Enhancement Of Positive Affect Research Articles

Protocol for an attention-matched randomized controlled trial of 2GETHER: a relationship education and HIV prevention program for young male couples

BackgroundYoung men who have sex with men (YMSM) are disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic in the USA, and a large number of new infections among YMSM occur in the context of main or primary partnerships. At the same time, healthy romantic relationships promote health and wellbeing by improving social support and encouraging healthy behaviors. Thus, we created 2GETHER: a relationship education and HIV prevention program for young male couples. 2GETHER is delivered face-to-face in a university setting and is composed of two group sessions and two individualized skills coaching sessions. We observed strong support of the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of 2GETHER in a pilot trial.MethodsWe are conducting an attention-matched randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of 2GETHER relative to a control condition based on a well-validated positive affect enhancement program. Enrollment occurred between August 2017 and March 2021 in Chicago and surrounding areas, and we enrolled and randomized 128 dyads (N = 256 individuals). Follow-up is ongoing and we will examine primary and secondary behavioral outcomes at 12 months post-intervention, with interim follow-up at 3, 6, and 9 months post-intervention. The primary biomedical outcome is sexually transmitted infection incidence at a 12-month follow-up.Discussion2GETHER is innovative in that it places an equal emphasis on relationship skill building and HIV prevention. Thus, the program has the potential to impact numerous health-related outcomes. Despite challenges related to the recruitment of couples and the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to enroll a robust sample of young male couples with sufficient power to detect effects on study outcomes.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03186534.

See or Be? Contact with nature and well-being during COVID-19 lockdown

This study investigated how contact with nature benefitted well-being during a strict lockdown. The study took place in Israel during the last week of the first COVID-19 lockdown, when citizens were restricted to remain within 100 m of home. A survey company distributed questionnaires among 776 individuals. The questionnaires included demographic variables (gender, ethnic and cultural groups, age, income loss due to the pandemic), contact with nature variables (Nature near home, Nature viewed from home windows, and being in nature on the preceding day), and well-being measures (positive affect, negative affect, vitality, happiness, and stress). Before completing the well-being questionnaire, participants took part in an experiment that tested the effect of viewing nature images or urban images on well-being measures. The results showed that nature near home and nature viewed from the windows contributed to higher levels of well-being, and that being in nature on the preceding day was associated with higher levels of positive affect. These benefits emerged even among those who had been economically harmed by the pandemic. Viewing nature images was also associated with level of well-being, mainly to reduced level of stress and negative affect. The current findings extend the understanding of the benefits of access to nature during stressful times, particularly during emergencies when accessing remote nature is impossible. Furthermore, the findings highlight the dual effect of contact with nature on well-being: enhancement of positive affect together with reduction of negative affect and stress. The findings indicate that exposure to nature is much more valuable for women than for men. These findings are highly important in view of gender differences in pandemic's impact on people's well-being.

An Update on the Latest Treatment Approaches with Suicidal Adolescents

To summarize the literature on the treatment of suicidal adolescents in order to determine the psychotherapy approach with the strongest evidence as well as the core treatment techniques that cut across therapies. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has the strongest evidence base of any current treatment approach for suicidal adolescents, but it is also the most time intensive and expensive. Different variations of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and family therapy also have some limited evidence for efficacy. Although safety planning does not have stand-alone, empirical support to date with adolescents, safety planning is often integrated into the various therapies and has become part of standard care. Ketamine as a psychopharmacologic treatment is just beginning to be studied with suicidal adolescents. Suicidal adolescents are a heterogeneous population presenting with varying levels of symptom severity that require clinicians to use flexible treatment protocols. Techniques used in DBT, and many CBT, protocols, including affect regulation, distress tolerance, and building interpersonal awareness and effectiveness skills, are typically core components of treatment. The use of digital technology to extend and enhance treatment of suicidal adolescents seems promising, but is just being tested. Other adjunctive interventions, such as positive affect enhancement, may also be useful additions to the treatment of suicidal adolescents but have limited evidence to date.

Interpersonal emotion regulation strategies: can they function differently under certain conditions?

Emotion Regulation (ER) is an umbrella term that covers both interpersonal and intrapersonal strategies aimed at modifying the duration, intensity and type of emotions that the individuals are experiencing. Although the connection between intrapersonal emotion regulation strategies and psychological distress is well documented, the evidence regarding the association between interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) strategies and psychological distress is rather limited and inconsistent, indicating the need to better understand the conditions in which the association between IER strategies and psychological distress becomes stronger. The current study examined the association of the interaction between maladaptive intrapersonal emotion regulation and IER strategies (i.e., enhancement of positive affect, perspective-taking, social modeling, and soothing) with anxiety and depression. In order to examine this, we asked 318 Turkish individuals (243 females; M = 21.17, SD = 1.89) to complete an online survey which included scales assessing IER, maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation, anxiety and depression. The moderation analyses indicated that interaction of soothing with maladaptive ER strategies was significantly linked with depression, indicating that frequent use of soothing as an IER strategy is linked with lower levels of depression in individuals that rarely use maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (i.e., rumination, and catastrophizing). However, similar results were not observed for anxiety. The findings suggest that the association of especially soothing dimension of IER with depression may change depending on the individual’s use of other emotion regulation strategies and soothing may function adaptively under certain conditions.

Drinking motives of adult patients seeking treatment for problematic alcohol use

ABSTRACTThe Drinking Motives Questionnaire measures motives for alcohol consumption on four subscales. Coping with negative affect and enhancement of positive affect have been shown to be associated with high levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Few studies exist concerning drinking motives among treatment-seeking patients. The aims of the study were to investigate the factor structure of the shortened-form of the revised Drinking Motives Questionnaire, map main drinking motives, explore group differences in motives due to sex, age, level of drinking problems, and symptoms of depression/anxiety and to investigate whether different drinking motives predict alcohol-related problems in this group. There were 274 treatment-seeking patients recruited from four addiction treatment clinics in Sweden. The shortened-form of the revised Drinking Motives Questionnaire was administered in conjunction with a regular visit to the clinics together with measures of degree of alcohol-related problems, psychiatric symptoms, and demographic factors. Main drinking motives were identified. A confirmatory factor analysis was run to confirm the factor structure of the shortened-form of the revised Drinking Motives Questionnaire. A logistic regression using the Enter method was performed to investigate associations between predictors and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test scores. The results confirmed the four-factor structure reported in studies on non-treatment-seeking individuals. Coping was the most commonly expressed motive. Not previously found in a clinical sample, the results showed that coping motives, together with being male and having elevated anxiety scores, were associated to Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test scores indicative of alcohol dependence. The shortened-form of the revised Drinking Motives Questionnaire is a brief and valid instrument that holds potential for clinical use in mapping drinking motives among treatment seekers.

A Prospective Investigation of Affect, the Desire to Gamble, Gambling Motivations and Gambling Behavior in the Mood Disorders.

Time-sampling methodology was implemented to examine the prospective associations between affect, desire to gamble, and gambling behavior in individuals diagnosed with a mood disorder. Thirty (9 male, 21 female) adults with a lifetime diagnosis of a depressive or bipolar disorder diagnosis who endorsed current gambling and lifetime gambling harm participated in the present study. Participants completed electronic diary entries of their current affective state, desire to gamble, and gambling behavior for 30 consecutive days. Hierarchical linear modelling revealed that affect was not a predictor of gambling behavior. Instead, affect predicted the desire to gamble, with high levels of sadness and arousal independently predicting an increased desire to gamble. Desire to gamble predicted actual gambling behavior. There were no differences across diagnostic groups in terms of gambling motivations at baseline; however, during the 30-day period, participants with bipolar disorder endorsed gambling to cope with negative affect more often than did participants with depressive disorder, whereas those with depressive disorder more often endorsed gambling for social reasons or enhancement of positive affect. The present findings provide evidence that negative affect is not directly related to actual gambling behavior, and suggest that affective states rather impact the desire to gamble.

Smoker identity development among adolescents who smoke.

Adolescents who smoke are more likely to escalate their smoking frequency if they believe smoking is self-defining. Knowing factors that are associated with development of a smoker identity among adolescents who smoke may help to identify who will become a regular smoker. We investigated whether smoker identity development is associated with internal and external motives for smoking. For comparison, we also investigated whether social smoker identity development is associated with internal and external motives for smoking. Adolescents who smoke (n = 292) completed measures of smoker and social smoker identity, internal motives for smoking (negative affect coping, positive affect enhancement), and external motives for smoking (social fit) at baseline, 6-, 15-, and 24-month assessments of an ongoing longitudinal study of smoking patterns. We examined whether change in smoker and social smoker identity from 6 to 24 months was associated with change in motives at earlier assessment waves. We also explored whether gender moderated these relationships. Increases in negative affect coping motives were associated with smoker identity development among both males and females. Increases in social motives were associated with smoker identity development among males, and increases in negative affect coping motives were associated with social smoker identity development among females. Smoker and social smoker identities are signaled by negative affect coping as well as social motives for smoking. (PsycINFO Database Record

Daily physical activity enhances resilient resources for symptom management in middle-aged women.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the direct and indirect associations between physical activity and menopausal symptoms. Community-dwelling middle-aged women (N = 103; age range 40-60 years) completed daily Internet surveys at the end of the day and wore an accelerometer for the objective assessment of physical activity for 21-days. 1-1-1 multilevel mediation models were estimated to test whether resilient resources (i.e., positive affect and coping efficacy) mediated the association between physical activity and symptom burden at the between- and within-person level. Analyses demonstrated physical activity had an indirect effect (-0.16) on symptom burden through the enhancement of positive affect at the within-person level (p < .05; 95% confidence interval [CI] based on 20,000 Monte Carlo replications [-0.25, -0.08]). In models that tested coping efficacy as the mediator, it was found that the indirect effect of physical activity on symptom burden at the within-person level was -0.08 (p < .05; 95% CI based on 20,000 Monte Carlo replications [-0.14, -0.03]). These effects were nonsignificant at the between-person level, suggesting one route in which physical activity may help a woman to cope with her symptoms is through the enhancement of positive affect and coping efficacy on a day-to-day basis.

Should I exercise or sleep to feel better? A daily analysis with physically active working mothers

ProblemPositive affect is a determinant of physical and mental health, as well as happiness. Working mothers may miss out on these benefits as they report relatively low positive affect. Physical activity and sleep are associated with the enhancement of positive affect and may offer working mothers an avenue for improving positive affect. This study's main purpose was to examine daily positive affect as a function of physical activity intensity and daily sleep satisfaction among working mothers. A secondary purpose was to examine the possible bi-directional relationship between physical activity intensity and daily sleep satisfaction, given previous evidence of associations between sleep and physical activity. MethodIn this experience sampling study, 63 physically active working mothers reported the intensity of each physical activity session as well as their daily sleep satisfaction and end-of-day positive affect over 14-days using personal electronic devices. ResultsHierarchical Linear Modeling revealed that both previous night sleep satisfaction (t(752) = 3.05, p < .01) and same-day intensity of physical activity (, t(752) = 3.59, p < .001) were positively related to daily positive affect. Only physical activity intensity showed a significant relationship with positive affect when both predictors were included in a model. There was no support for reciprocal relationships between sleep satisfaction and physical activity intensity. DiscussionThese findings suggest that the robust association between daily physical activity and positive affect extends to working mothers and that choosing physical activity as a self-care activity is a good investment for this population.

Relationship between momentary affect states and self-efficacy in adolescent smokers.

Relapse to smoking after making a quit attempt is both common and rapid in adolescent smokers. Momentary self-efficacy (SE)-that is, momentary shifts in one's confidence in the ability to abstain from smoking-predicts the occurrence and timing of relapse among adolescent smokers. Therefore, it is important to identify factors that are associated with changes in momentary SE early in a quit attempt. This study examined the relationship between affect states (including positive, negative, and nicotine withdrawal states) and momentary SE at various stages of a quit attempt. Adolescent daily smokers interested in making a quit attempt (n = 202) completed ecological momentary assessments (EMA) each day for 1 week leading up to and 2 weeks after a quit attempt. In each assessment, they reported current SE and affect state. RESULTS of linear mixed models indicated that most of the examined affect states were related to momentary SE. Contrary to expectation, they were related to momentary SE both immediately before and after the quit attempt. Moderation effects were observed for select affect states, where higher baseline SE was related to lower momentary SE in the presence of increasing negative high activation, boredom, and difficulty concentrating. Our findings suggest that both positive and negative affect states are related to SE, and that thereby positive affect enhancement may be a promising, underutilized treatment target.

Psychophysiological reactions to music in male coronary patients and healthy controls

The study aimed to present a comparative account of psychophysiological responses to music-listening in male coronary patients and healthy controls. The stimulus material was a slow-paced, taped rāga Desi-Todi played on a flute. The participants listened to music for 30 minutes a day for 20 days. Pre- and post-treatment procedure was adopted for assessment on psychophysiological measures. The study supports the following conclusions: (1) music-listening produces significant decreases in the blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) and heart rate of coronary patients but has no significant effect in healthy controls; (2) music-listening reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, enhances life satisfaction, optimism and hope, and makes life more meaningful in both coronary patients and healthy controls; (3) the effects of music listening, that is, reduction in negative affect, enhancement of positive affect, and decrease in blood pressure and heart rate, are more intense in coronary patients than healthy controls.

Affective responses to qigong: A pilot study of regular practitioners

Single sessions of Qigong have been associated with increased positive affect/emotional benefits. In the present study the aim was to refine the present understanding by using newly developed research methodologies. Therefore, affective reactions were studied in a group performing Qigong through pre-, during, and post-assessments using a modified version of the short Swedish Core Affect Scale complemented with open-ended questions. Affect was measured on a group and individual level. The results showed a shift during Qigong toward increased pleasant activated and deactivated affect in the group of 46 women who regularly practice Qigong. Inter-individual responses displayed positive affective responses, which also increased as the bout proceeded for the majority of practitioners. Acknowledging some limitations, these findings have practical implications for the enhancement of positive affect and subjective well-being.

一過性運動に伴う感情：セルフ・エフィカシーとの関連および感情間の関連性

The purposes of this study were to investigate 1) the effects of acute exercise on affect, 2) changes in self-efficacy resulting from acute exercise and the relationship between affect and self-efficacy, 3) correlation of factors in the Waseda Affect Scale of Exercise and Durable Activity (WASEDA: Arai et al., 2003) during acute exercise. Thirty-eight university and graduate students were recruited as participants in this study. The parameters measured were 1) exercise-specific affects (WASEDA), 2) pleasure-displeasure (Feeling Scale: Rejeski, 1985), 3) self-efficacy for acute exercise, and 4) Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE: Onodera and Miyashita, 1976). This study employed a 2 (condition)×5 (time) format, within a participant factorial design, consisting of three sessions (a trial session, a cycling session, and a control condition). For the cycling session, the participants performed cycling at a RPE intensity of 13 (feeling “Somewhat hard”) for 20 minutes. Under the control condition, the participants read a book for 20 minutes. The participants then reported their preferred affect and pleasure experienced during cycling in comparison to the control condition. Not only was self-efficacy increased through the exercise task, but also positive affect during the exercise task was related to self-efficacy after exercise. Because correlations of WASEDA factors during exercise were not too high, it was considered that none of the factors in WASEDA were redundant. In conclusion, the present findings indicate that 1) the effects of acute exercise on affect are positive, 2) enhancement of positive affect during exercise is related to higher self-efficacy for acute exercise, and 3) the use of WASEDA is effective for multilateral investigation of affect during acute exercise.

Marijuana and tobacco exposure predict affect-regulation expectancies in dual users

In order to better compare affect-related expectancies for tobacco and marijuana smoking, associations of marijuana and tobacco exposure to negative affect reduction (NAR), positive affect enhancement (PAE), and related smoking outcome expectancies were assessed in young individuals who reported smoking both marijuana and tobacco on a regular basis (dual users). More frequent smoking of a given substance was associated with expectations of greater NAR and PAE by that substance while duration of exposure did not reliably predict NAR or PAE drug expectancies. Contrary to expectations, individuals anticipating greater NAR and/or PAE for one substance did not exhibit corresponding expectancies for the other drug. These findings suggest that exposure duration may be less important than current usage levels in influencing affect expectancies and that the affect-related expectancies for tobacco and marijuana are largely independent of each other.

Extraversion and the consequences of social interaction on affect repair

This study explores the interaction of extraversion and social interaction on affect repair. Following a negative affect induction, participants engaged in a neutral discussion task alone or in the presence of a pleasant and supportive confederate. Results reveal that extraversion predicted affect repair in the solitary condition with extraverts (vs. introverts) experiencing a greater enhancement of positive affect. In the social condition, extraversion did not predict repair; all individuals benefited from the interaction. Thus, when alone, introverts demonstrated a maladaptive affect repair profile that was abated in the presence of a supportive individual. Other results reveal that the social condition produced the largest affect repair. These findings suggest that, while extraverts exhibit more effective affect repair when alone, pleasant interaction facilitates affect repair for all individuals (even introverts).

Reasons for cannabis use in men with and without psychosis

Psychoses are relatively low prevalence disorders that have a disproportionately negative impact on individuals and society. Cannabis use is one factor that can exacerbate the negative consequences associated with psychotic disorders. Relatively few studies have examined the effects or reasons for using cannabis self-reported by individuals with psychosis. The present study is the first known to compare directly such factors in individuals with and without psychosis, within a single study. At baseline and follow-up participants with psychosis most commonly reported using cannabis for positive mood alteration (36% and 42%), coping with negative affect (27% and 29%) and for social activity reasons (38% and 29%). The control group most commonly reported using cannabis for relaxation (34% and 43%) and social activity reasons (49% and 51%). Participants with psychosis were less likely to report relaxation as the most important effect after use (27%) or expect it at follow-up (49%) compared to the control group (53% and 70%). In both groups, addiction and positive affect enhancement were the composite variable scores correlated most consistently with concurrent amount and frequency of use.

An Idiographic Analysis of Amotivation in Compulsory School Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth account of amotivation in compulsory school physical education by examining its major causes, the way it is displayed, and how it can be tackled. From an initial participant pool of 390 British schoolchildren ages 14 to 15 years, 21 of them (15 girls and 6 boys) were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. They were categorized as being amotivated based on their responses to a questionnaire measuring motivation in physical education. Three main perceived causes of amotivation were identified in the interviews: learned helplessness beliefs, low need satisfaction, and contextual factors. Amotivation was mainly displayed by nonattendance, low involvement in the class, and low intention to be physically active after leaving school. Students’ suggestions for reducing amotivation focused on the enhancement of positive affect, need satisfaction, and structural/organizational changes. The findings are discussed in conjunction with contemporary motivation theories and models of amotivation.

A prospective evaluation of the relationship between reasons for drinking and dsm-iv alcohol-use disorders

Previous research has demonstrated an association between self-reported reasons for drinking and alcohol consumption. The most consistent relationships have been demonstrated between alcohol consumption and drinking for positive affect enhancement and coping with negative affect. However, most of the results have been from cross-sectional research designs that have not controlled for diagnostic status. The present study was a prospective investigation of the relationship between reasons for drinking and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.), diagnoses of alcohol abuse and dependence. Subjects consisted of 508 community residents (264 male and 244 female) who did not meet DSM-IV criteria for an alcohol-use disorder at a baseline interview, who completed a completely structured interview (AUDADIS) and a self-report assessment battery, and who were re-interviewed approximately 1 year later. Results indicated a significant relationship between baseline reasons for drinking and follow-up diagnostic classification. Drinking to reduce negative affect predicted having a DSM-IV alcohol dependence diagnosis at follow-up, but not a diagnosis of alcohol abuse. No significant association was demonstrated between the baseline motive of drinking for positive affect enhancement and a follow-up DSM-IV alcohol-use disorder.

EFFECTS OF EXERCISE AND RELAXATION ON AFFECT AND BRAIN ACTIVITY1215

Both aerobic exercise and relaxation training have been show to improve wellbeing through reductions in negative affect and enhancement of positive affect. This study examined the effects of exercise and guided relaxation on affect and brain activation. 19 adults (10 ♀, 9 ♂, 22.7 yrs) participated in both randomly assigned conditions: (a) 30 min of treadmill running @ 75% VO2max; (b) 25 min of verbally guided relaxation. Brain activation (EEG; F3, F4, referenced to linked ears), state anxiety (SAI), and energetic arousal were assessed at Pre, 0-, 10-, 20-, and 30 min post-condition. EEG asymmetry scores (R-L alpha) were compared with respect to changes in emotional state. Despite no significant change in alpha activity in the exercise condition, frontal asymmetry was related to state anxiety[r(17)= -0.51, P=0.02] immediately post-exercise, indicating greater left relative to right frontal activity (i.e., less alpha) was associated with lower state anxiety. No significant asymmetry-anxiety relationship was found for the relaxation condition. Relaxation resulted in alterations in theta and alpha band activity (P<0.05), but did not change self-reported affect. Anxiety reduction was present only for the exercise condition from 0- to 10-min post compared to anxiety levels over the same time points in the relaxation condition (P=0.03). Exercise also resulted in increased energetic arousal that persisted for the entire post-treatment interval (P=0.003). Results suggest exercise may act as an emotion-eliciting event which is in part mediated by lateralized frontal brain activation. Relaxation resulted in altered EEG patterns, but had no appreciable impact on affective responses.