Mean Levels Of Negative Affect Research Articles

AGE-VARIANT PATTERNS OF WITHIN-PERSON VARIATION IN SELF-REGULATORY CAPACITY REVEALED VIA AMBULATORY ASSESSMENTS

Abstract Stressful experiences often evoke changes in experienced negative affect. Individual differences in the degree of stressor-related reactivity may reflect the action of self-regulatory strategies that evolve over the adult lifespan. The executive hypothesis of self-regulation suggests that our ability to exert control over information processing (i.e. cognitive executive control) plays an important role in determining our effective capacity to regulate our emotions and behavior. We recently found evidence in younger adults that stressor reactivity is greater during moments when working memory capacity is lower than usual. Critically, aging is associated with normative declines in executive control and it remains unknown whether this impacts self-regulation in older adults. We’ll present the results of a recent ambulatory assessment study involving a sample of older adults (N = 80; 65-87 yrs; 79% female) where we sampled ratings of negative affect, exposure to everyday stressors, and working memory capacity up to 6 times per day for a period of 14 days. Results related to frequency of stressor exposures, mean levels of negative affect, and degree of negative affect reactivity to stressor exposures in this sample were largely consistent previous findings. However, when modeling stressor reactivity as a function of momentary variation in performance on ambulatory assessments of working memory capacity, we found evidence suggesting that older adults may react more to everyday stressors during moments with higher than average working memory capacity. We interpret these findings in terms of the limits of the executive hypothesis and other well-established theories of cognitive and psychological aging.

The role of moment-to-moment dynamics of perceived stress and negative affect in co-occurring ADHD and internalising symptoms

A maladaptive response to stress in individuals with high ADHD traits may be a key factor explaining co-occurring ADHD symptoms and internalising problems. The current study investigates whether between-person differences in ADHD traits are associated with differences in the within-person moment-to-moment coupling of stress and negative affect; and whether these can explain between-person differences in internalising problems (N = 262, median-age 20). Results of a dynamic structural equation model indicated that between-person differences in ADHD traits significantly moderated the daily life coupling between stress and negative affect. Further, higher ADHD traits were associated with stronger stress carry-over and higher mean levels of negative affect. Stress carry-over and mean levels of negative affect mediated the association between ADHD traits and internalising problems.

Exploring Use Patterns and Racial and Ethnic Differences in Real Time Affective States During Social Media Use Among a Clinical Sample of Adolescents With Depression: Prospective Cohort Study.

BackgroundIncreasing youth mental health problems over time correlate with increasing rates of social media use (SMU); however, a proposed contributory relationship remains unproven. To better understand how SMU impacts mental health requires a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between different patterns of SMU and specific individual factors. Studies suggest that more active forms of SMU may offer mental health benefits when compared with more passive forms. Furthermore, the literature suggests important differences in patterns of SMU and affective states among those identifying as racial and ethnic minorities.ObjectiveUsing ecological momentary assessment (EMA), this study aims to investigate potential differences in affective states during active and passive forms of SMU and whether such differences vary by race and ethnicity.MethodsWe recruited patients seeking care at a large urban adolescent medicine clinic who exhibited at least mild depressive symptoms based on Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores. Participants completed an enrollment survey and a 7-day EMA protocol, receiving 5 EMA questionnaires per day, which assessed real time SMU behaviors and affective states using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule–Expanded form subscales. To correct for nonindependent data with EMA responses clustered within individuals, data were analyzed using mixed-effects modeling, allowing for a random intercept at the individual level to examine associations between EMA-reported SMU and affective states while adjusting results for age, gender, race and ethnicity, PHQ-9 score, and EMA response rate.ResultsA racially and ethnically diverse group of 55 adolescents aged 14 to 19 years provided a total of 976 EMA responses, averaging 17.76 (SD 8.76) responses per participant, with a response rate of 51.15%. Participants reported higher mean levels of negative affect during active SMU (F1,215=3.86; SE 0.05; t1,215=1.96; P=.05) and lower mean levels of positive affect during passive SMU (F1,369=3.90; SE 0.09; t1,369=–1.98; P=.049). However, within different racial and ethnic groups, higher levels of negative affect during moments of active SMU were seen only among Black non-Hispanic participants: F1,81=6.31; SE 0.05; t81=2.51; P=.01). Similarly, lower levels of positive affect during passive SMU were seen only among White non-Hispanic participants (F1,295=10.52; SE 0.13; t295=–3.24; P=.001).ConclusionsAlthough in aggregate, adolescents with depressive symptoms experienced more negative affect during active SMU and less positive affect during passive SMU, these mean outcomes were driven solely by greater negative affect during active SMU by Black non-Hispanic participants and lower positive affect during passive SMU by White non-Hispanic participants. Differences in intentionality, content, context, and expectations of SMU among youths across racial and ethnic groups may result in different affective outcomes. Exploration of the interactions among cultural differences in SMU strategies and characteristics will be critical to furthering our understanding of the impact of SMU on youth mental health.

The Relationship Between Loneliness and Positive Affect in Older Adults

To establish whether positive affect (PA) is uniquely associated with loneliness and other social functioning variables beyond negative affect (NA) among older adults. Four hundred and twenty-eight participants (aged 60+ years old, 82% White, and 48% female) were recruited using random digit-dialing and completed scales for loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale), companionship (PROMIS scale), satisfaction with discretionary social activities (PROMIS scale), PA (Center for Epidemiologic Studies [CES] Happiness Scale), and NA (CES-Depression scale and Brief Symptom Inventory-Anxiety Subscale). Multiple linear regression models found PA to be a significant predictor of lower loneliness where the effect of PA on loneliness is dependent on the level of NA; a large effect size at the mean level of NA, which becomes attenuated when NA increases. Although the direction of effect of PA on loneliness will change for NA > 5.10, which is 5 standard deviations away from 0, based on the model estimates, the percent of subjects with this large NA levels is practically 0. Thus, higher PA is associated with lower loneliness, however this effect is attenuated for larger NA. Similarly, multiple linear regression models found that companionship was associated with PA and NA where the effect of PA is dependent on the level of NA; a medium effect size at the mean level of NA, which becomes attenuated when NA increases. As in the case of loneliness, the direction of effect of PA on companionship will change for NA > 3.52, which is 3.5 standard deviation away from 0, based on the model estimates, but the percent of subjects with this large NA levels is practically 0. Thus, higher PA is associated with increased companionship, aand this effect is attenuated with greater NA. Satisfaction with social activities was associated with PA only (medium effect size). Results suggest PA appears to be uniquely associated with social functioning among older adults. These findings support the potential for treatments that target PA to decrease loneliness among older adults, or vice versa.

Comparing static and dynamic measures of affect intensity and affective lability: do they measure the same thing?

This was the first study to our knowledge to examine whether dispositional scales of affect intensity and affective lability map on to corresponding momentary affective dynamics. Specifically, we assessed whether the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM) and Affective Lability Scale (ALS) are differentially associated with mean, variability, and instability of negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). Young adults (n = 135) completed the AIM, ALS, and 7 days of experience sampling assessments. Higher scores on the AIM were associated with variability and instability of NA and PA whereas the ALS was associated with mean levels of NA and PA. Neither the AIM nor the ALS were associated with reactivity to stressful, negative, or positive experiences in the moment. The AIM and ALS accounted for little variance in momentary affective dynamics and effects were generally small. Findings highlighted that static measures of dynamic phenomena poorly map onto momentary measures of affect in daily life. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.

"Long-term changes in the effect of episode-specific drinking to cope motivation on daily well-being": Correction to Armeli, Covault, and Tennen (2018).

Reports an error in "Long-term changes in the effects of episode-specific drinking to cope motivation on daily well-being" by Stephen Armeli, Jonathan Covault and Howard Tennen (Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2018[Nov], Vol 32[7], 715-726). In the article, the description of the prospective sample in the Participants section, third and fourth sentences, is incorrect. The correct description should appear instead as follows: Prospective participants (N=1141) were contacted if they reported at least one heavy drinking day (≥ 4 drinks for women and ≥5 drinks for men) in both a 30-day retrospective assessment and a 30-day daily diary reporting phase at wave 1. Due to a coding error, 23 of these individuals did not meet these criteria but were contacted for wave 2. However, all of these individuals reported drinking levels at wave 1 (using a drinking composite comprised of standardized retrospective and daily diary drinking variables) within the range of values for the individuals who met the correct criteria and were retained for analysis. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2018-51049-001.) To further understand the role of drinking to cope (DTC) motivation in the development of drinking-related problems during young adulthood, we tested whether the association between episode-specific levels of nighttime DTC motivation and next-day negative affect and self-control depletion symptoms (SCDS) changed from college years to postcollege years (5 years later). We also examined whether these changes were moderated by recent life stress, adult social role attainment and gender, and whether mean levels of these variables were associated with changes in drinking-related problems from college to postcollege years. Participants (N = 927; 54% women) completed a 30-day daily diary during college and again 5 years later in which they reported their previous night's drinking level and motivation and their current negative affect and SCDS. We assessed drinking-related problems at both waves and recent life stress and adult social roles at Wave 2. DTC motivation was positively associated with next-day levels of negative affect and SCDS. The effect of DTC motivation on anxiety and SCDS became stronger over time. The effect of DTC motivation on depressive affect and anger (a) decreased across time among individuals who attained more adult roles and (b) was weaker among individuals who reported lower levels of postcollege life stress. Mean levels of postcollege DTC motivation was indirectly related to changes in drinking-related problems from college to postcollege through mean levels of negative affect and SCDS. Our findings indicate that DTC might exert its unique long-term effects on alcohol use disorders through disruption of daily emotion-regulation processes.≥ (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Gay-Specific and General Stressors Predict Gay Men's Psychological Functioning Over Time.

Gay men experience various stressors, including gay-specific stressors such as discrimination and internalized homonegativity as well as general stressors such as occupational and financial strain. While a robust literature has examined how gay-specific stressors are associated with negative mental health outcomes among gay men, less attention has been paid to the association between general stress and gay men's psychological functioning or to how different types of stressors may interact to affect functioning. The current study sought to address this gap by examining the unique and combined associations between gay-specific external stress (discrimination), gay-specific internal stress (rejection sensitivity, internalized homonegativity, sexual identity concealment), and general stressors (e.g., academic difficulties) and negative affect and alcohol use over time. A total of 147 self-identified gay men living in the greater New York City area participated in a baseline assessment and a 7-week diary study. Univariate and multivariate results revealed that gay-specific external stress, gay-specific internal stress, and general stress were each positively and uniquely associated with higher mean levels of and greater fluctuations in negative affect over time, and general stress was positively associated with greater fluctuations in alcohol use over time. Multiplicative analyses indicated that individuals reporting high levels of stress in multiple domains experienced particularly high mean levels of negative affect. These findings highlight the unique contribution of general stress to gay men's functioning over time and underscore the importance of considering multiple forms of stress (i.e., gay-specific and general stress) and their interactions to better understand gay men's psychological functioning.

Affective variability in depression: Revisiting the inertia-instability paradox.

How can depression be associated with both instability and inertia of affect? Koval et al. (2013, Emotion, 13, 1132) showed that this paradox can be solved by accounting for the statistical overlap between measures of affect dynamics. Nevertheless, these measures are still often studied in isolation. The present study is a replication of the Koval et al. study. We used experience sampling data (three times a day, 1 month) of 462 participants from the general population and a subsample thereof (N = 100) selected to reflect a uniform range of depressive symptoms. Dynamics measures were calculated for momentary negative affect scores. When adjusting for the overlap among affect dynamics measures, depression was associated with ‘dispersion’ (SD) but not ‘instability’ (RMSSD) or ‘inertia’ (AR) of negative affect. The association between dispersion and depression became non‐significant when mean levels of negative affect were adjusted for. These findings substantiate the evidence that the presumed association between depression and instability is largely accounted for by the SD, while the association between dispersion and depression may largely reflect mean levels of affect. Depression may thus not be related to higher instability per se, which would be in line with theories on the adaptive function of moment‐to‐moment fluctuations in affect.

Long-term changes in the effects of episode-specific drinking to cope motivation on daily well-being.

To further understand the role of drinking to cope (DTC) motivation in the development of drinking-related problems during young adulthood, we tested whether the association between episode-specific levels of nighttime DTC motivation and next-day negative affect and self-control depletion symptoms (SCDS) changed from college years to postcollege years (5 years later). We also examined whether these changes were moderated by recent life stress, adult social role attainment and gender, and whether mean levels of these variables were associated with changes in drinking-related problems from college to postcollege years. Participants (N = 927; 54% women) completed a 30-day daily diary during college and again 5 years later in which they reported their previous night's drinking level and motivation and their current negative affect and SCDS. We assessed drinking-related problems at both waves and recent life stress and adult social roles at Wave 2. DTC motivation was positively associated with next-day levels of negative affect and SCDS. The effect of DTC motivation on anxiety and SCDS became stronger over time. The effect of DTC motivation on depressive affect and anger (a) decreased across time among individuals who attained more adult roles and (b) was weaker among individuals who reported lower levels of postcollege life stress. Mean levels of postcollege DTC motivation was indirectly related to changes in drinking-related problems from college to postcollege through mean levels of negative affect and SCDS. Our findings indicate that DTC might exert its unique long-term effects on alcohol use disorders through disruption of daily emotion-regulation processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Creative at Each Age: Age‐Related Differences in Drivers of Workplace Creativity from an Experience Sampling Study

AbstractCreativity and innovation are essential agents for change processes and accelerating technical development. Having to face challenges, such as demographic change, organizations require individuals who are creative and innovative at each age. Previous research identified affect as a crucial determinant of creativity, even though empirical findings showed inconsistencies. Drawing on literature on age‐related changes in affective experiences, we investigated the moderating effect of employees’ age on the association between daily positive and negative affect and creativity using a daily diary study. A total of 116 employees responded to daily questionnaires twice a day over five consecutive working days. As expected, hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed differential effects regarding the affect‐creativity association, dependent on employees’ age. Although older employees were most creative on days when they experienced a high level of positive affect (compared to their mean level of positive affect), younger employees were particularly creative when experiencing negative affect (compared to their mean level of negative affect). We discuss practical implications on how organizations could provide creativity‐enhancing work environments for employees at each age.

Fusing Biodiversity Metrics into Investigations of Daily Life: Illustrations and Recommendations With Emodiversity.

Functionalist emotion and ecological systems theories suggest emodiversity-the variety and relative abundance of individuals' emotion experiences-is beneficial for psychological and physical health and may change with age. This paper examines and provides recommendations for operationalization of diversity-type intraindividual variability (IIV) constructs using intensive longitudinal data, and demonstrates the utility of emodiversity by examining its links to physical health moderated by mean levels of emotion and age. Using data from a daily diary study of 138 adults (age 40 to 65 years), we consider how item selection, response scale, choice of diversity index, and number of occasions enable/constrain mapping to theory, measurement reliability, and empirical inquiry. Item selection and response scale had limited influence on rank-order differences in diversity. Reliable measurement (r ≥ .8) required a minimum of 6 to 12 occasions depending on choice of index, theoretical conception, study design, and distribution of diversity scores. The empirical findings suggest mean level of negative affect, rather than age, moderates the relation between negative emodiversity and health. This study provides recommendations for the calculation of diversity-type IIV constructs and illustrates the potential for study of emodiversity to contribute to understanding of successful aging.

Self-Control, Daily Negative Affect, and Blood Glucose Control in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes.

For adolescents with Type 1 diabetes, maintaining optimal daily blood glucose control is a complex self-regulatory process that likely requires self-control. This study examined whether higher self-control was associated with lower daily negative affect about diabetes and, in turn, better daily blood glucose control, that is, lower mean daily blood glucose (MBG) and smaller standard deviations of daily blood glucose (SDBG), through 2 paths: (1) self-control maintaining lower mean level of negative affect and (2) self-control buffering the association of the number of daily diabetes problems with daily negative affect. Adolescents (M age = 12.87 years) with Type 1 diabetes (n = 180) completed an initial survey containing a self-report measure of self-control. Nightly electronic diaries were completed for 14 days during which adolescents reported daily problems with and negative affect about diabetes and used a study-provided blood glucose meter. Hypotheses were examined through multilevel modeling. Lower mean levels of daily negative affect partially mediated the relation between higher adolescent self-control and lower MBG. Adolescent self-control also buffered the association of the number of daily problems with daily negative affect, and smaller fluctuations in daily negative affect were associated with lower SDBG. Adolescent self-control is associated with daily affect regulatory processes that may influence MBG. However, fluctuations in daily negative affect about diabetes may represent a unique within-subject daily process associated with SDBG. These findings suggest that studies examining daily disease processes and interventions targeting daily affect regulation may be important to improving health in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. (PsycINFO Database Record

Drinking to Dampen Affect Variability: Findings From a College Student Sample

We hypothesized that individuals who are unable to effectively regulate emotional reactivity, which we operationalized as variability in self-reported affect throughout the day, would use alcohol more frequently and would report higher levels of drinking to cope. Further, we hypothesized that affect variation would be a stronger predictor of alcohol use or drinking to cope than level of negative affect. A total of 86 college-age students (53% female, 77% White) participated in an intensive longitudinal study for 28 days. Participants reported positive and negative affect thrice daily and reported alcohol use once daily. Participant coping motives were assessed at study initiation. Affect variability predicted increased drinking frequency and higher levels of self-reported drinking to cope. Mean level of negative affect was not related to an increased probability of drinking, nor was it related to self-reported drinking to cope. Both individual differences in affect variation and intra-individual daily fluctuations in affect were associated with an increased likelihood of drinking. Our results imply that individuals with higher-than-average levels of affect variation are at risk for high levels of alcohol involvement and that people are more likely to drink on days characterized by higher-than-normal levels of fluctuation in affect. Future studies on self-medication should consider negative affect variability in addition to-or instead of-level of negative affect.

Posttraumatic stress disorder as a moderator of the association between negative affect and bulimic symptoms: an ecological momentary assessment study

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the potential moderating effect of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the emotion-behavior relationship in individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN). MethodA total of 119 women with BN were involved in the study. Participants were divided into 2 groups: those with BN and PTSD (n = 20) and those with BN only (n = 99). Ecological momentary assessment procedures were used for the examination of affect, frequency of bulimic behaviors, and the relationship of affect and bulimic behavior over time. The Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Axis I Disorders was conducted for the diagnosis of BN, PTSD, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders. Mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders functioned as covariates in all analyses. ResultsStatistical models showed that those in the PTSD group reported a greater daily mean level of negative affect (NA) and a greater daily frequency of bulimic behaviors than those in the BN-only group. Moderation was found for the association between NA and time in that the PTSD group showed a faster acceleration in NA before purging and faster deceleration in NA after purging. The association between positive affect and time was also moderated by group, indicating that the PTSD group had a faster acceleration in positive affect after purging than the BN-only group. ConclusionThese findings highlight the importance of recognizing PTSD when interpreting the emotion-behavior relationship in individuals with BN.

Mood reactivity to daily events in patients with remitted bipolar disorder

Information about mood reactions to naturally occurring stress in remitted bipolar patients may help elucidate the mechanism by which stressors influence the propensity to manic or depressive relapse in these patients. Using the experience sampling method (ESM), we therefore investigated negative and positive mood states and their reactivity to daily hassles and uplifts in 38 outpatients with remitted bipolar disorder and 38 healthy volunteers. Multilevel regression analyses confirmed that mean levels of negative affect (NA) were higher and positive affect (PA) lower in bipolar patients. Reactivity of NA and PA to hassles and uplifts in bipolar patients was similar to controls and was unrelated to the number of previous episodes. Bipolar patients with subsyndromal depressive symptoms, however, showed particularly large NA responses to daily hassles, which they also rated as more stressful. Subsyndromal depressive symptoms in patients with remitted bipolar disorder thus appear to increase sensitivity to everyday stressors.

Ruminative self-focus and negative affect: An experience sampling study.

The authors conducted an experience sampling study to investigate the relationship between momentary ruminative self-focus and negative affect. Ninety-three adults recorded these variables at quasi-random intervals 8 times daily for 1 week. Scores on questionnaire measures of dispositional rumination were associated with mean levels of momentary ruminative self-focus over the experience sampling week. Concurrently, momentary ruminative self-focus was positively associated with negative affect. Cross-lagged analyses revealed that whereas ruminative self-focus predicted negative affect at a subsequent occasion, negative affect also predicted ruminative self-focus at a subsequent occasion. Decomposition of the dispositional rumination measure suggested that brooding, but not reflective pondering, was associated with higher mean levels of negative affect. Though broadly consistent with Nolen-Hoeksema's (1991) response styles theory, these results suggest that a reciprocal relationship exists between ruminative self-focus and negative affect.