via walking, cycling, and public transportation, at only 2% overall.) The results had shown that men had made more daily trip chains and had had higher mileage than women, both on weekdays and weekends. Overall, the number of daily trips made on weekdays had been higher than on weekends. However, the research had also found that the higher the financial ability of the Generation-Z individual, the more daily trips they had made, especially on weekends. Even those with financial ability above IDR 2.4 million (>USD 156.37) had made more daily trips on weekends than on weekdays. The regression analysis results had shown that gender and financial ability had significantly influenced daily trips and mileage. Home location and workplace or campus location had also impacted daily trips and mileage. In addition, the results of this study also fill the gap in previous research on the travel behavior of Generation Z. With the characteristics of the built environment that still lack adequate public transportation systems and the dominance of private vehicles in urban mobility, the research findings show significant differences with developed countries that already have adequate public transportation systems.

The contribution of household fruit and vegetable growing to fruit and vegetable self‐sufficiency and consumption

Societal Impact StatementHousehold fruit and vegetable (F&amp;V) production in allotments and gardens can provide sustainable access to nutritious food. The present study demonstrates that UK household F&amp;V production supplies more than half of the vegetables and potatoes and 20% of the fruit that growers consume annually. Importantly, study participants ate 6.3 portions of their recommended 5‐a‐day F&amp;V (70% higher than the UK national average), and their wasted F&amp;V was 95% lower than the national average. This provides key evidence to demonstrate the role household F&amp;V production could play in providing access to fresh F&amp;V, which is key to a healthy, food‐secure population.Summary Improving access to and consumption of fruits and vegetables (F&amp;V) is crucial to a healthy and food‐secure population, as current low intakes are linked to high rates of non‐communicable diseases, premature death and increased healthcare costs. Household F&amp;V production could improve diet quality and food system resilience, however, quantitative evidence for its potential is limited. We studied year‐long F&amp;V production, purchases, donations and waste in UK food‐grower households (N = 85) using a food diary approach. Median year‐round household self‐sufficiency was 51% in vegetables, 20% in fruits and 50% in potatoes. The median daily per capita F&amp;V intake was 507 g, which is the equivalent of 6.3 portions of F&amp;V and 70% higher than the UK national average. On average, own production accounted for half of each household's annual 5‐a‐day F&amp;V requirements. F&amp;V waste was negligible, equivalent to 0.12 portions per day and 95% lower than the UK average F&amp;V waste. We demonstrate that promoting household F&amp;V production could improve food system resilience, diet‐related public health and sustainability.