Low-arousal Affect Research Articles

0326 Daily Sleep and Affect in Adolescents: Differential Associations During Constrained Versus Unconstrained Sleep

Abstract Introduction Few studies have examined bi-directional associations between daily sleep and affect in adolescents, and even fewer assessed both high and low arousal affect under naturalistically-occurring constrained (school) and unconstrained (vacation) sleep opportunities. Methods 205 adolescents (54.1% females, age M±SD=16.9±0.87 years) completed daily measures of sleep and affect over 28 continuous days (2-week school and 2-week vacation). Total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency (SE) were measured using actigraphy and sleep diary. High- and low-arousal positive and negative affect (PA, NA) were self-reported each afternoon. Cross-lagged, multilevel models were conducted: affect predicted same-night sleep controlling for previous-night sleep; sleep predicted next-day affect controlling for previous-day affect. Day of week, study day, and sociodemographics were controlled. Results During both school and vacation, adolescents with overall higher low-arousal PA also had greater self-reported SE. Other aspects of sleep-affect associations differ between school and vacation (all p<.05). During school, significant associations were between, not within individuals. Bi-directional associations were found between longer actigraphy-TST and greater high-arousal PA, and between higher self-reported SE and lower low-arousal NA. High-arousal PA and NA were associated with self-reported TST (positive and negative respectively). During vacation, between-individuals, higher NA was bi-directionally associated with lower self-reported SE, regardless of arousal. Longer self-reported TST was associated with lower low-arousal NA. On the within-person level, regardless of sleep measurement, nights with longer-than-average TST were associated with lower NA the next day (high- and low- arousal). Nights with higher-than-average SE predicted lower next-day low-arousal NA. Conclusion Sleep-affect associations differed based on sleep opportunity and arousal, suggesting potentially different mechanisms of action. When sleep is typically constrained, overall levels of sleep-affect associations were stronger than daily fluctuations. When sleep is typically unconstrained, significant associations were found both between- and within- persons. In particular, daily fluctuations in sleep were predictive of next-day NA, rather than the other direction. Support Monash International Postgraduate Research Scholarship and Monash Graduate Scholarship

Daily linkages among high and low arousal affect and subjective cognitive complaints

Objectives: Subjective cognitive complaints may be an early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease pathology and related dementias that can be detectable prior to objective, performance-based decline. Negative and positive affective states (NA and PA, respectively) are established psychosocial correlates of cognition in older adulthood and have demonstrated capacity for meaningful within-person fluctuations based on person-environment interactions, age, and measurement approach.Method: We utilized data from a 100-day, microlongitudinal study of 105 community-dwelling older adults (Mage = 63.19, SD = 7.80, Range = 52–88) to explore within- and between-person associations between high and low arousal NA and PA, and memory- and attention-related complaints.Results: For memory-related complaints, those who reported experiencing greater NA-high arousal had increased forgetfulness (OR = 2.23, 95%CI: 1.11–4.49, p < .05). Within persons, reporting more NA-high arousal than usual was associated with increased forgetfulness (OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 1.004–1.018, p < .01). For attention-related complaints, those who reported experiencing greater NA-low arousal had increased trouble staying focused (OR = 2.34, 95%CI: 1.17–4.66, p < .05). Within persons, reporting more NA-low arousal (OR = 1.02, 95%CI: 1.01–1.03, p < .001) and less PA-high arousal (OR = 0.96, 95%CI: 0.95–0.97, p < .001) than usual was associated with increased trouble staying focused. Additionally, reporting more PA-low arousal than usual was associated with decreased trouble staying focused among those with higher levels of conscientiousness (OR = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.57–0.92, p < .01).Conclusion: Results from this study offer a means to maximize resource allocation and personalized cognitive health efforts by pinpointing for whom and on which days boosting PA and/or reducing NA may both serve as pathways to benefit daily subjective cognition.

Effect of Extraneous Affect on Health Message Reception.

People often avoid paying attention to health messages. One reason is that health messages can evoke negative affect, which produces avoidance. Prior efforts to reduce disengagement focused on changing message content or buffering the self from threat, producing mixed effects. The present studies test whether inducing positively valenced, low-arousal affect independently of the message or the self, labeled extraneous affect, promotes health message receptivity. Across four studies (total N = 1,447), participants who briefly meditated (vs. a control listening task) paid more attention to messages (Study 1). Increased positive valence facilitated attention, which subsequently increased message comprehension (Studies 2-4), whereas reduced arousal directly increased message comprehension. These effects generalized across extraneous affect manipulations, settings, information domains, and levels of message threat. Taken together, extraneous affect can be leveraged to promote message receptivity. This contributes to a theoretical understanding of how affect impacts persuasion.

Shifts and variability in daily interpersonal justice are associated with psychological detachment and affect at home

To understand the implications of the dynamic nature of daily interpersonal justice, we examined the relationship between daily shifts and variability in interpersonal justice over time and recovery experiences at home. A ten-day daily diary study of 58 workers with 422 observations was conducted. Results from multi-level modeling revealed that daily shifts in interpersonal justice at the within-person level, operationalized as residual changes across consecutive work days, positively predicted daily levels of psychological detachment, which in turn predicted daily levels of positive low-arousal affect at home. Variability in interpersonal justice at the between-person level, operationalized as the standard deviation of interpersonal justice over the ten-day period, was negatively related to the chronic level of psychological detachment, which in turn was related to chronic negative low-arousal affect at home. Variability in interpersonal justice explained unique variance in psychological detachment beyond the average level of interpersonal justice. We conclude that within-person daily shifts in interpersonal justice and between-person differences in interpersonal justice variability over time may play critical roles in the negative spillover of interpersonal injustice from work to home. Practical implications such as training on consistent treatment are discussed.

Affective health bias in older adults: Considering positive and negative affect in a general health context

RationaleBecause subjective health reports are a primary source of health information in a number of medical and research-based contexts, much research has been devoted to establishing the extent to which these self-reports of health correspond to health information from more objective sources. One of the key factors considered in this area is trait affect, with most studies emphasizing the impact of negative affect (negative emotions) over positive affect (positive emotions), and focusing on high-arousal affect (e.g., anger, excitement) over moderate- or low-arousal affect (e.g., relaxed, depressed). ObjectivesThe present study examines the impact of both Positive and Negative Affect (PA/NA)—measured by items of both high and low arousal—on the correspondence between objective health information and subjective health reports. Another limitation of existing literature in the area is the focus on samples suffering from a particular diagnosis or on specific symptom reports; here, these effects are investigated in a sample of community-dwelling older adults representing a broader spectrum of health. Method153 older adults (Mage = 71.2) took surveys assessing Perceived Health and Affect and underwent an objective physical health assessment. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the extent to which the relationship between Objective Health and Perceived Health was moderated by PA or NA, which would indicate the presence of affective health bias. ResultsResults reveal a significant moderation effect for NA, but not for PA; PA appeared to serve a more mediational function, indicating that NA and PA operate on health perceptions in distinct ways. ConclusionsThese findings provide evidence that in our high-functioning, community-dwelling sample of older adults, a) affective health bias is present within a general health context, and not only within specific symptom or diagnostic categories; and b) that both PA and NA play important roles in the process.

P.2.b.037 Increase of alertness correlates with early brain-derived neurotrophic factor serum level rise and treatment outcome in major depression

should be taken into consideration, affecting emotional states and appraisals of daily life situations and social contexts in a variety of ways. Within the framework of our study on early treatment response to antidepressants, we explored how attachment style, alexithymia and social support influence the emotional states and daily experiences in healthy individuals. Methods: The Experience Sampling Method was used to collect repeated reports of daily affect and experiences from 104 healthy university students during one week of their normal lives. Affective states were assessed using words adapted from the circumplex model of affect [2]. Daily life experiences were assessed by asking the subjects to report their current activities, recent events, social context and appraisals of them. Attachment styles, alexithymia and perceived social support were assessed using self-report questionnaires (ECR, TAS and PSSS-R, respectively). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze their effect on daily emotional processes, e.g. on daily life level of affect and on daily life contexts. Results: Effect on level of affect: Both anxious and avoidant attachment style were associated with lower total level of positive affect, as well as with higher total level of negative affect. Alexithymia and its subscales ‘difficulty describing feelings’ and ‘difficulty identifying feelings’ predicted higher total level of negative affect, whereas perceived social support predicted lower level of negative affect, higher level of positive and low arousal affect. Effect on daily life contexts: Both anxious and avoidant attachment style were associated with more negatively appraised daily life activities and social interaction. Anxious attachment style was also associated with more negatively appraised daily life events. Alexithymia and its subscales’ difficulty describing feelings’ and ‘difficulty identifying feelings’ predicted more negatively appraised daily life activities, whereas perceived social support predicted more positive appraisals of daily life events, activities, social situations and interaction. Conclusions: The association of attachment style, social support and alexithymia on daily emotional states and experiences was investigated in healthy individuals. Insecure attachment style and alexithymia were found to predict higher levels of experienced negative affect and more negatively appraised daily life activities, whereas perceived social support predicted lower level of negative affect and higher positive affect as well as more positive appraisals of daily life events, activities, social situations and interaction. The results indicate that these psychological factors have an impact on daily life emotional states and experiences and should therefore be taken into account in experience sampling studies of every day mood experiences. This could have implications for future intervention studies of affective disorders.

Striving to feel good: Ideal affect, actual affect, and their correspondence across adulthood.

The experience of positive affect is essential for healthy functioning and quality of life. Although there is a great deal of research on ways in which people regulate negative states, little is known about the regulation of positive states. In the present study we examined age differences in the types of positive states people strive to experience and the correspondence between their desired and actual experiences. Adults aged 18-93 years of age described their ideal positive affect states. Then, using experience-sampling over a 7-day period, they reported their actual positive affect experiences. Two types of positive affect were assessed: low-arousal (calm, peaceful, relaxed) and high-arousal (excited, proud). Young participants valued both types of positive affect equally. Older participants, however, showed increasingly clear preferences for low-arousal over high-arousal positive affect. Older adults reached both types of positive affective goals more often than younger adults (indicated by a smaller discrepancy between actual and ideal affect). Moreover, meeting ideal levels of positive low-arousal affect (though not positive high-arousal affect) was associated with individuals' physical health, over and above levels of actual affect. Findings underscore the importance of considering age differences in emotion-regulatory goals related to positive experience.

Age, Physical Functioning, and Affect in Midlife and Older Adulthood

The aim of this study was to examine age differences in high- and low-arousal positive and negative affect, and associations of physical functioning with affect over the latter half of the life course. Participants consisted of 39,958 midlife and older adults contributing to DYNOPTA; a large-scale collaborative project concerned with pooling data from Australian studies of aging. Items assessing the experience of discrete emotions were selected to represent different combinations of high- and low-arousal affect, and positive and negative valence affect. Older adults were more likely to endorse low-arousal positive affect, and less likely to endorse negative affect (both high and low arousal) relative to those in midlife. Better self-reported physical functioning was associated with younger age, higher positive, and lower negative affect, with physical functioning emerging as a suppressor of associations of age with affect in regression analyses. The results, based on a very large sample of older adults, are consistent with those of other studies demonstrating lower levels of negative emotion among older, relative to midlife adults. The findings also highlight the relevance of physical functioning to emotional well-being over the latter part of the life course.

Cultural Differences in Affect Intensity Perception in the Context of Advertising

Cultural differences in the perception of positive affect intensity within an advertising context were investigated among American, Japanese, and Russian participants. Participants were asked to rate the intensity of facial expressions of positive emotions, which displayed either subtle, low intensity, or salient, high intensity expressions of positive affect. In agreement with previous findings from cross-cultural psychological research, current results demonstrate both cross-cultural agreement and differences in the perception of positive affect intensity across the three cultures. Specifically, American participants perceived high arousal (HA) images as significantly less calm than participants from the other two cultures, while the Japanese participants perceived low arousal (LA) images as significantly more excited than participants from the other cultures. The underlying mechanisms of these cultural differences were further investigated through difference scores that probed for cultural differences in perception and categorization of positive emotions. Findings indicate that rating differences are due to (1) perceptual differences in the extent to which HA images were discriminated from LA images, and (2) categorization differences in the extent to which facial expressions were grouped into affect intensity categories. Specifically, American participants revealed significantly higher perceptual differentiation between arousal levels of facial expressions in high and intermediate intensity categories. Japanese participants, on the other hand, did not discriminate between high and low arousal affect categories to the same extent as did the American and Russian participants. These findings indicate the presence of cultural differences in underlying decoding mechanisms of facial expressions of positive affect intensity. Implications of these results for global advertising are discussed.

A Script Analysis of Relational Boredom: Causes, Feelings, and Coping Strategies

The goal of this research was to examine relational boredom using a script approach. Dating individuals (N = 99; Study 1) and married individuals from the community (N = 62; Study 2) generated causes of boredom in their relationship, associated feelings, and coping strategies. Boredom was seen as caused by a lack of novelty and stimulation and was associated with negative affect (particularly low pleasure, low arousal affect). People reported using active relationally-focused strategies to cope with boredom. Boredom scripts varied somewhat as a function of individual differences in boredom proneness and relationship satisfaction, but not gender. The findings are discussed in terms of Aron and Aron's (1986) self-expansion model and Gable and Reis's (2001) model of appetitive relationship processes.

The affect-regulation function of nonsuicidal self-injury in eating-disordered patients: which affect states are regulated?

This study examines the affect regulation function of different types of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in 177 female eating-disordered inpatients. Almost 45% of the eating-disordered patients displayed at least 1 type of NSSI. Cutting and scratching were the most common forms of NSSI followed by bruising and burning oneself. For all types of NSSI except bruising, the affect regulation function was most strongly endorsed. Affect states reported to precede and follow NSSI were also examined to determine the particular affect states regulated by NSSI. In general, positively valenced low-arousal affect states increased and negatively valenced high-arousal affect states decreased from before to after NSSI. Finally, affective changes associated with NSSI were related to different NSSI characteristics, indicating that the increase in positive affect after NSSI is significantly related to the frequency of NSSI and the numbers of functions reported for NSSI. Theoretical and treatment implications are discussed.