Negative Affect In Daily Life Research Articles

Idiographic bidirectional associations of stressfulness of events and negative affect in daily life as indicators for mental health: An experience sampling study.

Evidence suggests that complex micro-dynamics occurring in daily life underly the development of mental distress. We aimed to (1) study the cross-lagged association between stressful events and negative affect (NA), (2) show that there is substantial between-person variability in idiographic associations and (3) show that idiographic associations are indicative of mental health. Experience sampling study assessing perceived stressfulness of events (PSE) and NA four times per day for 2weeks in a non-clinical convenience sample (N=70, mean age=22.9, 61% female, 69% German). Bivariate vector autoregressive model implemented in dynamic structural equation modelling to model the associations between stressful events and NA and obtain idiographic associations. Stressfulness of events and NA were significantly reciprocally associated. Autocorrelations and cross-lagged associations from PSE to NA showed substantial variability and were significantly related with trait measures of depression, anxiety, well-being, and perceived stress. Contrary to expectations, cross-lagged associations from NA to stressfulness of events were not related to trait mental health. The approach outlined in this article is useful for studying idiographic dynamics in daily life. The findings increase our understanding of micro-dynamics underlying mental health and individual differences in these processes.

Emotion regulation difficulties in depression and anxiety: Evidence from the dynamics of strategy use and daily affect

Anxiety and depression are believed to be associated with increased use of maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies and decreased use of adaptive strategies; nonetheless, most work on this topic has been approached using static perspectives on measuring ER, which may overlook the dynamic interplay between ER and emotional experiences. We combined ecological momentary assessment and dynamic structural equation modeling in two independent college-student samples (N1 = 202; N2 = 213) to investigate bidirectional relationships between ER and daily affect. In Study 1, we examined reciprocal associations between negative affect and two ER strategies characterized by repetitive negative thinking (rumination and worry), while in Study 2, we explored reciprocal relationships between both negative and positive affect and two context-dependent and cognitively demanding ER strategies (reappraisal and distraction). We then explored associations of these reciprocal relations with laboratory questionnaires of anxiety and depression. Results indicated both anxiety and depression were associated with greater average negative affect in daily life, greater use of worry, and greater variability in positive affect. However, anxiety was related specifically to difficulties in maintenance of distraction, whereas depression showed unique associations with negative affect inertia, average use of rumination, and difficulties in maintenance of cognitive reappraisal. Findings collectively reveal commonalities and differences in dynamics of ER and daily affect experience related to depression and anxiety. These insights can inform future research into targeted interventions for these negative emotions.

Frontoparietal functional connectivity moderates the link between time spent on social media and subsequent negative affect in daily life

Evidence on the harms and benefits of social media use is mixed, in part because the effects of social media on well-being depend on a variety of individual difference moderators. Here, we explored potential neural moderators of the link between time spent on social media and subsequent negative affect. We specifically focused on the strength of correlation among brain regions within the frontoparietal system, previously associated with the top-down cognitive control of attention and emotion. Participants (N = 54) underwent a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Participants then completed 28 days of ecological momentary assessment and answered questions about social media use and negative affect, twice a day. Participants who spent more than their typical amount of time on social media since the previous time point reported feeling more negative at the present moment. This within-person temporal association between social media use and negative affect was mainly driven by individuals with lower resting state functional connectivity within the frontoparietal system. By contrast, time spent on social media did not predict subsequent affect for individuals with higher frontoparietal functional connectivity. Our results highlight the moderating role of individual functional neural connectivity in the relationship between social media and affect.

DAILY STRESSOR APPRAISALS AND SELF-VIEWS OF AGING PREDICT SAME-DAY AFFECTIVE RATINGS

Abstract Prior work suggests that more frequent or higher exposure to stressors relates to less positive affect and more negative affect in daily life. Limited knowledge exists about whether subjective appraisals of such stressors (i.e., perceived negative impacts on daily routine, personal health and safety, and finances) also have negative links to daily well-being. This study examines this link using data from an 8-day daily dairy study (n=675 days) in an online sample of older adults (n = 110 people, ages 60-90). We also explored potential psychological moderators particularly relevant to the experience of aging (i.e., self-views of aging, S-VOA). Results from multilevel models indicate that people reported more negative affect and less positive affect on days with more negative appraisals, especially on those days when they also had more negative self-views of aging. These findings highlight S-VOA as psychological resources that help people cope with stressful events in everyday life.

Trait mindfulness and emotion regulation responsiveness to negative affect in daily life.

Recent conceptualizations of adaptive emotion regulation is predicated on the ability to flexibly use emotion regulation strategies to meet changing contextual demands. Although trait mindfulness has been linked to enhanced emotional well-being and use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies, there is a dearth of literature examining associations between trait mindfulness and emotion regulation flexibility. Further, despite a rich literature suggesting that emotion regulation processes change with age, no study to date has assessed whether the role of trait mindfulness on emotion regulation responsiveness to negative emotions-a component of emotion regulation flexibility-differs between young and older adults. The current study recruited 130 young adults and 130 older adults to assess trait mindfulness, emotion regulation strategy use, and emotion regulation responsiveness of six distinct strategies in daily life. Across the full sample, trait mindfulness was related to reduced distraction ( = -0.11, t(238.09) = -3.02, p = .003) and expressive suppression ( = -0.15, t(237.70) = -4.62, p < .001) strategy use. Age moderation analyses revealed that trait mindfulness was associated with reduced expressive suppression responsiveness ( = 0.12, t(247) = 2.31, p = .022) in young adults and increased detached reappraisal responsiveness among older adults ( = 0.15, t(247) = -2.95, p = .003). The current findings highlight the importance of understanding how trait mindfulness is associated with strategy use and responsiveness to negative affect changes in daily life as well as how these patterns may shift across the lifespan. Open Science Framework, registration number: z5g8v.

Seeking Protection, Finding Despair: Closed Preferences as a Model of Neuroticism-Linked Distress

Introduction: Image schemas are perceptual-motor simulations of the world that are likely to have broad importance in understanding models of the self and its regulatory operations. Methods: Seven samples of participants (total N = 1,011) rated their preferences for unspecified entities being “open” or “closed” and scores along this dimension were linked to variations in personality, emotion, and psychopathology. Results: Individuals endorsing closed preferences to a greater extent were prone to neuroticism (Study 1), experiential avoidance (Study 2), negative affect in daily life (Study 3), and symptoms of anxiety and depression (Study 4). Discussion: Although closed preferences are likely to be endorsed for protective reasons (inasmuch as the contents of closed objects are better protected), such preferences are linked to higher, rather than lower, levels of neuroticism and distress. The findings offer new evidence for theories of neuroticism and psychopathology that emphasize operations related to defensive motivation and experiential avoidance.

5-HTT genotype and inertia of negative affect in adolescents and young adults from the general population

The study aims to replicate the previous found association of 5-HTTLPR and inertia of negative affect in daily life of adolescents and young adults. Data of 877 adolescents (aged 14–21 years) of the Behavior and Mind Health (BeMIND) study (epidemiological cohort study, Dresden, Germany) were genotyped for 5-HTTLPR/rs25531, grouped into SS/SLG/SLA/LGLA/LGLG vs. LALA, and provided ratings on negative affect items, depression and anxiety (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) eight times a day over 4 days. Multilevel regression models did not reveal an association of 5-HTTLPR genotype and inertia of negative affect, nor associations with inertia of anxiety or depression. Inertia of negative affect seems not to be a psychological mechanism through which 5-HTTLPR acts on psychopathology.

Self-esteem and psychosis in daily life: An experience sampling study.

Evidence suggests that self-esteem is an important mechanism in pathways to psychosis. However, whether low or high self-esteem is associated with psychotic experiences remains unclear. Besides, a limited number of studies has investigated fluctuations in state self-esteem in psychotic patients. This study investigated cross-sectional and temporal associations of momentary self-esteem and fluctuations in self-esteem with psychotic symptoms in three groups with different levels of (familial) liability to psychotic disorder. Using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), momentary self-esteem, fluctuations in self-esteem (i.e., variability and instability), and psychotic experiences, paranoia, negative symptoms (i.e., event anhedonia and social anhedonia), intensity of negative affect and altered affective experiences (instability and variability in negative affect) were assessed in 147 psychotic patients, 131 of their siblings and 113 controls. Lower levels of momentary self-esteem were associated with an increased intensity of psychotic experiences, paranoia and negative affect, with the magnitude of the associations for momentary self-esteem being greatest in patients, followed by relatives. Variability in self-esteem was associated with psychotic and paranoid experiences, the magnitudes were greatest in relatives. Furthermore, we found reciprocal effects between momentary self-esteem and psychotic experiences, paranoia, negative affect, and instability in negative affect. These findings suggest that individuals with familial liability to psychosis (patients and their first-degree relatives) might benefit from targeting momentary self-esteem and variability in self-esteem to decrease the intensity of psychotic experiences, paranoia, and negative affect in daily life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Controllability of Structural Brain Networks and the Waxing and Waning of Negative Affect in Daily Life

BackgroundThe waxing and waning of negative affect in daily life is normative, reflecting an adaptive capacity to respond flexibly to changing circumstances. However, understanding of the brain structure correlates of affective variability in naturalistic settings has been limited. Using network control theory, we examine facets of brain structure that may enable negative affect variability in daily life. MethodsWe used diffusion-weighted imaging data from 95 young adults (age [in years]: mean = 20.19, SD = 1.80; 56 women) to construct structural connectivity networks that map white matter fiber connections between 200 cortical and 14 subcortical regions. We applied network control theory to these structural networks to estimate the degree to which each brain region’s pattern of structural connectivity facilitates the spread of activity to other brain systems. We examined how the average controllability of functional brain systems relates to negative affect variability, computed by taking the standard deviation of negative affect self-reports collected via smartphone-based experience sampling twice per day over 28 days as participants went about their daily lives. ResultsWe found that high average controllability of the cingulo-insular system is associated with increased negative affect variability. We also found that greater negative affect variability is related to the presence of more depressive symptoms, yet average controllability of the cingulo-insular system was not associated with depressive symptoms. ConclusionsOur results highlight the role that brain structure plays in affective dynamics as observed in the context of daily life, suggesting that average controllability of the cingulo-insular system promotes normative negative affect variability.

Linking Amygdala Persistence to Real-World Emotional Experience and Psychological Well-Being.

Neural dynamics in response to affective stimuli are linked to momentary emotional experiences. The amygdala, in particular, is involved in subjective emotional experience and assigning value to neutral stimuli. Because amygdala activity persistence following aversive events varies across individuals, some may evaluate subsequent neutral stimuli more negatively than others. This may lead to more frequent and long-lasting momentary emotional experiences, which may also be linked to self-evaluative measures of psychological well-being (PWB). Despite extant links between daily affect and PWB, few studies have directly explored the links between amygdala persistence, daily affective experience, and PWB. To that end, we examined data from 52 human adults (67% female) in the Midlife in the United States study who completed measures of PWB, daily affect, and functional MRI (fMRI). During fMRI, participants viewed affective images followed by a neutral facial expression, permitting quantification of individual differences in the similarity of amygdala representations of affective stimuli and neutral facial expressions that follow. Using representational similarity analysis, neural persistence following aversive stimuli was operationalized as similarity between the amygdala activation patterns while encoding negative images and the neutral facial expressions shown afterward. Individuals demonstrating less persistent activation patterns in the left amygdala to aversive stimuli reported more positive and less negative affect in daily life. Further, daily positive affect served as an indirect link between left amygdala persistence and PWB. These results clarify important connections between individual differences in brain function, daily experiences of affect, and well-being.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT At the intersection of affective neuroscience and psychology, researchers have aimed to understand how individual differences in the neural processing of affective events map onto to real-world emotional experiences and evaluations of well-being. Using a longitudinal dataset from 52 adults in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, we provide an integrative model of affective functioning: less amygdala persistence following negative images predicts greater positive affect (PA) in daily life, which in turn predicts greater psychological well-being (PWB) seven years later. Thus, day-to-day experiences of PA comprise a promising intermediate step that links individual differences in neural dynamics to complex judgements of PWB.

Association of multidimensional schizotypy with psychotic-like experiences, affect, and social functioning in daily life: Comparable findings across samples and schizotypy measures.

The present study examined the associations of positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy with psychotic-like experiences, affect, and social functioning in daily life using experience sampling methodology (ESM) in 2 samples (ns = 165 and 203) that employed different measures of schizotypy. Schizotypy is a useful framework for understanding schizophrenia-spectrum psychopathology, and ESM offers a powerful approach for assessing schizotypy in real-world settings. Participants were signaled 8 times daily for 7 days to complete ESM questionnaires. As hypothesized, positive schizotypy was robustly associated with psychotic-like experiences in daily life, whereas negative schizotypy was associated with negative experiences, diminished positive affect, and social disinterest in both samples. As expected, disorganized schizotypy was associated with disorganization in daily life. Furthermore, it was associated with increased negative affect and diminished positive affect. Thus, positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy were associated with unique, hypothesized patterns of experiences in daily life, and the findings across the two samples and two schizotypy measures were strikingly consistent. Note that when disorganized schizotypy was not entered as a predictor in the 2 samples, disorganized experiences and negative affect in daily life were associated with positive schizotypy. However, when disorganized schizotypy was included as a predictor, these daily life experiences were associated with disorganized, not positive, schizotypy. This is similar to findings from interview and questionnaire studies that have simultaneously assessed positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy. The findings support the construct validity of the multidimensional model of schizotypy and the importance of including disorganization in the conceptualization and assessment of schizotypy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Virtual reality based cognitive behavioral therapy for paranoia: Effects on mental states and the dynamics among them

BackgroundNegative affective processes may contribute to maintenance of paranoia in patients with psychosis, and vice versa. Successful treatment may break these pathological symptom networks. This study examined whether treatment with virtual reality based cognitive behavioral therapy (VR-CBT) for paranoia influences momentary affective states, and whether VR-CBT changes the adverse interplay between affective states and paranoia. MethodsPatients with a psychotic disorder (n = 91) were randomized to 16-session VR-CBT or treatment as usual (TAU). With the experience sampling method (structured diary technique) mental states were assessed for 6–10 days at baseline, posttreatment and 6-month follow-up. Multilevel analysis were performed to establish treatment effects and time-lagged associations between mental states, that were visualized with networks of mental states. ResultsAverage levels of paranoia (feeling suspicious [b = −032., p = .04], disliked [b = −49., p < .01] and hurt [b = −0.52, p < .01]) and negative affect (anxious [b = −0.37, p = .01], down [b = −0.33, p = .04] and insecure [b = −0.17, p = .03) improved more after VR-CBT than TAU, but positive affect did not. Baseline mental state networks had few significant connections, with most stable connections being autocorrelations of mental states. The interplay between affective states and paranoia did not change in response to treatment. A trend reduction in average intranode connections (autocorrelations) was found after VR-CBT (b = −0.07, p = .08), indicating that mental states reinforce themselves less after treatment. ConclusionsVR-CBT reduced paranoid symptoms and lowered levels of negative affect in daily life, but did not affect the extent to which mental states influenced each other. Findings do suggest that as a result of treatment mental states regain flexibility.

The Affective Ising Model: A computational account of human affect dynamics.

The human affect system is responsible for producing the positive and negative feelings that color and guide our lives. At the same time, when disrupted, its workings lie at the basis of the occurrence of mood disorder. Understanding the functioning and dynamics of the affect system is therefore crucial to understand the feelings that people experience on a daily basis, their dynamics across time, and how they can become dysregulated in mood disorder. In this paper, a nonlinear stochastic model for the dynamics of positive and negative affect is proposed called the Affective Ising Model (AIM). It incorporates principles of statistical mechanics, is inspired by neurophysiological and behavioral evidence about auto-excitation and mutual inhibition of the positive and negative affect dimensions, and is intended to better explain empirical phenomena such as skewness, multimodality, and non-linear relations of positive and negative affect. The AIM is applied to two large experience sampling studies on the occurrence of positive and negative affect in daily life in both normality and mood disorder. It is examined to what extent the model is able to reproduce the aforementioned non-Gaussian features observed in the data, using two sightly different continuous-time vector autoregressive (VAR) models as benchmarks. The predictive performance of the models is also compared by means of leave-one-out cross-validation. The results indicate that the AIM is better at reproducing non-Gaussian features while their performance is comparable for strictly Gaussian features. The predictive performance of the AIM is also shown to be better for the majority of the affect time series. The potential and limitations of the AIM as a computational model approximating the workings of the human affect system are discussed.

P.630 Amygdala functional connectivity in depressed bipolar patients as possible predictor of antidepressant response to chronobiological treatment

Adolescence is a developmental period in which depression and related mood syndromes often emerge, but few objective markers exist to guide diagnosis or predict symptoms. One potential mood marker is the functioning of frontoinsular networks, which undergo substantial development in adolescence and have been implicated in adult depression. To test this hypothesis, we used task-based neuroimaging to evaluate whether frontoinsular network dysfunction was linked to current and prospective mood health in adolescents.Adolescents (n = 40, 13–19 years of age) reporting varying levels of depressive symptom severity performed an emotional working memory task with neuroimaging. Next, teens completed a 2-week follow-up consisting of a daily diary report of negative affect and final report of depressive symptoms (n = 28 adherent). Analyses tested associations between task-related functional connectivity in frontoinsular networks and baseline or prospective measures of mood health over 2-week follow-up.Frontoinsular task response was associated with higher current depression severity (p = .049, ηp2 = .12), increases in future depression severity (p = .018, ηp2 = .23), and more intense and labile negative affect in daily life (ps = .015 to .040, ηp2 = .22 to .30). In particular, hypoconnectivity between insula and lateral prefrontal regions of the frontoparietal network was related to both baseline and prospective mood health, and hyperconnectivity between insula and midline or temporal regions of the default network was related to prospective mood health.These findings indicate that frontoinsular imbalances are related to both current depression and changes in mood health in the near future and suggest that frontoinsular markers may hold promise as translational tools for risk prediction.

Mindfulness meditation is associated with decreases in partner negative affect in daily life

AbstractTo date, very little research has examined the extrapersonal effects of mindfulness meditation practice. In this study, we investigated whether individual meditation practice exerted an influence on friends or romantic partners. Thirty‐five dyads completed an 8‐week single‐subject protocol using an A‐B‐A‐B design to compare non‐meditation phases with meditation phases. One member of each pair was randomly assigned to meditate daily for 15 min during the B‐phases of the study; the other dyad member did not meditate in either the A or B phases. Daily diaries for each participant assessed negative affect, positive affect, and facets of mindfulness. For participants in the intermittent meditation condition, meditation was associated with decreased negative affect, increased positive affect, and higher scores on the mindfulness facets of observing, describing, and nonreactivity to inner experience. Results further demonstrated that the negative affect of non‐meditating partners decreased during the weeks that their partner meditated and was lower on days that their partner meditated. We did not find similar results for positive affect or mindfulness at the group level. Exploratory analyses suggested that the extrapersonal effects of meditation days on a partner's negative affect might be stronger in romantic couples. This study indicates that 15 min of daily meditation in novice meditators can decrease the negative affect of relationship partners.

Frontoinsular Network Markers of Current and Future Adolescent Mood Health

BackgroundAdolescence is a developmental period in which depression and related mood syndromes often emerge, but few objective markers exist to guide diagnosis or predict symptoms. One potential mood marker is the functioning of frontoinsular networks, which undergo substantial development in adolescence and have been implicated in adult depression. To test this hypothesis, we used task-based neuroimaging to evaluate whether frontoinsular network dysfunction was linked to current and prospective mood health in adolescents. MethodsAdolescents (n = 40, 13–19 years of age) reporting varying levels of depressive symptom severity performed an emotional working memory task with neuroimaging. Next, teens completed a 2-week follow-up consisting of a daily diary report of negative affect and final report of depressive symptoms (n = 28 adherent). Analyses tested associations between task-related functional connectivity in frontoinsular networks and baseline or prospective measures of mood health over 2-week follow-up. ResultsFrontoinsular task response was associated with higher current depression severity (p = .049, ηp2 = .12), increases in future depression severity (p = .018, ηp2 = .23), and more intense and labile negative affect in daily life (ps = .015 to .040, ηp2 = .22 to .30). In particular, hypoconnectivity between insula and lateral prefrontal regions of the frontoparietal network was related to both baseline and prospective mood health, and hyperconnectivity between insula and midline or temporal regions of the default network was related to prospective mood health. ConclusionsThese findings indicate that frontoinsular imbalances are related to both current depression and changes in mood health in the near future and suggest that frontoinsular markers may hold promise as translational tools for risk prediction.

Pathways to happiness are multidirectional: Associations between state mindfulness and everyday affective experience.

Mindfulness is commonly defined as a multidimensional mode of being attentive to, and aware of, momentary experiences while taking a nonjudgmental and accepting stance. These qualities have been linked to 2 different facets of affective well-being: being attentive is proposed to lead to an appreciation of experiences as they are, and thus to positive affect (PA). Accepting unpleasant experiences in a nonjudgmental fashion has been hypothesized to reduce negative affect (NA). Alternatively, however, attention may increase both positive and negative affectivity, whereas nonjudgmental acceptance may modify how people relate to their experiences. Previous research has considered such differential associations at the trait level, although a mindful mode may be understood as a state of being. Using an experience-sampling methodology (ESM) with smartphones, the present research therefore links different state mindfulness facets to positive and NA in daily life. Seventy students (50% female, 20-30 years old) of different disciplines participated in the study. Based on multidimensional assessments of self-reported state mindfulness and state affect, the findings corroborate the hypotheses on the differential predictive value of 2 mindfulness facets: Participants experienced more PA when they were attentive to the present moment and less NA when they nonjudgmentally accepted momentary experiences. Furthermore, only nonjudgmental acceptance buffered the impact of daily hassles on affective well-being. The study contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of the within-person mechanisms relating mindfulness to affective well-being in daily life. Future interventions may be able to enhance different aspects of affective well-being by addressing specific facets of mindfulness. (PsycINFO Database Record

Lab meets real life: A laboratory assessment of spontaneous thought and its ecological validity.

People’s minds frequently wander towards self-generated thoughts, which are unrelated to external stimuli or demands. These phenomena, referred to as “spontaneous thought” (ST) and “mind wandering” (MW), have previously been linked with both costs and benefits. Current assessments of ST and MW have predominantly been conducted in the laboratory, whereas studies on the ecological validity of such lab-related constructs and their interrelations are rare. The current study examined the stability of ST dimensions assessed in the lab and their predictive value with respect to MW, repetitive negative thought (uncontrollable rumination, RUM), and affect in daily life. Forty-three university students were assessed with the Amsterdam Resting State Questionnaire (2nd version) to assess ten ST dimensions during the resting state in two laboratory sessions, which were separated by five days of electronic ambulatory assessment (AA). During AA, individuals indicated the intensity of MW and RUM, as well as of positive and negative affect in daily life ten times a day. ST dimensions measured in the lab were moderately stable across one week. Five out of ten ST lab dimensions were predicted by mental health-related symptoms or by dispositional cognitive traits. Hierarchical linear models revealed that a number of ST lab dimensions predicted cognitive and affective states in daily life. Mediation analyses showed that RUM, but not MW per se, accounted for the relationship between specific ST lab dimensions and mood in daily life. By using a simple resting state task, we could demonstrate that a number of lab dimensions of spontaneous thought are moderately stable, are predicted by mental health symptoms and cognitive traits, and show plausible associations with categories of self-generated thought and mood in daily life.

Happy Thoughts: Mind Wandering Affects Mood in Daily Life

Mind wandering is often thought to have adverse consequences such as to deteriorate mood. However, more recent findings suggest that the effect of mind wandering on mood may depend on the specific thought contents that occur during mind-wandering episodes and may be influenced by trait-like interindividual differences. The current study examined prospective effects of mind wandering (MW) on mood in daily life as well as possible moderating effects of dispositional mindfulness and rumination. Forty-three university students aged 19 to 32 (61% women) filled out questionnaires on trait mindfulness and rumination. Subsequently, they underwent 5 days of electronic ambulatory assessment of MW and positive and negative affect in daily life ten times a day. Prospective models revealed positive effects of MW on mood, and negative affect was lowest when thoughts during MW were most pleasant. Although dispositional rumination and mindfulness significantly affected mood in daily life, no moderating effects of these traits were identified on the association between MW and mood. These results suggest that mind wandering is not a negative phenomenon per se but instead has adaptive consequences that can lead to mood improvements. Our findings highlight the importance of accounting for the thought content of mind-wandering episodes when investigating the functional outcomes of a wandering mind. Given that mind wandering frequently takes place in everyday life, interventions that encourage individuals to shift the content of their mind-wandering experiences towards pleasant topics may have an important impact particularly for clinical populations.

Zooming into daily life: within-person associations between physical activity and affect in young adults

Objective: Negative affect in daily life is linked to poorer mental and physical health. Activity could serve as an effective, low-cost intervention to improve affect. However, few prior studies have assessed physical activity and affect in everyday life, limiting the ecological validity of prior findings. This study investigates whether daily activity is associated with negative and positive evening affect in young adults.Design: Young adults (N = 189, Mdn = 23.00) participated in an intensive longitudinal study over 10 consecutive days.Main Outcome Measures: Participants wore accelerometers to objectively assess moderate-to-vigorous physical activity continuously throughout the day and reported their affect in time-stamped online evening diaries before going to sleep.Results: On days when participants engaged in more activity than usual, they reported not only less depressed and angry evening affect but also more vigour and serenity in the evening.Conclusion: Young adults showed both less negative and more positive affect on days with more activity. Physical activity is a promising health promotion strategy for physical and mental well-being.