Within-person Analysis Research Articles

Purpose in life and stress: Momentary associations from a micro-longitudinal study.

Purpose in life is an aspect of well-being associated with less subjective stress. The present research sought to expand this literature by testing the association between both dispositional and momentary purpose with stress in daily life using a micro-longitudinal study design. Participants (N=303) reported their dispositional purpose at baseline and reported their momentary purpose and stress three times a day for 8days. Between-person, dispositional purpose was associated with less momentary stress across the 8days tested with linear regression (β=-0.29, 95% CI=-0.39, -18, p<0.001); it was unrelated to variability in stress (β=0.05, 95% CI=-0.05, 0.14, p=0.310). In contrast, the within-person analysis tested with multilevel modelling indicated that in moments when participants felt more purpose-driven than their average, they felt more stressed (b=0.09, 95% CI=0.06, 0.12, SE=0.01, p<0.001). This association was slightly stronger among participants with relatively lower dispositional purpose (binteraction=-0.04, SE=0.02, 95% CI=-0.08, -0.01, p=0.032). This study replicated the negative association between dispositional purpose and subjective stress when stress was measured at moments in daily life. It also found that feeling more purpose-driven than usual in the moment is stressful, a counterintuitive finding that, if replicated, suggests that striving for purpose can be stressful in the moment, even if feeling more purposeful in general is associated with lower stress.

Psychotic experiences and dissociation in adolescents: Within-person analysis in the Tokyo teen cohort

Although many cross-sectional studies showed that psychotic experiences (PEs) and dissociation were closely related, the longitudinal association between them remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the longitudinal association of these two symptoms throughout adolescence, under the hypothesis that these two symptoms are bidirectionally associated.Data were obtained from a population-based cohort, the Tokyo Teen Cohort study (TTC; N = 3171). PEs and dissociation were assessed at 10, 12, 14, and 16 years of age. PEs were assessed using a total score from five-item self-report questionnaires derived from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-C). Dissociation was assessed using subscale scores of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) completed by primary caregivers. We examined the longitudinal relationship between PEs and dissociation using the random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM).The within-person component of the RI-CLPM revealed no significant cross-lagged effect of dissociation on PEs at any time point. On the other hand, there was a significant (p < 0.05) association between PEs at age 14 and dissociation at age 16 (β = 0.106, 95 % CI 0.047–0.165). The between-person component revealed a significant time-invariant relationship between the two symptoms (β = 0.324, 95 % CI 0.239–0.410).The longitudinal relationship between PEs and dissociation was limited at the within-person level, whereas the between-person correlation was significant. The only significant longitudinal pathway was from PEs to dissociation, suggesting that PEs may be a predictor of dissociation in mid-adolescence.

How was your day? A within-person analysis of how mental health may moderate the route from daily micro-events to satisfaction after work via affect and contextual performance.

This study builds on the affective events theory and the conservation of resources theory to propose a model that analyses an affect-to-behaviour-to-outcome route, highlighting how daily micro-events and subsequent affective reactions lead to behaviours (performance) and cognitions (satisfaction after work), and how mental health moderates this process. Results from a 5-day diary study, during the pandemic (N = 250, n = 1221), provided data to test the proposed affect-to-behaviour-to-outcome route. Poorer mental health buffered the positive within-person relationship between daily micro-events, affective reactions, performance and satisfaction after work, suggesting that high levels of mental health allowed individuals to maximise the benefits of positive daily micro-events in their satisfaction after work via affect and performance. This study presents original research analysing how situational factors create a route through which individuals experience affective reactions that influence their work behaviour, and in turn their levels of satisfaction after work.

Longitudinal Change in Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness and Depressive Symptoms: A Within-Person Analysis during Early-to-Middle Adolescence

Online appearance preoccupation may put adolescents at risk of developing mental health challenges, perhaps especially during early-to-middle adolescence. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model assessed within-person associations between appearance-related social media consciousness and depressive symptoms over three time-points with three months between waves. The sample (n = 1594) included U.S. adolescents aged 11–15 (Mage = 13; 47% girls, 46% boys, 7% another gender; 37% Latine, 33% White, 18% Black, 7% Asian). Within-person increases in appearance-related social media consciousness were associated with subsequent increases in depressive symptoms, but not vice versa. There was no evidence of gender differences and results were robust to controlling for both time on social media and offline self-objectification. Thus, online appearance concerns precede mental health challenges during early and middle adolescence.

Countering underproduction of peer produced goods

Peer produced goods, such as online knowledge bases and free/libre open source software rely on contributors who often choose their tasks regardless of consumer needs. These goods are susceptible to underproduction: when popular goods are relatively low quality. Although underproduction is a common feature of peer production, very little is known about how to counteract it. We use a detailed longitudinal dataset from English Wikipedia to show that more experienced contributors—including those who contribute without an account—tend to contribute to underproduced goods. A within-person analysis shows that contributors’ efforts shift toward underproduced goods over time. These findings illustrate the value of retaining contributors in peer production, including those contributing without accounts, as a means to counter underproduction.

The compassion connection: Experience sampling insights into romantic attraction

Our study examines the relationship between self-compassion, other-compassion, and romantic attraction in couples, and questions the psychological homogeneity assumption—the idea that psychological responses are uniform across individuals and couples. We analyzed data from 161 participants in 84 couples, with an average age 32 (SD = 12.02), using smartphones for event sampling six times daily over a week to measure self-compassion, other-compassion, and attraction. Through within-person and network analysis, we discovered significant variability in how self and other-compassion influence attraction, identifying two distinct couple types: “synergistic,” where compassion significantly affects attraction, and “independent,” where it does not. Further analysis revealed that, when other-compassion is accounted for, males with high self-compassion were less attracted to their female partners. The significant diversity in how individuals and couples experience compassion and attraction challenges the assumption that conclusions drawn from group averages can be universally applied to individual couples. Clinically this means that efforts to enhance compassion in couples therapy should be tailored to the couple's unique dynamics. Indeed, for some men, emphasizing self-compassion without considering other-compassion could even be detrimental to the relationship. Our findings highlight the need for nuanced case formulation and personalized treatment planning in couples therapy, underscoring the complexity of relationship dynamics and the importance of rejecting “one size fits all” assumptions.

Interpersonal violence exposure and inflammation during adolescence and young adulthood

Exposure to violence increases young peoples’ risk of developing mental and physical health problems. Chronic stress-related upregulation of innate immune system activity and the development of low-grade inflammation may partially underlie this health risk. However, much of the previous research has been limited to cross-sectional studies utilizing between-person analytic designs, susceptible to confounding by unmeasured factors. In this six-wave panel study of N=157 female adolescents and young adults, we tested within-person associations between interpersonal violence exposure and multiple measures of inflammatory activity. Ex vivo culture studies suggested that participants’ immune cells were more reactive to microbial stimulation and less sensitive to inhibition by glucocorticoids after violence. Numbers of circulating monocyte cells increased after violence, but serum levels of interleukin-6 and c-reactive protein did not. Findings from this within-person analysis suggest that violence exposure up-regulates innate immune system activity during adolescence and young adulthood in ways that may increase mental and physical health risk.

Time Will Tell: The Case for an Idiographic Approach to Behavioral Cybersecurity Research

Many of the theories used in behavioral cybersecurity research have been applied with a nomothetic approach, which is characterized by cross-sectional data (e.g., one-time surveys) that identify patterns across a population of individuals. Although this can provide valuable between-person, point-in-time insights (e.g., employees who use neutralization techniques, such as denying responsibility for cybersecurity policy violations, tend to comply less), it is unable to reveal within-person patterns that account for varying experiences and situations over time. This paper articulates why an idiographic approach, which undertakes a within-person analysis of longitudinal data, can: (1) help validate widely used theories in behavioral cybersecurity research that imply patterns of behavior within a given person over time and (2) provide distinct theoretical insights on behavioral cybersecurity phenomena by accounting for such within-person patterns. To these ends, we apply an idiographic approach to an established theory in behavioral cybersecurity research—neutralization theory—and empirically test a within-person variant of this theory using a four-week experience sampling study. Our results support a more granular application of neutralization theory in the cybersecurity context that considers the behavior of a given person over time. We conclude the paper by highlighting the contexts and theories that provide the most promising opportunities for future behavioral cybersecurity research using an idiographic approach.

176. Adolescent and Young Adult Depression: A Within-Person Analysis of Compounding Risks of Internalizing Symptoms, Parent Depression, and Parenting from Preadolescence Through Young Adulthood

176. Adolescent and Young Adult Depression: A Within-Person Analysis of Compounding Risks of Internalizing Symptoms, Parent Depression, and Parenting from Preadolescence Through Young Adulthood

Exploring person-specific associations of situational motivation and readiness with leisure-time physical activity effort and experience.

Identifying determinants of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) often relies on population-level (nomothetic) averages, potentially overlooking person-specific (idiographic) associations. This study uses an idiographic perspective to explore how subjective readiness and motives for LTPA relate to volitional effort (duration, intensity) and affective experience (pleasure, displeasure). We also highlight the potential for different interpretations when data are averaged within individuals and assessed using a variable-centered approach. Participants (N = 22, 25±8 years old, 54.5% women) were asked to continue their regular PA patterns for 10 weeks. Ecological momentary assessment procedures allowed participants to provide pre-activity reports (physical, cognitive, emotional readiness and situational motive for activity) and post-activity reports (activity type, duration, perceived exertion, ratings of affective valence). Spearman rank correlation was implemented to interpret within- and between-person associations. Data visualization approaches were used to showcase person-specific differences in associations. Participants provided 519 reports of LTPA (24±11 events/person), which displayed between- and within-person variety in type, duration, intensity, and affective experience. Exemplar cases highlight discrepancies in interpretation based on level of analysis, such that the nomothetic association (rho = .42, p = .05; 95% CI -.02, .72) between motive to replenish energy and LTPA duration was observed in only one within-person analysis (41% were weak-to-large inverse effects). Alternatively, the negligible nomothetic association (rho = .02, p = .93; 95% CI -.41, .44) between physical readiness and LTPA-related affect did not reflect the 59% of within-person analyses showing moderate-to-large, positive effects. Future research aiming to identify determinants of LTPA effort and experience should integrate contemporary, idiographic analyses in early-stage research for developing person-specific strategies for LTPA promotion.

The vicious cycle of family dysfunction and problematic gaming and the mediating role of self-concept clarity among early adolescents: A within-person analysis using random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling.

Family dysfunction is a significant risk factor for adolescent problematic gaming, yet few studies have investigated the bidirectional relations between changes in family dysfunction and adolescent problematic gaming and potential mediating mechanisms. This study thus examined the bidirectional relations between family dysfunction and adolescent problematic gaming and the mediating role of self-concept clarity within this relation. Participants included 4,731 Chinese early adolescents (44.9% girls; M age = 10.91 years, SD = 0.72) who were surveyed at four time points 6 months apart. Random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling found (a) family dysfunction directly predicts increased problematic gaming, (b) adolescent problematic gaming directly predicts increased experience of family dysfunction, (c) family dysfunction indirectly predicts problematic gaming via self-concept clarity, and (d) adolescent problematic gaming indirectly predicts family dysfunction via self-concept clarity. The present study suggests that adolescents may be trapped in a vicious cycle between family dysfunction and problematic gaming either directly or indirectly through impairing their self-concept clarity. Findings indicate fostering youth self-concept clarity is essential to break the vicious circle between dysfunctional experiences in the family and problematic gaming among adolescents.

Purpose in Life Links Positive Aging Views to Life Satisfaction: A Within-Person Analysis Spanning 13 Years.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between positive perceptions of aging, purpose in life, and life satisfaction in older adults. It was hypothesized that purpose in life mediates the relationship between positive perceptions of one's aging and life satisfaction. This hypothesis was tested in a sample of older American adults from four waves of the Health and Retirement Study collected at 4-year intervals between 2008 and 2020 (N = 11,546, mean age in 2008 = 62.772). The random intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to separate within-person and between-person sources of variance. Mediation was tested at the longitudinal within-person level and was supported. Results suggest that an increase in positive perceptions of aging is associated with a future increase in purpose in life, which in turn is associated with higher future levels of life satisfaction. The findings inform interventions promoting positive aging, purpose, and life satisfaction in older adults.

Evaluating the agreement between different substance use recall periods in multiple HIV cohorts

BackgroundThis study aims to evaluate the agreement in substance use on both binary and ordinal scales between 3-month and 6-month recall periods with samples from different communities, demographic backgrounds, and HIV status. MethodsWe administered the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) to 799 participants from three different North American cohorts focused on substance use and HIV. We conducted a within-person agreement analysis by calculating the agreement levels and Kappa statistic between data collected using the 3-month recall ASSIST and 6-month custom substance use surveys as well as different terminology for each substance in multiple cohorts. ResultsFor all drugs studied, the agreement on the binary use or ordinal frequency of use metrics showed a high agreement level between 80.4% and 97.9% and an adequate adjusted kappa value between 0.61 and 0.96, suggesting substantial agreement. According to the agreement criteria we proposed, substance use data collected using different recall periods and with variation in drug names can be harmonized across cohorts. ConclusionsThis study is the first to evaluate the feasibility of data harmonization of substance use by demonstrating high level of agreement between different recall periods in different cohorts. The results can inform data harmonization efforts in consortia where data are collected from cohorts using different questions and recall periods.

Longitudinal Relation between Harsh Punishment and Psychoticism among Chinese Early Adolescents: Disentangling between‑ and within‑Family Effects

This longitudinal study examined bidirectional relations between parental harsh punishment and psychoticism at the between‑ and within‑family levels in Chinese adolescents. There were 3,307 Chinese youth (43.6% girls, M age = 11.30 years, SD = 0.24) who participated in a 4-wave longitudinal study, spaced 12 months apart. The results of cross-lagged panel modeling (i.e. CLPM) found the significant bidirectional relations between parental harsh punishment and psychoticism at the between-family level. However, the within-person level analysis of random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (i.e. RI-CLPM) only revealed parental harsh punishment significantly predicted youth psychoticism, but not vice versa. Moreover, no sex differences were observed in the bidirectional relations between parental harsh punishment and psychoticism at the between- or within-family level. These results suggest parental harsh parenting could exacerbate the psychoticism trait at both the between- and within-family level, whereas the influence of young people’s psychoticism on harsh parenting response from parents occurs only at the between-family level. The findings help to understand the nature of the dynamic process of change between psychoticism and harsh parenting among Chinese adolescents.

Community (dis)connectedness and identity among LGBTQIA+ people during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative cross-sectional and longitudinal trajectory study

ABSTRACT The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and associated shelter-in-place ordinances rapidly limited access to in-person social interactions, raising concerns of diminishing social support and community cohesion while psychological stressors increased. For LGBTQIA+ people, connectedness to the LGBTQIA+ community buffers against the harmful effects of stressors and decreases risks for poor psychological and behavioural health outcomes. The current study uses qualitative cross-sectional (between-person) and trajectory (within-person) analysis methods to characterise how LGBTQIA+ people’s perceptions of community connectedness shifted during the first year of the pandemic. A convenience sample of LGBTQIA+ people in the U.S. completed an initial online survey in September 2020 (n = 298 and a follow-up survey in September 2021; n = 129). The survey included questions about changes in connectedness to the LGBTQIA+ community since the pandemic’s beginning. Eight cross-cutting themes (related to identity shifts/exploration, disconnection, online connections, and increased awareness of social justice issues) were identified and then organised within each level of the LGBTQIA+ Social-Ecological Model (i.e. the individual-, couple-, interpersonal-, organisational-, community-, and chronosystem- level). Given the importance of social support for LGBTQIA+ wellbeing, more longitudinal research is needed to determine whether these changes persist after the resolution of the acute phase of the pandemic.

Capturing dynamics in nursing: a diary study of nurses' job characteristics and ability and willingness to continue working.

This study aimed to gain insight into (1) the dynamics of job characteristics (demands and resources) of nurses and (2) how job characteristics relate to nurses' ability and willingness to continue working (understood as employability). Job characteristics are profession-specific and vary over time, but studies often overlook these dynamics. Moreover, job characteristics relate to nurses' employability, which is under pressure due to a rapidly changing work environment. It is necessary to gain insight into the dynamic job characteristics of nurses to develop targeted workplace interventions that help nurses remain employable. This study adopted a mixed methods diary approach, with a strong emphasis on qualitative analysis. 46 Nurses from two hospitals in a large Dutch city completed a structured diary at six points over 3 weeks, resulting in 225 diary entries in total. The nurses used a custom-made application on their mobile devices to describe in their own words what they experienced as demanding and resourceful throughout the shifts and how they experienced their employability. Prior to the diaries, nurses completed an intake survey. A within-person analysis highlighted the day-to-day dynamics in the nursing profession. The job characteristics a nurse mentioned in the first diary entry often were completely different from the job characteristics the same nurse mentioned in the other diary entries. This analysis also showed variety within nurses' employability, demonstrating that perceptions of employability vary over time. A between-person analysis highlighted links between job characteristics and nurses' employability: social interactions strengthen a nurse's employability, a strict task approach threatens it, and aspects such as a strong drive to care, professional development, and autonomy (clustered as aspects that enable to "act professionally") create opportunities to enhance employability. Insights from this study show that job characteristics typical to the nursing profession can be linked to nurses' perceptions of employability. Also, it stems from this research that not only job characteristics but also employability are dynamic in the short run. Understanding and enhancing employability in a nursing context requires capturing these dynamics, for instance by collecting data at several points in time or by using mixed-method studies to understand employability scores within their context.

Longitudinal relations among Honesty-Humility, moral disengagement, and unethical behavior in adolescents: A between- and within-person analysis

Although low Honesty-Humility is associated with unethical behavior, few studies have examined this relation from the longitudinal perspective across late adolescence. The present study investigated the longitudinal relation between Honesty-Humility and unethical behavior, including whether moral disengagement served as a mediator of this relation at both the between- and within-person levels by using a three-wave data of 1,646 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 15.22). The results revealed that (1) Honesty-Humility and unethical behavior bidirectionally predicted each other at both levels; (2) Honesty-Humility indirectly predicted unethical behavior via moral disengagement at the between-person level but not at the within-person level, and Honesty-Humility indirectly predicted moral disengagement via unethical behavior at both levels. Honesty-Humility and unethical behavior are indeed developmentally and dynamically intertwined.

Does ethnic-racial socialization matter? A within-person analysis of racial discrimination and sleep health among Black and Latinx emerging adults

ObjectivesEmerging work suggests that racism-related stressors may contribute to adverse sleep health, yet little is known about how culturally relevant resources may influence the relationship between racism-related stressors and adverse sleep health. The aim of this study was to examine associations between weekly reports of racial hassles and young adults’ sleep health (i.e., sleep onset latency, total sleep time, sleep quality) and to determine whether various forms of parental ethnic-racial socialization would moderate these associations. MethodsParticipants were 141 college students (Mage = 20.7 years, standard deviation (SD) = 1.22, 70% female) who identified as either Black (n = 88; 62.4%) or Latinx (n = 53; 37.6%). Participants completed an initial 1.5-hour assessment in the laboratory and 4 weekly sleep diary surveys (assessed sleep health and depressive symptoms). ResultsWeekly racial hassles are related to greater sleep onset latency, decreased total sleep time, and poorer sleep quality. The promotion of mistrust and cultural socialization significantly moderated associations between weekly racial hassles and sleep onset latency and total sleep time, respectively. ConclusionsThese results provide supportive evidence that parental ethnic-racial socialization practices, a preemptive cultural resource, may be an understudied mechanism in sleep health research. Future research is needed to clarify the role of parental ethnic-racial socialization in promoting sleep health equity among youth and young adults.

Integration of discrete and global structures of affect across three large samples: Specific emotions within-persons and global affect between-persons.

Researchers have held a long-standing debate regarding the validity of discrete emotions versus global affect. The current article tries to integrate these perspectives by explicitly examining the structures of state emotions and trait affect across time. Across three samples (Sample 1: N = 176 U.S. undergraduates in a 50 day daily diary study-total observations = 7,504; Sample 2: N = 2,104 in a 30 day daily diary study within a community sample in Germany-total observations = 28,090; Sample 3: N = 245, ecological momentary assessment study within the United States from an outpatient psychiatry clinic completing five measurements per day for 21 days-total observations = 29,950), participants completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. An exploratory multilevel factor analysis in Sample 1 allowed for the simultaneous estimation of state factors (i.e., within-person factor analysis) and trait factors (i.e., between-persons factor analysis). Confirmatory multilevel factor models examined the generalizability of the multilevel factor solutions to Samples 2 and 3. Across all samples, the results suggested strong support for a two-factor solution for trait affect and a seven-factor solution for state emotion. Taken together, these results suggest that positive affect and negative affect can be used to describe differences across people, but at least seven differentiated emotions are experienced within persons across time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Transactional Links Between Parenting and Big Two Personality Traits Across Early Adolescence: Between- and Within-Family Effects.

It is well established that parenting bears a strong link with the development of personality traits among adolescents. However, studies that examine the reciprocal associations between changes in parenting and the Big Two personality traits (i.e., extraversion and neuroticism) of adolescence are lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal transactional links between three dimensions of parenting (i.e., parental support, psychological control, and harsh punishment) and the Big Two personality traits during early adolescence. The study applied a four-wave longitudinal approach with each wave being 12 months apart. Participants were 3307 Chinese youth (43.6% girls, Mage = 11.30 years, SD = 0.24). The results of cross-lagged panel modeling supported the significant bidirectional relations between these three parenting practices and adolescent extraversion and neuroticism at the between-family level. The within-person level analysis of random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling found that parental harsh punishment significantly predicted youth neuroticism (but not vice versa) and psychological control significantly predicted both extraversion (but not vice versa) and neuroticism (and vice versa). Sex differences were observed in the bidirectional relation between harsh punishment and neuroticism at the between-family level and in the longitudinal relation between psychological control and neuroticism at the within-family level. These results suggest that the linkages between parenting and adolescent personality traits can be understood to be advanced by both the between-family and within-family approaches that may provide greater support for causal inferences.