Measurement Burst Design Research Articles

Daily emotional stress reactivity in emerging adulthood: temporal stability and its predictors

ABSTRACTBackground & Objectives: Emotional reactivity to stress is associated with both mental and physical health and has been assumed to be a stable feature of the person. However, recent evidence suggests that the within-person association between stress and negative affect (i.e., affective stress-reactivity) may increase over time and in times of high stress, at least in older adult populations. The objective of the current study was to examine the across-time stability of stress-reactivity in a younger sample – emerging adulthood – and examine neuroticism, overall stress, social support and life events as potential moderators of stability.Design & Methods: Undergraduate students (N = 540, mean age = 18.76 years) participated in a measurement burst design, completing a 30-day daily diary annually for four years. Moderators were assessed once at every burst, while negative affect and stress were assessed daily via a secure website.Results & Conclusions: Findings suggest a relatively high degree of rank-order and mean-level stability in stress-reactivity across the four years, and within-person changes in neuroticism and overall stress predicted concurrent shifts in stress-reactivity. Unlike older samples, there was no evidence of an overall linear change in stability over time, though there was significant variability in linear change trajectories.

The use of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) in goal pursuit in the daily lives of middle-aged adults

The current study investigated the use of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) in association with momentary goal conflict and facilitation in middle adulthood. In contrast to previous studies on SOC that focused on the habitual use of the SOC-strategies, the current study investigated the momentary SOC-use in the everyday lives of adults who face the developmental challenge of combining the demands of multiple life domains (e.g., work, family, leisure). In a sample of N = 89 employed middle-age adults, momentary SOC-use as well as momentary goal conflict and facilitation were assessed in a measurement burst design encompassing 20 days (M = 126 measurement points per person). Time-lagged analyses showed that momentary goal conflict was positively related to subsequent optimization and compensation, and momentary goal facilitation lead to lower subsequent loss-based selection and compensation. In contrast, SOC predicted neither subsequent goal conflict nor facilitation. Thus, the use of SOC-strategies seems to be a response to – rather than an antecedent of - currently experienced goal relations (conflict, facilitation), underscoring the importance of these strategies for managing multiple goals.

Modeling Self-Regulation as a Process Usinga Multiple Time-Scale Multiphase Latent Basis Growth Model

Measurement burst designs, wherein individuals are measured intensively during multiple periods (i.e., bursts), have created new opportunities for studying change at multiple time scales. This article develops a model that might be useful in situations where the functional form of short-term change is unknown, might consist of multiple phases, and might change over the long term. Specifically, we combine measurement of intraindividual entropy, a latent basis growth model, a multiphase growth model, and a growth model with covariates into a unified framework that could help accommodate the complexity of patterns that emerge in multiple time-scale categorical data streams. Empirical data from a longitudinal study of young children’s behavior during laboratory tasks designed to induce frustration are used to illustrate the utility of the proposed model for simultaneously describing intratask (short-term) change in self-regulation and developmental (long-term) shifts in intratask change.

Global perceived stress predicts cognitive change among older adults.

Research on stress and cognitive aging has primarily focused on examining the effects of biological and psychosocial indicators of stress, with little attention provided to examining the association between perceived stress and cognitive aging. We examined the longitudinal association between global perceived stress (GPS) and cognitive change among 116 older adults (M(age) = 80, SD = 6.40, range = 67-96) in a repeated measurement burst design. Bursts of 6 daily cognitive assessments were repeated every 6 months over a 2-year period, with self-reported GPS assessed at the start of every burst. Using a double-exponential learning model, 2 parameters were estimated: (a) asymptotic level (peak performance), and (b) asymptotic change (the rate at which peak performance changed across bursts). We hypothesized that greater GPS would predict slowed performance in tasks of attention, working memory, and speed of processing and that increases in GPS across time would predict cognitive slowing. Results from latent growth curve analyses were consistent with our first hypothesis and indicated that level of GPS predicted cognitive slowing across time. Changes in GPS did not predict cognitive slowing. This study extends previous findings by demonstrating a prospective association between level of GPS and cognitive slowing across a 2-year period, highlighting the role of psychological stress as a risk factor for poor cognitive function.

The Effects of Stress on Cognitive Aging, Physiology and Emotion (ESCAPE) Project.

BackgroundDespite evidence that psychological stress is an important risk factor for age-related cognitive loss, little research has directly evaluated psychological and physiological mediators of the relationship between stressful experiences and cognitive function. A key objective of the ESCAPE (Effects of Stress on Cognitive Aging, Physiology, and Emotion) project is to evaluate whether engaging in stress-related unconstructive repetitive thought (URT) is a pathway through which stressful experiences negatively affect cognitive health over the short- and long-term. Over the short-term, we hypothesize that engaging in URT will deplete attentional resources and result in worse cognitive performance in daily life. Over the long-term, we expect that the effects of chronic stress, from repeated exposure to stressors and regular engagement in URT, will be apparent in dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function and inflammation. Over time, stress-related physiological dysregulation will result in accelerated cognitive decline.Methods/DesignThis study utilizes a prospective longitudinal measurement-burst design. A systematic probability sample of participants aged 25 to 65 is recruited from residents of the Bronx, NY. Consenting participants complete a baseline assessment and follow-up waves at 9, 18, and 27 months post-baseline. At each wave, participants complete a 14 day measurement burst of brief surveys and cognitive assessments delivered via study smartphones during daily life. Participants provide saliva samples four times each day for five days during the measurement burst and fasting blood samples at the end of each burst from which cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), circulating inflammatory markers, and stimulated inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide in whole blood are determined.DiscussionThis study takes a multi-pronged approach to assessing stress (i.e., early adversity, chronic strains, major events, daily hassles), psychological mediators (e.g., URT), biological mechanisms (i.e., HPA function, inflammation) and outcomes across different time-scales (i.e., momentary cognitive performance, cognitive decline across years). The systematic probability sample is locally representative and can be compared with national norms on key markers of health and well-being. The findings will improve our understanding of how environmental, psychological, and physiological stress-related influences accumulate to affect cognitive health and identify potential targets (e.g., URT, inflammation) for prevention and intervention promoting cognitive health.

Understanding Participation in a Web-Based Measurement Burst Design: Response Metrics and Predictors of Participation

Measurement burst designs are becoming a popular method for examining within- and between-person associations; however, little is known about response patterns in these designs. Specifically, a thorough characterization of response metrics at various stages of the data collection has not yet been documented. Additionally, although substantive studies using these designs often mention that differential participation might affect the representativeness of their analytic samples, a better understanding of where in the data collection process these differences arise is needed. Using data from a measurement burst study examining substance use in the year following high school graduation, we demonstrate how response metrics commonly used by panel studies can be adapted for use in such designs. We then evaluate the representativeness of a hypothetical analytic sample and use these new response metrics to identify where in the data collection process these differences arise. Consistent with previous research, we find that sociodemographics and substance use predict inclusion in the analytic sample; however, the exclusion of particular subgroups is due to differential participation at different stages of the data collection. To improve the representativeness of the analytic samples used in measurement burst designs, researchers should consider using this analytic approach to inform tailored data collection methods.

Daily Associations Between Drinking and Sex Among College Students: A Longitudinal Measurement Burst Design

Daily Associations Between Drinking and Sex Among College Students: A Longitudinal Measurement Burst Design

Examining the association between psychological wellbeing with daily and intra-individual variation in subjective wellbeing

A number of studies identify distinct dimensions of psychological and subjective wellbeing. However, few investigations have examined how these distinctive wellbeing dimensions may be related over time. The present study aimed to contribute to this growing body of research by adopting a measurement burst design to examine the association between psychological functioning with daily and intra-individual variation in affect over a 14-day period, controlling for personality. Participants (N=45) comprised a sample of Australian adults from Canberra, Australia who were observed on up to 14days over a 2-week period (Mobs=10.9 (SD=3.1)). Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimates from a multi-level structural equation model identified psychological functioning as only weakly associated with daily positive affect, and unrelated to daily levels of negative affect and intra-individual variation in both affect domains when adjusting for demographic, personality and daily stressors. Positive and negative daily events were most strongly associated with positive and negative feelings, respectively. Post-hoc analysis within a Bayesian context confirmed our ML results whilst a Monte Carlo simulation identified sufficient statistical power of significant parameters. Overall, evidence for an association between psychological functioning and daily affect was not identified.

Nonresponse bias in a longitudinal measurement design examining substance use across the transition out of high school

BackgroundIntensive longitudinal methods are used to study the daily-level, within-person associations between substance use and its predictors and consequences. By definition, these designs require greater respondent effort than more traditional longitudinal designs, the result of which may be increased unit nonresponse and, more importantly, nonresponse bias. The present study contrasts the nonresponse properties of a measurement burst design with those of a single 1-year follow-up (“control”) design, with a particular emphasis on the retention of young adults who did not plan to graduate from college. MethodsHigh school seniors (N=318) from three Midwestern schools completed an in-school baseline survey in spring 2012. Respondents were then randomized into a measurement burst or control group. Four, eight, and twelve months after baseline, young adults in the measurement burst group received a 30-min follow-up web survey, followed by 14 days of web-based daily surveys. Young adults in the control group received only a 30-min follow-up web survey 12 months after baseline. Response rates, predictors of nonresponse, and relative nonresponse biases for measures of sociodemographics, college plans, and substance use were compared between the two measurement groups. ResultsCompared to the control design, the measurement burst design had greater relative nonresponse bias for statistics measuring substance use, but lower relative nonresponse bias for the statistic measuring college plans. ConclusionIntensive longitudinal methods have the potential to retain non-college attending young adults during the transition to adulthood. Nonresponse adjustment weights should be used to correct for any detected bias.

Daily Associations Between Drinking and Sex Among College Students: A Longitudinal Measurement Burst Design.

Daily links between alcohol use and sexual behaviors were examined in a longitudinal study of college students. Hierarchical linear models predicted sexual behaviors by characteristics of persons (N=731; Level 3), semesters (N=4,345, Level 2), and days (N=56,372, Level 1). On a given day, consuming more drinks and binge drinking were associated with greater odds of kissing, touching, oral sex, and penetrative sex. Consistent with alcohol myopia and expectancy theories, associations between binge drinking and sexual behaviors were stronger for students not in romantic relationships, for students with stronger alcohol-sex expectancies, and for oral and penetrative sex. Findings suggest that within-day links between alcohol use and sexual behaviors are evident across college, with variations based on individual and relationship factors.

Energy drinks and alcohol: links to alcohol behaviors and consequences across 56 days.

To examine short-term consequences associated with consuming alcohol and energy drinks compared with consuming alcohol without energy drinks. A longitudinal measurement-burst design (14-day bursts of daily surveys in four consecutive college semesters) captured both within-person variation across occasions and between-person differences across individuals. The analytic sample of late adolescent alcohol users included 4,203 days with alcohol use across up to four semesters per person from 508 college students. Adding energy drink use to a given day with alcohol use was associated with an increase in number of alcoholic drinks, a trend toward more hours spent drinking, elevated estimated blood alcohol content (eBAC), a greater likelihood of subjective intoxication, and more negative consequences of drinking that day. After controlling for eBAC, energy drink use no longer predicted subjective intoxication but was still associated with a greater number of negative consequences. The consumption of energy drinks may lead to increases in alcohol consumption and, after controlling for eBAC, negative consequences. Use of energy drinks plus alcohol represents an emerging threat to public health.

Robust Cognitive Change

Two major challenges facing researchers interested in cognitive change are that measures of change are often not very reliable, and they may reflect effects of prior test experience in addition to the factors of primary interest. One approach to dealing with these problems is to obtain multiple measures of change on parallel versions of the same tests in a measurement burst design. A total of 783 adults performed three parallel versions of cognitive tests on two occasions separated by an average of 2.6 years. Performance increased substantially across the three sessions within each occasion, and for all but vocabulary ability these within-occasion improvements were considerably larger than the between-occasion changes. Reliabilities of the changes in composite scores were low, but averages of the three changes had larger, albeit still quite modest, reliabilities. In some cognitive abilities individual differences were evident in the relation of prior test experience and the magnitude of longitudinal change. Although multiple assessments are more time consuming than traditional measurement procedures, the resulting estimates of change are more robust than those from conventional methods, and also allow the influence of practice on change to be systematically investigated.

Modeling Individual Differences in Within-Person Variation of Negative and Positive Affect in a Mixed Effects Location Scale Model Using BUGS/JAGS

A mixed effects location scale model was used to model and explain individual differences in within-person variability of negative and positive affect across 7 days (N=178) within a measurement burst design. The data come from undergraduate university students and are pooled from a study that was repeated at two consecutive years. Individual differences in level and change in mood was modeled with a random intercept and random slope where the residual within-person variability was allowed to vary across participants. Additionally changes in within-person variability were explained by the inclusion of a time-varying predictor indicating the severity of daily stressors. This model accounted for 2 location and 2 scale effects and provided evidence that individuals who reported higher severity in daily stressors also exhibited greater variability in affect—but only for participants who showed low overall affect variability and who reported low average negative affect. Those who were more variable in their affect reports overall were less reactive to daily stressors in the sense that their high levels of affect variability remained high. We describe the utility of this model for further research on individual variation and change.

Intensive Measurement Designs for Research on Aging

Intensive measurement burst designs permit analysis of behavioral and biological processes as they unfold over short and long periods of time and providing the opportunity to identify change from an individual's normative level of functioning. The measurement burst design permits statistical decomposition of short-term variation and learning effects that overlay normative aging and provide stronger bases for detecting accelerated change due to pathological processes. We provide an overview of design features and analysis of measurement burst data in Project MIND. The objective of intensive measurement designs is to obtain greater resolution of processes of interest that permit reliable and sensitive assessments of functioning and change in functioning and of key determinants underlying short-term variation and long-term aging and health-related change.

Investigating Associations Between Perceived Parental Alcohol-Related Messages and College Student Drinking

A debate remains regarding whether parents should teach their children harm-reduction tips for using alcohol while in college or whether they should maintain a zero-tolerance policy. Which type of alcohol-related communication parents should endorse is not empirically clear. The current study made use of a longitudinal measurement-burst design to examine this issue. The sample consisted of 585 second-year students from a large university in the northeastern United States. Participants completed a baseline survey and 14 daily web-based surveys. Students were assessed for perceptions of parental alcohol-related messages and their own alcohol use. Multilevel models were estimated using HLM 6.04. The data indicate that zero-tolerance messages appeared most protective against alcohol use and consequences. Harm-reduction messages were most risky, even when compared with mixed messages or the absence of a message. Findings indicate that a zero-tolerance approach was associated with safer outcomes than other messages, even if students were already using alcohol.

Parental involvement protects against self-medication behaviors during the high school transition

We examined how drinking patterns change as adolescents transition to high school, particularly as a function of parental involvement. Stress associated with the transition to high school may deplete psychological resources for coping with negative daily emotions in an environment when opportunities to drink are more common. A cohort of elevated-risk middle school students completed daily negative affect (sadness, worry, anger, and stress) and alcohol use assessments before and after the transition to high school, resulting in a measurement burst design. Adolescents who reported less parental involvement were at higher risk for drinking on any given day. After (but not before) the transition to high school, daily within-person fluctuations of sadness predicted an increased probability of same-day alcohol use for adolescents who reported that their parents were minimally involved in their lives. The other negative affect indicators were not predictive of use. Our results suggest that the transition to high school may represent an important intervention leverage point, particularly for adolescents who lack adequate parental support to help them cope with day-to-day changes in sadness.

Daily Relationship Between Event-Specific Drinking Norms and Alcohol Use: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study

This study examined how social-influence processes operate during specific drinking contexts as well as the stability and change in these processes throughout the college years. Using a measurement-burst design, a hybrid of longitudinal and daily diary methods, we assessed the relationship between event-specific descriptive drinking norms and personal drinking. College students (N = 523) completed a baseline survey followed by a 30-day daily diary each year for up to the 4 study years. The baseline survey assessed participant gender and social anxiety, and the daily survey assessed personal drinking and perceived peer drinking (i.e., event-specific descriptive norms) during social drinking events. Multilevel modeling revealed that men's social drinking slightly increased over the 4 years, whereas women's drinking remained steady. Further, on social drinking days when event-specific descriptive norms were high, students drank more, but this relationship was stronger for men than women and did not change over time. However, men's drinking norm perceptions increased across years, whereas women's decreased. Social anxiety did not moderate the relationship between norms and drinking. We demonstrate that although gender differences exist in the stability and change of personal drinking, norms, and normative influence on drinking across the years of college, the acute social influence of the norm on personal drinking remains a stable and important predictor of drinking throughout college. Our findings can assist with the identification of how, when, and for whom to target social influence-based interventions aimed at reducing drinking.

Correspondence Between Retrospective and Momentary Ratings of Positive and Negative Affect in Old Age: Findings From a One-Year Measurement Burst Design

Using 5 measurement bursts spanning 1 year, this study examined correspondences between retrospective end-of-year ratings and momentary ratings of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) in 53 older adult participants from the Berlin Aging Study. Average momentary assessments were moderately positively correlated with retrospective ratings of PA and NA. Hierarchical regression analyses further indicate that mean momentary PA best predicted retrospective PA over and above peak or recent momentary PA, whereas no such pattern emerged for NA. No evidence for age differences in these patterns was found. Our discussion focuses on the implications of affective memory biases for examining affective experiences as they occur in peoples' daily lives and points to implications concerning methods and theory development.

Emotional experience improves with age: evidence based on over 10 years of experience sampling.

Recent evidence suggests that emotional well-being improves from early adulthood to old age. This study used experience-sampling to examine the developmental course of emotional experience in a representative sample of adults spanning early to very late adulthood. Participants (N = 184, Wave 1; N = 191, Wave 2; N = 178, Wave 3) reported their emotional states at five randomly selected times each day for a one week period. Using a measurement burst design, the one-week sampling procedure was repeated five and then ten years later. Cross-sectional and growth curve analyses indicate that aging is associated with more positive overall emotional well-being, with greater emotional stability and with more complexity (as evidenced by greater co-occurrence of positive and negative emotions). These findings remained robust after accounting for other variables that may be related to emotional experience (personality, verbal fluency, physical health, and demographic variables). Finally, emotional experience predicted mortality; controlling for age, sex, and ethnicity, individuals who experienced relatively more positive than negative emotions in everyday life were more likely to have survived over a 13 year period. Findings are discussed in the theoretical context of socioemotional selectivity theory.

Predisability and gait patterns in older adults

Presence of performance inconsistency during repeated assessments of gait may reflect underlying subclinical disease, and help shed light on the earliest stages of disablement. We studied inter-session fluctuations on three selected gait measures (velocity, stride length, and stride length variability) during normal pace walking as well as during a cognitively demanding ‘walking while talking’ condition using a repeated measurement burst design (six sessions within a 2-week period) in 71 nondisabled and nondemented community residing older adults, 40 with predisability (does activities of daily living unassisted but with difficulty). Subjects with predisability had slower gait velocity and shorter stride length on both the normal and walking while talking conditions at baseline compared to nondisabled subjects. However, there was no significant pattern of fluctuations across the six sessions on the three selected gait variables comparing the two groups during normal walking as well as on the walking while talking conditions. Our findings support consistency of gait measurements during the earliest stages of disability.