Within-person Fluctuation Research Articles

Everyday State Attachment: Dynamic Features and Role of Trait Attachment.

Attachment research has traditionally focused on traits, enhancing our understanding of attachment-related individual differences. However, to chart the dynamic properties of the attachment system, more research is needed on the within-person fluctuation of attachment states. In this ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, we examined (a) the associations between the baseline, variability, and inertia of each state attachment dimension (security, avoidance, and anxiety) and (b) how trait attachment (anxiety and avoidance) predicts these dynamic features. In two adult samples (Ns = 122 and 127), trait attachment dimensions were first assessed using Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised. Then, attachment states were assessed seven or ten times a day over 1 week (4629 and 5322 successful EMA observations). For state security, individuals with high baseline exhibited lower variability. In contrast, for state avoidance, those with high baseline showed higher variability. Both trait attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted lower baseline and higher variability of state security. Moreover, both trait dimensions predicted higher baselines of the corresponding states. Our findings provide insights into the real-time regulatory dynamics of the attachment system and their interconnection with trait attachment, underscoring the importance of baseline and variability in understanding how attachment manifests in everyday life.

Daily uncertainty may overshadow the role of perceived manager effectiveness on daily performance via experienced daily positive affect: Amultilevel study.

In this study, we expand on the existing work on daily performance by focusing on (1) within-person fluctuation in perceived manager effectiveness in relation to daily positive affective experiences and daily performance and (2) between-person fluctuations in uncertainty as a relevant boundary condition of these relationships. Multilevel data from 101 managers (1,010 measurement occasions) were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that fluctuations in the perception of a manager's effectiveness related positively to daily positive affective experiences, and this relationship was moderated by the team member's uncertainty levels in such a way that perceived uncertainty buffered the positive effect of leadership effectiveness on positive affective experiences. Further, the findings evidenced a positive association between daily positive affective experiences and daily performance. Finally, results showed a significant indirect effect from perceived manager's effectiveness to daily fluctuations in performance via daily fluctuations in positive affective experiences. Perceived manager's effectiveness made employees feel more positive affective experiences, which contributed to their daily performance. However, uncertainty overshadows the influence of a manager's effectiveness on their workers' positive affective experiences. We discuss implications for theory and practice.

Emotions under control? Better cognitive control is associated with reduced negative emotionality but increased negative emotional reactivity within individuals.

Associations between impaired cognitive control and maladaptive emotion regulation have been extensively studied between individuals. However, it remains unclear if this relationship holds within individuals. In this study, we tested the assumption that momentary within-person fluctuation in cognitive control (working memory updating and response inhibition) is associated with emotional reactivity in everyday life. We conducted an experience sampling study (eight two-hourly prompts daily) where participants repeatedly performed short 2-back and Go/no-go tasks in daily life. We assessed negative and positive affective states, and unpleasantness of a recent event to capture emotional reactivity. We analyzed two overlapping samples: a Go/no-go and a 2-back dataset (N = 161/158). Our results showed that better momentary working memory updating was associated with decreased negative affect if the recent event was on average unpleasant for the given individual. However, better-than-average working memory updating in interaction with higher event-unpleasantness predicted higher negative affect levels (i.e., higher negative emotional reactivity). These findings may challenge the account of better cognitive control being universally related to adaptive emotion regulation. Although it is unlikely that emotional reactivity boosts working memory, future studies should establish the direction of causality.

Impact of a Wellness Leadership Intervention on the Empathy, Burnout, and Resting Heart Rate of Medical Faculty

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of a wellness leadership intervention for improving the empathy, burnout, and physiological stress of medical faculty leaders. Participants and MethodsParticipants were 49 medical faculty leaders (80% physicians, 20% basic scientists; 67% female). The 6-week course was evaluated with a 15-week longitudinal waitlist-control quasi-experiment from September 1, 2021, through December 20, 2021 (during the COVID-19 pandemic). We analyzed 3 pretest-posttest-posttest and 6 weekly survey measurements of affective empathy and burnout, and mean=85 (SD=31) aggregated daily resting heart rates per participant, using 2-level hierarchical linear modeling. ResultsThe course found a preventive effect for leaders’ burnout escalation. As the control group awaited the course, their empathy decreased (coefficientTime=−1.27; P=.02) and their resting heart rates increased an average of 1.4 beats/min (coefficientTime=0.18; P<.001), reflecting the toll of the pandemic. Intervention group leaders reported no empathy decrements (coefficientTime=.33; P=.59) or escalated resting heart rate (coefficientTime=−0.05; P=.27) during the same period. Dose-response analysis revealed that both groups reduced their self-rated burnout over the 6 weeks of the course (coefficientTime=−0.28; P=.007), and those who attended more of the course showed less heart rate increase (coefficientTime∗Dosage=−0.05; P<.001). In addition, 12.73% of the within-person fluctuation in empathy was associated with burnout and resting heart rate. ConclusionA wellness leadership intervention helped prevent burnout escalation and empathy decrement in medical faculty leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing potential to improve the supportiveness and psychological safety of the medical training environment.

Bi+ adults' daily wellbeing: The roles of relationship status and partner gender.

This study examined whether relationship involvement and partner gender were associated with between-person differences and within-person fluctuation in positive and negative affect and alcohol use among people who are attracted to more than one gender or regardless of gender (e.g., bisexual, pansexual, queer; bi+). 198 bi+ individuals (M age 26.97; 73.1% non-Latinx White) completed a 28-day diary study. Multilevel regression analyses modeled between-person differences in daily affect and alcohol use as a function of relationship status and partner gender. ANCOVAs were conducted to examine differences in within-person fluctuation. Results partially support past findings that relationship involvement may not confer benefits for bi+ people, and that mixed-gender partnerships could be particularly challenging. Future research directions are discussed.

Assessing Personality in Daily Life: Variability Between and Within Persons

Trait personality measures may not be able to detect subtle personality changes and fluctuations which may be indicative of cognitive impairment. Measuring personality in daily life may allow sufficient sensitivity to capture this within-person variability. Eighty-six older adults from the Einstein Aging Study completed items assessing daily extraversion and neuroticism for a median of 17 days. Using separate unconditional models, we calculated the proportions of variance in daily extraversion and neuroticism that were due to between-person and within-person variability. Variability in daily extraversion was relatively evenly related to between-person differences and within-person fluctuation (Intra-Class Correlation [ICC] = 0.576), but the majority of variability in daily neuroticism was at the between-person level (ICC = 0.730). Thus, although these daily assessments were sensitive enough to capture within-person variability in personality in daily life, different traits may exhibit more or less of this variability.

Active emotions and personal growth initiative fuel employees’ daily job crafting: A multilevel study

In this study, we expand on the existing work on job crafting by focusing on (1) within-person fluctuation in affective experiences in relation to job crafting and person-job fit and (2) between-person fluctuations in personal growth initiative (PGI) as an important boundary condition of these relationships. Using multilevel data from 116 employees (341 observations), our results showed that fluctuations in positive active emotions (PAE) and negative active emotions (NAE) related positively to daily job crafting; this relationship was moderated by overall PGI levels. Next, we found a positive association between daily job crafting and daily person-job fit. Finally, we found indirect effects from NAE and PGI to daily fluctuations in person-job fit via daily fluctuations in job crafting; NAE and PGI energized employees to engage in daily job crafting, which contributed to their daily person-job alignment. We discuss implications for theory and practice.JEL CLASSIFICATION: M0

Direct and Indirect Effects of Trait and State Gratitude on Health-Related Quality of Life in a Prospective Design.

Gratitude has been consistently linked to well-being, but its influence on health-related functioning is not well understood. Furthermore, research suggests the need to differentiate between-person and within-person effects of personality characteristics, and research on gratitude and health has not typically done so. This prospective study aimed to (1) differentiate the unique effects of trait and state gratitude on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and (2) test state gratitude as a mediator between baseline trait gratitude and subsequent HRQoL. Undergraduate participants (N = 141) completed a trait gratitude measure at baseline and then repeated measures of weekly state gratitude and HRQoL over eight weeks. Multilevel models examined baseline trait gratitude, state gratitude averaged across the study (person aggregate) as between-person individual differences, and within-person variability in state gratitude (person-centered) as predictors of HRQoL, as well as the indirect effect of trait gratitude on HRQoL via state gratitude. Greater aggregate and person-centered state gratitude each predicted higher HRQoL. Baseline trait gratitude did not have a significant direct effect but prospectively predicted higher HRQoL via higher weekly state gratitude. Results suggest that understanding effects of gratitude on health-related perceptions requires accounting for both between-person individual differences and within-person fluctuation in state gratitude.

Lipoprotein(A) Levels Over Time: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study Of A Large Cohort Of Children

Background and Aims: In clinical practice, Lp(a) is often measured only once assuming that it does not change nor fluctuate over time. However, several studies in adults have reported substantial within-person fluctuations of Lp(a). Therefore, we evaluated whether Lp(a) remains constant with increasing age and determined the within-person fluctuation of Lp(a) levels over time.

Scientific Contributions of Within-Person Research in Management: Making the Juice Worth the Squeeze

A multitude of studies in the management literature are focusing on within-person phenomena. The study of such phenomena offers great promise as within-person research facilitates the capacity to enhance temporal precision, show change over time, and reveal the kinds of novel insights that are not possible if relying solely on a traditional between-person perspective. Drawing on the features of within-person research that comprise its unique value proposition, we conduct a quantitative and narrative review of within-person studies to ascertain the degree to which these studies are maximizing the contribution and impact that they can make to the field of management. We pose three research questions that we present as a holistic framework for assessing the contributions of within-person research. To answer our questions, we synthesize across studies and analyze variability data, correlational data, and researchers’ hypothesizing to show (a) the degree to which hypotheses in within-person studies incorporate temporality; (b) the differential within-person fluctuation and variability that exists based on construct, theoretical, and measurement-related factors; and (c) the degree to which within-person relationships are different from equivalent between-person relationships. While our data and conclusions offer insight into the contributions being made by the within-person literature at large, we also propose that our framework can be used at the individual study level of analysis to help optimize the contributions made in future within-person research.

Aging Attitudes and Daily Awareness of Age-Related Change Interact to Predict Negative Affect.

Possessing more positive views of one's own aging is associated with better self-rated health, reduced reactivity to stressors, and better well-being. We examined two components of aging attitudes: awareness of age-related change (AARC) of loss and gain experiences and attitudes toward own aging (ATOA). We expected that AARC would vary day-to-day and interact with ATOA to predict daily negative affect. One hundred and sixteen participants (61% women, M age = 64.71, range 60-90) reported on 743 total days via an online daily diary study. On Day 1, participants reported baseline ATOA and baseline AARC for losses and gains. On Days 2-9, daily stressor exposure, daily AARC losses and gains, and negative affect were reported. Unconditional multilevel models revealed significant within-person fluctuation in daily AARC losses and gains. Controlling for daily stressors, age, and baseline AARC, daily increases in AARC losses were associated with increases in negative affect and a cross-level interaction revealed that this effect was stronger for those with more positive ATOA. AARC gains and losses vary from day-to-day, suggesting that interventions targeting the contextual fluctuations in daily life may be a promising avenue for future research. Specifically, individuals who feel generally positive about their own aging, although less likely to report awareness of daily age-related losses, may be the most vulnerable when they do occur. Efforts to reduce daily AARC losses (e.g., limiting activities due to age, receiving help because others assume age-related deficits) may improve the daily well-being of older adults.

Daily fluctuation in negative affect for family caregivers of individuals with dementia.

The study examined associations of intrinsic fluctuation in daily negative affect (i.e., depression and anger) with adult day service (ADS) use, daily experiences, and other caregiving characteristics. This was an 8-day diary of 173 family caregivers of individuals with dementia. Multilevel models with common within-person variance were fit first to show average associations between daily stressors and mean level of daily affect. Then multilevel models with heterogeneous within-person variance were fit to test the hypotheses on associations between ADS use, daily experiences, and intrinsic fluctuation in daily affect. The study showed that, when the sum of ADS days was greater than average, there was a stabilizing effect of ADS use on caregivers' within-person fluctuation in negative affect. Moreover, fewer daily stressors and greater-than-average daily care-related stressors, more positive events, not being a spouse, greater-than-average duration of caregiving, and less-than-average dependency of individuals with dementia on activities of daily living were associated with less fluctuation. Better sleep quality was associated with less intrinsic fluctuation in anger; and younger age and more years of education were associated with less intrinsic fluctuation in daily depression. Because emotional stability has been argued as an aspect of emotional well-being in the general populations, intrinsic fluctuation of emotional experience was suggested as an outcome of evidence-based interventions for family caregivers.

The dynamic relationship between cognitive function and positive well-being in older people: a prospective study using the English Longitudinal Study of Aging.

There is evidence that having a stronger sense of positive well-being may be a potential resource for healthier aging as represented by slower physical decline, reduced risk of frailty and longer survival. However, it is unclear whether positive well-being is protective of another crucial component of healthy aging, cognitive function, or whether it has a bidirectional relationship with cognitive function. We use multilevel models with within-person centering to estimate the within- and between-person association between cognitive function and positive well-being in 4 waves of data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), (N = 10985, aged 50–90 years at wave 1). Our findings show that, although most variation in cognitive function was explained by age, and most variation in well-being was explained by depression, small but significant associations between cognition and well-being remained after variation in age and depression were controlled. In models where cognition was the outcome, the association was mainly because of variation in mean levels of well-being between persons. In models where well-being was the outcome, the association was mainly because of within-person fluctuation in cognitive test performance. Exercise and depression were the most important moderating influences on the association between cognition and positive well-being. Depression had greater effect upon this association for those with higher well-being, but exercise protected cognitive performance against the adverse effects of lower well-being.

Abstract P107: Association of Longitudinal Change and Fluctuation in QT Interval with Cardiovascular Outcomes: A Cohort Study in a Managed Care Setting

Purpose. Both long and short QT intervals are associated with life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and adverse cardiovascular (CV) events, but prior studies have typically relied on a single baseline measure of the QT interval. We examined the prospective association of within-person change and fluctuation in QT length over time with subsequent CV outcomes and all-cause mortality in a managed care setting. Methods. We assembled a cohort of 187,901 Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (KPMCP) members who underwent three or more standard 12-lead ECGs as part of regular care between 1995 and 2008. Cohort-specific log-linear models stratified by gender, age and race/ethnicity were used to correct raw QT measurements for heart rate (QTc). Non-fatal and fatal CV outcomes and all-cause mortality were identified between the last ECG and right censoring event (CV event, death, termination of health plan membership or 12/31/2009; the median [SD] follow-up time was 4.1 [3.7] years). Cox regression models adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, smoking status and average QTc were used to simultaneously generate hazard ratios and 95% CI for tertiles 1 and 3 (versus tertile 2) of the linear slope of QTc (change in ms per year) and for tertiles 2 and 3 (versus tertile 1) of the root mean square error of QTc (RMSE, variability about the linear slope in ms). Results. The mean QTc slope and RMSE were +2.2 ms/year and 15.3 ms in men and +1.4 ms/year and 14.3 ms in women, respectively. In fully-adjusted models, the sex-specific tertile 3 of the QTc slope was associated with increased hazard of acute coronary syndrome (Number of events; Hazard Ratio; 95% Confidence Interval) (17,920; 1.34; 1.30-1.39), ischemic stroke (11,716; 1.30; 1.25-1.36), heart failure (42,909; 1.47; 1.44-1.51), cardiac arrest (4,700; 1.67; 1.55-1.79) and all-cause mortality (72,392; 1.43;1.40-1.45). In turn, the sex-specific tertile 3 of the RMSE was associated with increased hazard of heart failure (1.34;1.31-1.37), cardiac arrest (1.19;1,11-1.28) and all-cause mortality (1.06;1.04-1.08). Conclusions. In an insured population that underwent multiple ECGs, both linear increase and fluctuation of QTc over time were significantly and independently associated with adverse CV outcomes. Whether these associations are causal or represent confounding effects of medications warrant further research.

The potential value of monitoring bone turnover markers among women on alendronate

Biochemical markers of bone turnover have been proposed to monitor the response to bisphosphonate therapy for osteoporosis, but this requires true between-person differences in the response to therapy. Using mixed models we analyzed three annual measurements of two markers (bone alkaline phosphatase [BAP] and cross-linked N-telopeptide of type I collagen [NTX]) from the Fracture Intervention Trial. We compared marker variation among women allocated to alendronate with that among women allocated to placebo to estimate how much variation was due to true between-person differences in response to treatment, and how much was due to random within-person fluctuations unrelated to treatment. For both markers we found that the mean effect of treatment differed by the baseline level of the marker. After allowing for this and other effects, we found large true between-person differences in response to treatment for both markers, with a coefficient of variation (CV) for NTX of 25.1% and for BAP of 21.2%. However, random within-person fluctuation was even larger, with a CV for change in NTX of 42.5% and for change in BAP of 25.8%. Although repeated measurements have the potential to reduce within person variability, even triplicate baseline marker measurements resulted in an averaged value that was only within 31% of the true value with 95% certainty. In summary, although bone turnover markers appear promising for monitoring between-person differences in response to treatment, their use in clinical practice is currently limited by large random within-person variation.

Monitoring Initial Response to Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor–Based Regimens

Most clinicians monitor blood pressure to estimate a patient's response to blood pressure-lowering therapy. However, the apparent change may not actually reflect the effect of the treatment, because a person's blood pressure varies considerably even without the administration of drug therapy. We estimated random background within-person variation, apparent between-person variation, and true between-person variation in blood pressure response to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors after 3 months. We used meta-analytic mixed models to analyze individual patient data from 28 281 participants in 7 randomized, controlled trials from the Blood Pressure Lowering Trialists Collaboration. The apparent between-person variation in response was large, with SDs for change in systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure of 15.2/8.5 mm Hg. Within-person variation was also large, with SDs for change in systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure of 14.9/8.45 mm Hg. The true between-person variation in response was small, with SDs for change in systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure of 2.6/1.0 mm Hg. The proportion of the apparent between-person variation in response that was attributed to true between-person variation was only 3% for systolic blood pressure and 1% for diastolic blood pressure. In conclusion, most of the apparent variation in response is not because of true variation but is a consequence of background within-person fluctuation in day-to-day blood pressure levels. Instead of monitoring an individual's blood pressure response, a better approach may be to simply assume the mean treatment effect.

Self‐reported smoking, cotinine levels, and patterns of smoking in pregnancy

Non-pregnant adult smokers generally exhibit fairly stable smoking behaviour over time. In studies of this population, cotinine assays are considered a 'gold standard' measure of exposure to cigarette smoke; current smoking status can be validated with high sensitivity and specificity. In contrast, there is substantial within-person fluctuation in pregnancy smoking, as women try repeatedly to quit or cut down. As a result, cotinine measures may be of limited use for validation of amount smoked, as they are informative only about recent exposure, vary with individual smoking topography and are dependent on time lapsed since the last cigarette smoked. Thus, in reproductive epidemiology, where timing, intensity and duration of exposure are critical, self-reported history of cigarette consumption may be a more relevant fetal exposure than current smoking status. If there were substantial within-person variation over the course of pregnancy, numerous measures of cotinine would be needed to characterise patterns of fetal exposure and would not be feasible in many studies. We examined self-reported smoking patterns and compared them to patterns of urinary cotinine levels in a prospective study of 998 pregnant women, recruited 1988-92. Fluctuations in smoking were considerable and, while cotinine measures and self-reported number of cigarettes were highly correlated at any given time point across women (r=0.70), the within-person correlation between the patterns of self-reported number of cigarettes and cotinine levels was weaker (r=0.33). For researchers interested in fetal outcomes in which intensity and timing of exposure are critical, we conclude that self-reported variations in smoking during pregnancy may be a valid way to characterise detailed patterns of fetal exposure in epidemiological studies.

Repeat measurement of case-control data: corrections for measurement error in a study of ischaemic stroke and haemostatic factors.

Haemostatic factors are suspected to be involved in the aetiology of cerebrovascular events. In a case-control study of 105 cases of transient ischaemic attack and minor ischaemic stroke, and 241 controls, data were available on levels of the haemostatic factors-von Willebrand factor (vWF), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI), tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) and factor VII (FVII). These are subject to measurement error and within-person fluctuation of true levels, which may bias relative risk estimates. For all subjects, two determinations were performed on the same blood sample, which allowed estimation of pure measurement error. For estimation of within-person fluctuation, levels were measured from a repeat blood sample on 81 of the controls one year later. The pure measurement error accounted for a very small proportion of the total variation in all cases. Uncorrected for within-person fluctuation, the odds ratio estimates associated with exceeding the median of vWF, PAI, TPA and FVII respectively were 1.88, 0.87, 1.30 and 0.93. After correction for within-person fluctuation odds ratios were 3.56, 0.80, 1.41 and 0.91. Because the PAI determination was not robust to storage conditions, it was estimated that 75% of the variation in this factor was within-person rather than between-persons. Thus, estimates of relative risk relation to PAI cannot be regarded as reliable in this study. It is likely that elevated levels of vWF are associated with increased risk of ischaemic stroke, but interpretation must be tentative, due to relatively large within-person fluctuation of vWF levels.