Momentary Relationships Research Articles

Momentary stress-induced food craving: An ecological momentary assessment study comparing perceived interpersonal and non-interpersonal stressors.

Daily-life stressors and food cravings are dynamic and vary within and across persons. Some evidence suggests interpersonal stressors increase appetite. However, little is known about the association of food craving with different types of stressors at the momentary level in the general population. We aimed to explore the momentary relationships between daily-life stressful events and food craving in a non-clinical community sample, and to compare the associations with food craving when the most stressful event was perceived as interpersonal versus non-interpersonal. We used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to collect reports on the most stressful event, perceived stressor type, stressor appraisal, and food craving from 123 adults three times a day scheduled at fixed intervals over 10 days. Mixed effects random intercepts and slopes models examined the within- and between-person associations. Experiencing a stressor was significantly positively associated with within-person food craving at the same measurement. No differences in momentary food craving were found when the most stressful event was perceived as interpersonal or non-interpersonal (within-person level). However, frequently reporting the most stressful event as interpersonal (vs. non-interpersonal) was positively associated with food craving across the study (between-person level), particularly when the stressor was appraised as more unpleasant. Daily-life stressors were associated with momentary food craving. Individuals who generally perceived interpersonal stressors as their most stressful event tended to experience food cravings. Future research could further investigate the role of interpersonal stressors as a factor for overeating in daily life and the potential benefits of stress management in interventions.

Relations between affect, self-efficacy, and alcohol expectancies in adults experiencing homelessness

Background Alcohol misuse is higher among adults experiencing homelessness (AEH) compared to housed adults. Greater expectancy that alcohol will improve mood, negative affect, and lower self-efficacy have been linked to alcohol misuse in AEH. However, little is known about the momentary relationships between affect, alcohol expectancies, and self-efficacy to avoid alcohol in AEH. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine these constructs in a sample of AEH. Methods AEH (n = 72; Mage= 47, 85% Male, 68% Nonwhite) completed smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments 5x/day for four weeks. Generalized multilevel modeling examined the association between concurrent momentary ratings of (1) expectancy that alcohol would improve mood and negative and positive affect and (2) self-efficacy to do something other than drink to improve mood and negative and positive affect. Results Momentary reports of increased negative affect were associated with greater expectancy that alcohol would improve mood (b = 0.25, p < 0.01), whereas momentary reports of increased positive affect were associated with less expectancy that alcohol would improve mood (b = −0.11, p < 0.01). Increased momentary negative affect was associated with less self-efficacy to improve mood without alcohol (b = −0.09, p = 0.03), but momentary reports of increased positive affect were associated with greater self-efficacy to do something other than drink to improve mood (b = 0.18, p < 0.01). Conclusion It may be important to deliver real-time treatment messages suggesting alternatives to drinking and/or ways to boost self-efficacy during moments when negative affect is high.

Examining the momentary relationships between body checking and eating disorder symptoms in women with anorexia nervosa

Body checking is common among individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) and increases risk for dietary restriction. However, no study has examined whether body checking increases the immediate risk for engaging in other harmful weight loss behaviors, or whether this relationship is moderated by person-level traits. The current study utilized ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine whether (a) body checking predicted rapid use of weight loss behaviors, and (b) whether eating-related obsessionality/compulsivity moderated this relationship. Women with full or subthreshold anorexia nervosa (N = 118) completed a measure of eating-related obsessionality/compulsivity at baseline, followed by a 14-day EMA protocol during which they reported on body checking and weight loss behaviors (i.e., exercise, self-induced vomiting, laxative use, skipping meals, and increasing fluid intake). In a series of generalized linear mixed models, within-person effects indicated that momentary body checking significantly predicted subsequent meal skipping and using fluids to curb appetite. Between-person effects indicated that individuals who engage in more frequent body checking also engage in a higher frequency of self-induced vomiting, meal skipping, and use of fluids to curb appetite. An individual's degree of eating-related obsessionality/compulsivity did not moderate any of these relationships. Findings highlight body checking as an immediate precursor of dangerous weight loss behaviors among individuals with AN, and underscore the need for clinicians to address body checking during treatment.

Movement matters: short-term impacts of physical activity on mood and well-being

Few studies have investigated the short-term, momentary relationships between physical activity (PA) and well-being. This study focuses on investigating the dynamic relationships between PA and affective well-being among adults with type 1 diabetes.Participants (n = 122) wore an accelerometer and completed daily EMA surveys of current activities and affective states (e.g., happy, stressed, excited, anxious) via smartphone over 14 days. Within-person, increased sedentary time was associated with less positive affect (r = − 0.11, p < 0.001), while more PA of any intensity was associated with greater positive affect and reduced fatigue, three hours later. Between-person, increased light PA was associated with increased stress (r = 0.21, p = 0.02) and diabetes distress (r = 0.30, p = 0.001). This study provides evidence that positive affect and fatigue are predicted by previous activity regardless of the different activities that people engaged in. Positive affect increased after engaging in PA. However, participants with higher amounts of light PA reported higher stress ratings.

Understanding momentary associations between body dissatisfaction and exercise in binge-spectrum eating disorders.

Maladaptive exercise is common among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders. One mechanism that may drive engagement in exercise in this population is state body dissatisfaction. However, no studies to date have examined prospective, momentary relationships between state body dissatisfaction and exercise. Adults with binge-spectrum eating disorders (N = 58) completed a 7-14-day ecological momentary assessment protocol assessing exercise and state body dissatisfaction several times per day. Multilevel models were used to evaluate prospective reciprocal associations between state body dissatisfaction and exercise. Mixed models examined trajectories of change in state body dissatisfaction pre- and post-exercise. Additional models examined exercise type (maladaptive vs. adaptive) as a moderator. Momentary increases (i.e., greater than one's average levels) in state body dissatisfaction at any given timepoint did not prospectively predict engagement in exercise at the next nearest timepoint. Exercise at any given timepoint did not prospectively predict momentary increases in state body dissatisfaction. State body dissatisfaction was found to increase in the initial hours preceding an exercise episode (linear estimate, β = -0.012, p = 0.004). State body dissatisfaction did not significantly change in the hours following engagement in exercise. Exercise type did not moderate these associations. If replicated, our results may suggest that momentary increases in state body dissatisfaction may not be associated with exercise behaviors in individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders. Level V: Opinions of authorities, based on descriptive studies, narrative reviews, clinical experience, orreports of expert committees.

Beyond abstinence and relapse II: momentary relationships between stress, craving, and lapse within clusters of patients with similar patterns of drug use.

Given that many patients being treated for opioid-use disorder continue to use drugs, identifying clusters of patients who share similar patterns of use might provide insight into the disorder, the processes that affect it, and ways that treatment can be personalized. We applied hierarchical clustering to identify patterns of opioid and cocaine use in 309 participants being treated with methadone or buprenorphine (in a buprenorphine-naloxone formulation) for up to 16 weeks. A smartphone app was used to assess stress and craving at three random times per day over the course of the study. Five basic patterns of use were identified: frequent opioid use, frequent cocaine use, frequent dual use (opioids and cocaine), sporadic use, and infrequent use. These patterns were differentially associated with medication (methadone vs. buprenorphine), race, age, drug-use history, drug-related problems prior to the study, stress-coping strategies, specific triggers of use events, and levels of cue exposure, craving, and negative mood. Craving tended to increase before use in all except those who used sporadically. Craving was sharply higher during the 90 min following moderate-to-severe stress in those with frequent use, but only moderately higher in those with infrequent or sporadic use. People who share similar patterns of drug-use during treatment also tend to share similarities with respect to psychological processes that surround instances of use, such as stress-induced craving. Cluster analysis combined with smartphone-based experience sampling provides an effective strategy for studying how drug use is related to personal and environmental factors.

Understanding Momentary Relationships of Somatic and Mood Symptoms with Social Interactions among Persons with Stroke

To explore real-time, concurrent relationships of fatigue, pain, depression, and anxiety with various types of social interactions among persons with stroke.

Associations between mindfulness and mental health outcomes: A systematic review of ecological momentary assessment research.

Psychological science has taken up investigations of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) and mechanisms through which people benefit from mindfulness. Reliable and valid psychometric tools are essential components of psychological science, and efforts have been made to produce tools for the accurate measurement of mindfulness as a construct. However, trait measurement methods, which are commonly used, may not adequately assess mindfulness and mental health outcomes in a way that allows for mechanisms to be adequately tested. Intensive longitudinal assessment methods sample behavior and experience multiple times over a brief period of several days or weeks, and may be more appropriate methods for testing mechanisms of action. We provide a systematic review of published, peer-reviewed studies that used intensive longitudinal methods to investigate the effects of mindfulness on mental health outcomes. Articles were included in the systematic review if mindfulness measures and/or mindfulness interventions were a part of the study design and if intensive longitudinal methods were used to assess mindfulness or mental health outcomes. Findings consistently demonstrated a positive association between mindfulness and mental health. Only two studies collected both trait and state measurements of either mindfulness or mental health outcomes, and results indicated that EMA produced larger effect sizes between mindfulness and mental health outcomes. Theorized associations between mindfulness and mental health are supported by the current EMA literature. Intensive longitudinal methods may produce more consistent and reliable results through increased sensitivity and ecological validity in that they examine the momentary relationships between mindfulness and mental health outcomes. Thus, intensive longitudinal assessment may be a more appropriate method for investigating hypothesized mechanisms of action in MBPs.

Negative Affect and Loss of Control Eating Among Bariatric Surgery Patients: an Ecological Momentary Assessment Pilot Investigation.

Research shows that loss of control (LOC) eating impacts weight outcomes following bariatric surgery, but mechanisms explaining the development and/or maintenance of post-surgical LOC eating remain unclear. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) research among eating disorder populations has demonstrated prospective relationships between negative affect (NA) and LOC eating; however, this momentary effect has not been examined among bariatric surgery patients. Thus, this study used EMA data to examine momentary relationships between NA and LOC eating among pre- and post-bariatric surgery patients. Fourteen pre- and 17 post-RYGB patients completed 2weeks of EMA data collection. Participants responded to seven signals daily wherein they rated their mood and severity of LOC eating. Higher momentary NA predicted more severe LOC eating for all participants. Group had a moderating effect, demonstrating that the association between NA and LOC eating was stronger among the post-surgery group. Percent total body weight loss (%TBWL) had a moderating effect within the post-surgery group, demonstrating that the relationship between NA and LOC eating was stronger for those who experienced less weight loss. Finally, between-subjects analyses revealed that, for individuals with lower %TBWL, lower overall NA and higher overall positive affect (PA) were related to greater LOC eating. This research demonstrates that affect influences the effect of LOC eating on weight loss following bariatric surgery. While further work is needed to extend these preliminary findings, this research suggests that affective experience might become an important target in the assessment and treatment of LOC eating among bariatric patients.

Ecological momentary assessment of sleep and PTSD symptoms in a veteran sample.

Disturbed sleep is common among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but there has been limited research on the momentary relationships between daytime PTSD symptoms and nighttime sleep. The goal of this study was to examine the relationships between daytime peak PTSD symptoms and sleep duration that night and between sleep duration and peak PTSD symptoms the next day. The study sample was 42 American post-2001 veterans recruited for a study of risky sexual behavior who completed a baseline PTSD Checklist-5 For 28 days, PTSD symptoms were assessed 3 times per day using a version of the PTSD Checklist-5 modified to ask about the previous 2 hours. Each morning, participants rated the previous night's sleep duration. Two multilevel models were estimated, 1 modeling a given day's peak PTSD symptoms and the other modeling a given night's sleep duration. In the first model, peak PTSD symptoms on a given day were significantly related to mean peak daily PTSD symptoms, estimate = 1.003, p < .001; previous night's sleep duration, estimate = -1.799, p < .001; and previous day's peak PTSD symptoms, estimate = .159, p < .05. In the second model, sleep duration on a given night was associated with mean sleep duration, estimate = 1.032, p < .001, but not with peak PTSD symptoms during that day, estimate = -.001, ns. This study adds to research indicating that a poorer-than-usual night's sleep is associated with higher peak PTSD symptoms the next day but higher peak PTSD symptoms in the day are not associated with worse sleep that night. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

A multimodal, naturalistic investigation of relationships between behavioral impulsivity, affect, and binge eating

While binge eating is associated with both emotion regulation deficits and cognitive control impairments related to impulsivity, thus far research has not examined how dimensions of behavioral impulsivity may influence momentary relationships between affect and binge-eating episodes. The present study utilized multimodal methods to examine the extent to which individual differences in impulsive choice (i.e., delay and probabilistic discounting) and impulsive action (i.e., response inhibition) moderated momentary relationships between negative and positive affect (NA and PA) and binge eating measured in the natural environment. Participants were 30 adult women with binge-eating symptoms who completed measures of behavioral impulsivity (i.e., Monetary Choice Questionnaire, Cued Go/No-Go task, Game of Dice Task), followed by a 14-day ecological momentary assessment protocol during which they reported affect levels and binge-eating episodes. Results of generalized estimating equations indicated that greater delay discounting (i.e., preference for immediate, yet smaller rewards) strengthened momentary relationships between both PA and NA and binge eating. However, and unexpectedly, the relationship between momentary PA and binge eating was negative among individuals with greater Cued Go/No-go commission errors, suggesting that higher PA actually attenuated risk of binge episode occurring in these individuals. Together these findings highlight important distinctions between facets of behavioral impulsivity as well as their relationships with affect valence and intensity in predicting binge episodes. Specifically, temporal rather than probabilistic discounting may be most relevant to momentary processes that contribute to binge eating, and promotion of momentary positive affect may be helpful for individuals with poorer response inhibition.

Momentary predictors of binge eating: An attachment perspective

IntroductionAccording to attachment theory, individuals who are preoccupied with the possibility of rejection are prone to emotion dysregulation, which research has found to be related to disordered eating. The current study examined naturalistic momentary relationships between binge eating, depressive symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and attachment anxiety. MethodParticipants were 55 undergraduate women who owned a mobile phone and who had binge eaten at least once during the past 28 days. All participants were screened to confirm the presence of binge eating and then completed trait measures of attachment anxiety. Participants then received seven text messages per day for 14 days. Texts contained links to state measures of depressive symptoms, state emotion dysregulation, and recent binge eating. ResultsMomentary depressive symptoms predicted subsequent binge eating. Aspects of emotion dysregulation (i.e., nonacceptance of emotional responses and difficulty modulating one's emotions) mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and binge eating. DiscussionDepressed mood often triggers binge eating. Additionally, attachment anxiety seems to predict binge eating through emotion dysregulation. Interventions for binge eating should address both attachment anxiety and emotion dysregulation in order to maximize therapeutic benefit.

Informing Workplace Sedentary Behavior Interventions Through Momentary Affective States And Email-based Prompts.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to (a) examine the effect of momentary affective states on workplace sedentary behavior (WSB); and (b) test the proximal effects of email-based prompts on WSB. METHODS: Office workers with sit-stand desks were recruited in a two-part 20-workday study. In part A, participants completed ecological momentary assessments (EMA; at 3 random times/day) of affective states. Each EMA response was matched with behavioral outcomes (i.e., time spent sedentary, standing, or moving proceeding each EMA response). Part B involved a micro-randomized prompt-based trial. Prompt delivery was randomized to be sent (ST) or not sent (NST) to all participants (probability of 0.5), at eight decision points per day between 9am and 5pm. Half of the prompts encouraged standing and the other half encouraged moving. An activPAL device was used continuously through the 20 days to measure WSB. Multilevel models were used to examine the associations of workplace behaviors and affective states. General estimating equations were used to examine the likelihood of a response to a prompt (i.e., transition from sitting to standing/moving) over the proceeding 5 and 30 min intervals. All models were adjusted for age, gender, race, and job type. RESULTS: Participants (N = 18; 56% females) who completed part A contributed 493 EMA responses (27.4±13.3 EMA responses/participant). When examining momentary relationships, individuals sat less (b[SE]= -3.9[1.8], p=.02) and stood more (b[SE]= 3.5[1.6], p=.02) in the hour following higher than usual energy and sat less (b[SE]= -2.8[1.4], p=.04) and moved more (b[SE]= 1.2[0.4], p<.01) following higher than usual intentions to stand/ move. Among participants (N = 15; 67% female; age = 50.9 ± 9.5yrs) who completed part B, 1147 decision points occurred when seated. Participants were 42% more likely to transition from sitting to standing within 5 mins when a prompt was sent (OR[95%CI] = 1.4[1.1, 1.8], p<.01). Stand prompts were 25% more likely to elicit a transition (OR[95%CI] = 1.6[1.2, 2.0], p<.01) than move prompts (OR[95%CI] = 1.3[1.0, 1.7], p<.05). CONCLUSIONS: Prompts may be an effective complementary strategy to encourage sit-stand desks use. Information regarding context (i.e., affective states and intentions) may complement these findings in developing just-in-time interventions.

Real-Time Associations Between Engaging in Leisure and Daily Health and Well-Being.

Engagement in leisure has a wide range of beneficial health effects. Yet, this evidence is derived from between-person methods that do not examine the momentary within-person processes theorized to explain leisure's benefits. This study examined momentary relationships between leisure and health and well-being in daily life. A community sample (n = 115) completed ecological momentary assessments six times a day for three consecutive days. At each measurement, participants indicated if they were engaging in leisure and reported on their mood, interest/boredom, and stress levels. Next, participants collected a saliva sample for cortisol analyses. Heart rate was assessed throughout the study. Multilevel models revealed that participants had more positive and less negative mood, more interest, less stress, and lower heart rate when engaging in leisure than when not. Results suggest multiple mechanisms explaining leisure's effectiveness, which can inform leisure-based interventions to improve health and well-being.

Stress in the daily lives of cocaine and heroin users: relationship to mood, craving, relapse triggers, and cocaine use

Quantitative real-time data on the stress experienced by drug misusers in their daily lives may provide additional insight into stress's role in drug use. The purpose of this study is to evaluate stress in relation to craving, mood, relapse-trigger exposure, and cocaine use in cocaine-dependent outpatients. Methadone-maintained cocaine- and heroin-abusing outpatients (N = 114) provided ecological momentary assessment data on handheld computers. Ratings of stress were compared to those of craving and mood and past-hour exposure to putative drug-use triggers in randomly prompted entries and in the 5 h prior to participant-initiated cocaine use reports. Stress had significant positive relationships with current ratings of craving for cocaine, heroin, and tobacco and with ratings of tiredness, boredom, and irritation, and had significant negative relationships with ratings of happiness and relaxation. Stress was significantly greater in entries in which participants also reported past-hour exposure to negative-mood triggers, most of the drug-exposure triggers, or any trigger involving thoughts about drugs (e.g., tempted out of the blue). The linear increase in stress during the 5-h preceding individual episodes of cocaine use was not significant (p = 0.12), though there was a trend for such an increase before the use episodes that participants attributed to stressful states when they occurred (p = 0.87). The findings suggest a complex role of stress in addiction. Stress reported in real time in the natural environment showed strong cross-sectional momentary relationships with craving, mood, and exposure to drug-use trigger. However, the prospective association between stress ratings and cocaine-use episodes was, at best, weak.

The Role of Ecological Factors in the Origin of Higher Levels of Organization

Evolution is neither an autonomous sequence of spontaneous organic changes nor a predictable chain of unalterable reactions of organisms to their environment and its changes; hence ecological factors are neither just the background for evolution nor do they determine it directly and unequivocally. The contribution of ecological factors to the timing and the direction of evolution depends upon the role they assume, or are allotted, in the life history of the species in question. The adaptation of species to momentary relationships with their particular environments may preadapt them to the establishment of new ecological relationships. Preadaptation is achieved when new or even existing components of the organism's environment acquire additional or totally novel roles in the ecological niches of these organisms, i.e., when the organism interacts with parts of its environment in new and different ways. The exploitation of the evolutionary opportunities emerging from the interaction between organic and environmental diversity involves both chance and choice. The central role of behavior permits the element of choice; the importance of choice in evolution increases with increasing complexity of animals and their behavior. The role of ecological factors in evolution must be investigated by clarifying the multiple feedback relationships between structure, habit, and habitat.