Aadland, E. & Steene-Johannessen, J. (2012). The use of individual cut points from treadmill walking to assess free-living moderate to vigorous physical activity in obese subjects by accelerometry: is it useful? BMC Med.Res Methodol., 12, 172.
BACKGROUND: Variation in counts between subjects at a given speed or work rate are the most important source of error in physical activity (PA) measurements with accelerometers. The aim of this study was to explore how the use of individual accelerometer cut points (ICPs) affected the analysis of PA field data. METHODS: We performed a treadmill calibration protocol to determine cut points for moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) (>/=3 metabolic equivalents) and assessed free-living PA in 44 severely obese subjects using the Actigraph GT1M accelerometer. We obtained cut points in 42 subjects (11 men, mean (standard deviation) of body mass index (BMI) 39.8 (5.7), age 43.2 (9.2) years), of whom 35 had valid measurement of free-living PA (minutes of MVPA/day). Linear regression was used to analyze associations with the ICPs and time in MVPA/day. MVPA/day was also compared with values derived using a group cut point (GCP). RESULTS: Resting oxygen consumption (partial r = 0.74, p < .001), work economy (partial r = -0.76, p < .001) and BMI (partial r = 0.52, p = .001) explained 68.4% of the variation in the ICPs (F = 26.7, p < .001). The ICPs explained 79.1% of the variation in the minutes spent in MVPA/day. Moderate to vigorous PA/day derived from the ICPs vs. the GCP varied substantially (R2 = 14%, p = .023, coefficient of variation = 45.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the use of ICPs had a strong influence on the PA level. Two thirds of the variation in the ICPs could be explained, however, a certain degree of measurement error will be present. Thus, we are not able to conclude with respect to the most appropriate procedure for analyzing time in MVPA
Abuhamdeh, S. & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2012). Attentional involvement and intrinsic motivation. Motivation and Emotion, 36, 257-267.
The current study used the Experience Sampling Method to examine attentional involvement-the degree to which one’s attention is devoted to moment-to-moment activity-as a potential mediator of two previously identified relationships within the field of intrinsic motivation: (1) the positive relationship between a balance of challenges and skills and enjoyment, and (2) the positive relationship between competence valuation and enjoyment. Multilevel, within-person analyses indicated attentional involvement fully mediated both relationships. Implications of the findings for intrinsic motivation processes are discussed.
Alexander, G. M. & Saenz, J. (2012). Early androgens, activity levels and toy choices of children in the second year of life. Hormones and Behavior, 62, 500-504.
The hypothesis that stronger preferences for active play styles contribute to stronger preferences for male-typical toys was examined in 47 boys and 37 girls at 19-months of age using ambulatory monitoring technology (i.e., actigraphy) to measure activity levels during contact with male-typical, female-typical, and gender-neutral toys. Digit ratios and salivary testosterone levels were measured earlier in children at 3-4 months of age. There were no significant sex differences in digit ratios, salivary testosterone levels, or overall activity levels during toy play. In contrast, contact times showed large sex differences in infants’ toy preferences. The within-sex comparisons showed that infant girls had significant preferences for female-typical toys over male-typical toys, whereas infant boys showed only a small preference for male-typical toys over female-typical toys. More male-typical digit ratios in early infancy predicted higher activity counts during toy play and less female-typical toy preferences in girls. However, in both sexes, activity levels were unrelated to toy preferences suggesting that factors other than activity level preferences contribute to the early emergence of gender-linked toy preferences.
Allena, M., Cuzzoni, M. G., Tassorelli, C., Nappi, G., & Antonaci, F. (2012). An electronic diary on a palm device for headache monitoring: A preliminary experience. The Journal of Headache and Pain, 13, 537-541.
Patients suffering from headache are usually asked to use charts to allow monitoring of their disease. These diaries, providing they are regularly filled in, become crucial in the diagnosis and management of headache disorders because they provide further information on attack frequency and temporal pattern, drug intake, trigger factors, and short-/long-term responses to treatment. Electronic tools could facilitate diary monitoring and thus the management of headaches. Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a chronic and disabling condition that can be treated by withdrawing the overused drug(s) and adopting specific approaches that focus on the development of a close doctor-patient relationship in the post-withdrawal phase. Although the headache diary is, in this context, an essential tool for the constant, reliable monitoring of these patients to prevent relapses, very little is known about the applicability of electronic diaries in MOH patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acceptability of and patient compliance with an electronic headache diary (palm device) as compared with a traditional diary chart in a group of headache inpatients with MOH. A palm diary device, developed in accordance with the ICHD-II criteria, was given to 85 MOH inpatients during the detoxification phase. On the first day of hospitalization, the patients were instructed in the use of the diary and were then required to fill it in daily for the following 7 days. Data on the patients’ opinions on the electronic diary and the instructions given, its screen and layout, as well as its convenience and ease of use, in comparison with the traditional paper version, were collected using a numerical rating scale. A total of 504 days with headache were recorded in both the electronic and the traditional headache diaries simultaneously. The level of patient compliance was good. The patients appreciated the electronic headache diary, deeming it easy to understand and to use (fill in); most of the patients rated the palm device handier than the traditional paper version.
Arvidsson, D., Eriksson, U., Lonn, S. L., & Sundquist, K. (2012). Neighborhood Walkability, Income, and Hour-by-Hour Physical Activity Patterns. Med.Sci.Sports Exerc..
PURPOSE: To investigate both the mean daily physical activity and the hour by hour physical activity pattern across the day using accelerometry, and how they are associated with neighborhood walkability and individual income. METHODS: Moderate physical activity (MPA) was assessed by accelerometry in 2,252 adults in the City of Stockholm, Sweden. Neighborhood walkability (residential density, street connectivity, land use mix) was objectively assessed within 1,000m network buffers around the participants’ residence and individual income was self-reported. RESULTS: Living in a high walkability neighborhood was associated with more mean daily MPA compared with living in a low walkability neighborhood on weekdays and weekend days. Hour by hour analyses showed that this association appeared mainly in the afternoon/early evening during weekdays, while it appeared across the middle of the day during weekend days. Individual income was associated with mean daily MPA on weekend days. On weekdays, the hour by hour analyses showed that high income was associated with more MPA around noon and in late afternoon/early evening, while low income was associated with more MPA at the hours before noon and in the early afternoon. During the weekend, high income was more consistently associated with higher MPA. CONCLUSIONS: Hour by hour accelerometry physical activity patterns provides a more comprehensive picture of the associations between neighborhood walkability and individual income and physical activity and the variability of these associations across the day
Atkin, A. J., Gorely, T., Clemes, S. A., Yates, T., Edwardson, C., Brage, S. et al. (2012). Methods of Measurement in epidemiology: sedentary Behaviour. Int.J Epidemiol., 41, 1460-1471.
BACKGROUND: Research examining sedentary behaviour as a potentially independent risk factor for chronic disease morbidity and mortality has expanded rapidly in recent years. METHODS: We present a narrative overview of the sedentary behaviour measurement literature. Subjective and objective methods of measuring sedentary behaviour suitable for use in population-based research with children and adults are examined. The validity and reliability of each method is considered, gaps in the literature specific to each method identified and potential future directions discussed. RESULTS: To date, subjective approaches to sedentary behaviour measurement, e.g. questionnaires, have focused predominantly on TV viewing or other screen-based behaviours. Typically, such measures demonstrate moderate reliability but slight to moderate validity. Accelerometry is increasingly being used for sedentary behaviour assessments; this approach overcomes some of the limitations of subjective methods, but detection of specific postures and postural changes by this method is somewhat limited. Instruments developed specifically for the assessment of body posture have demonstrated good reliability and validity in the limited research conducted to date. Miniaturization of monitoring devices, interoperability between measurement and communication technologies and advanced analytical approaches are potential avenues for future developments in this field. CONCLUSIONS: High-quality measurement is essential in all elements of sedentary behaviour epidemiology, from determining associations with health outcomes to the development and evaluation of behaviour change interventions. Sedentary behaviour measurement remains relatively under-developed, although new instruments, both objective and subjective, show considerable promise and warrant further testing
Badr, H., Pasipanodya, E. C., & Laurenceau, J. P. (2012). An Electronic Diary Study of the Effects of Patient Avoidance and Partner Social Constraints on Patient Momentary Affect in Metastatic Breast Cancer. Ann.Behav.Med..
BACKGROUND: Metastatic breast cancer patients experience significance distress. Although talking with close others about cancer-related concerns may help to alleviate distress, patients often avoid such discussions, and their partners can engage in social constraints that may limit subsequent patient disclosures and exacerbate distress. PURPOSE: We examined how partner constraints unfold, how they influence patient affect, and whether they exacerbate patient avoidance of cancer-related disclosures. METHODS: Fifty-four patients and 48 of their partners completed electronic diary assessments for 14 days. RESULTS: Partners’ social constraints carried over from one day to the next, but patients’ avoidance of discussing cancer-related concerns did not. When partners engaged in more social constraints one day, patients reported greater negative affect the following day (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Findings suggest a temporal link between partner constraints and patient momentary affect. Helping partners to become aware of their constraining behaviors and teaching them skills to overcome this may facilitate patient adjustment to metastatic breast cancer
Barnes, C. M., Wagner, D. T., & Ghumman, S. (2012). Borrowing from sleep to pay work and family: Expanding time-based conflict to the broader nonwork domain. Personnel Psychology, 65, 789-819.
We extend cross-domain research by examining sleep, a domain within the larger nonwork domain that competes for time with work and family domains. We draw from scarcity theory and research on slack resources to contend that, because people cannot increase the amount of time they have, they borrow time from sleep in order to spend more time working and with family. Utilizing a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of 10,741 participants, we find nonlinear and interactive effects of time spent working and time spent with family on sleep time, suggesting that the negative effects of work and family on sleep time are especially strong when demands for work and family are high. In an experience sampling field study of 122 working adults, we similarly find a nonlinear effect of work time on sleep time as well as an interaction between work time and family time in predicting time spent sleeping. Both studies indicate that as slack time resources become increasingly scarce, time spent working and time spent with family have increasingly powerful negative effects on time spent sleeping. Contrary to our expectations, we found no support for gender as a moderator of these effects.
Bassi, M. & Fave, A. D. (2012). Optimal experience and self-determination at school: Joining perspectives. Motivation and Emotion, 36, 425-438.
This study aimed at investigating optimal experience during schoolwork in relation to SDT concepts of autonomy and locus of causality. Data were gathered from 268 high-school students using Experience Sampling Method for 1 week. Three levels of self-determination were identified: high (corresponding to autonomous regulation), moderate (mixed autonomous and controlled regulation), and low (controlled regulation). Consistently with the literature, the relationship between participants’ challenges and skills values was used to recognize occasions for optimal experience, and multilevel modeling was applied in data analysis. Findings showed that during schoolwork as optimal activity (high challenges and high skills) students mostly reported low levels of self-determination. However, the quality of their experience was better in situations of high and moderate self-determination. At the theoretical level, findings allow for a more articulated understanding of the characteristics of optimal experience in academic activities. Practical implications are discussed for enhancing well-being and committed learning at school.
Bassi, M., Ferrario, N., Ba, G., Delle Fave, A., & Viganò, C. (2012). Quality of experience during psychosocial rehabilitation: A real-time investigation with experience sampling method. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 35, 447-453.
Objective: This study aimed to identify contextual and clinical factors contributing to the quality of experience of people participating in psychosocial rehabilitation activities (RA) and to investigate the association of RA with optimal experience or flow, a state characterized by the perception of high challenges and high skills, deep concentration, positive affect, clear goals, control and autonomous motivation, which contributes to individuals’ well-being. Method: Twenty-seven people at an Italian psychiatric rehabilitation center provided real-time information on daily activities and associated experience through experience sampling method. Multilevel models were calculated to assess the factors contributing to participants’ quality of experience. Results: Analyses showed that situation-contingent factors-type of activity and relationship between perceived challenges and skills-predicted participants’ quality of experience over and above the clinical factors taken into account in this study: level of global functioning (GAF), rehabilitation duration, and type of setting (residential vs. semiresidential). In addition, RA were prominently associated with optimal experience. Conclusion and Implications for Practice: Results suggest the importance for people involved in rehabilitation programs to engage in challenging tasks, favoring both the onset of positive and complex experiences and skill development. Findings further show the usefulness of real-time assessment methods in monitoring the rehabilitation process.
Beal, D. J. (2012). Industrial/organizational psychology. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 601-619). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology often is thought of as an inherently applied field. A field whose purpose is to study psychological issues within the workplace can and should make contributions to practitioners involved in the design of our work environments and the selection of the individuals who populate that environment. But psychological issues in the workplace reflect a domain broad enough to go beyond the development of practitioner tools. Work makes up a substantial portion of our adult lives, and our experiences at work often are critical to our overall well-being and sense of self. Given this central role of work in one’s life, a psychology of work must also explore work experiences irrespective of their potential for practitioners. Indeed, recent calls in the I/O literature have emphasized the study of daily experiences as a primary venue through which work and our behavior at work can be understood (Beal, Weiss, Barros, & MacDermid, 2005; Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996; Weiss & Rupp, 2011). This chapter provides a review of how methods used to examine daily life are used within the discipline of I/O psychology. Various names have been used to describe these methods within I/O psychology, including ecological momentary assessment, experience sampling, ambulatory assessment, and daily diary studies. In this chapter, I refer to these methods collectively as either daily experience research or simply experiential research.
Beckham, J. C., Calhoun, P. S., Dennis, M. F., Wilson, S. M., & Dedert, E. A. (2012). Predictors of Lapse in First Week of Smoking Abstinence in PTSD and Non-PTSD Smokers. Nicotine Tob.Res.
INTRODUCTION: Retrospective research suggests smokers with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) lapse more quickly after their quit date. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) research is needed to confirm the presence of early smoking lapse in PTSD and form conceptualizations that inform intervention. METHODS: Smokers with (n = 55) and without (n = 52) PTSD completed alarm-prompted EMA of situational and psychiatric variables the week before and after a quit date, and self-initiated EMA following smoking lapses. Blood samples at baseline and on the quit date allowed assessment of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA(S)). RESULTS: PTSD was related to shorter time to lapse (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.677, 95% CI: 1.106-2.544). Increased smoking abstinence self-efficacy was related to longer time to lapse (HR = 0.608, 95% CI: 0.430-0.860). Analyses of participants’ real-time reports revealed that smokers with PTSD were more likely to attribute first-time lapses to negative affect ( = 5.412, p = .020), and trauma reminders (Fisher’s exact p = .003**). Finally, the quit date decrease in DHEA(S) was related to shorter time to lapse (HR = 1.009, 95% CI: 1.000-1.018, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Results provide evidence of shorter time to first smoking lapse in PTSD, and add to evidence that early lapse occasions are more strongly related to trauma reminders, negative affect, and cravings in smokers with PTSD
Bhopi, R., Nagy, D., & Erichsen, D. (2012). Can a novel smartphone application detect periodic limb movements? Stud.Health Technol.Inform., 182, 36-42.
Background: Periodic limb movements (PLMs) are repetitive, stereotypical and unconscious movements, typically of the legs, that occur in sleep and are associated with several sleep disorders. The gold standard for detecting PLMs is overnight electromyography which, although highly sensitive and specific, is time and labour consuming. The current generation of smart phones is equipped with tri-axial accelerometers that record movement. Aim: To develop a smart phone application that can detect PLMs remotely. Method: A leg movement sensing application (LMSA) was programmed in iOS 5x and incorporated into an iPhone 4S (Apple INC.). A healthy adult male subject underwent simultaneous EMG and LMSA measurements of voluntary stereotypical leg movements. The mean number of leg movements recorded by EMG and by the LMSA was compared. Results: A total of 403 leg movements were scored by EMG of which the LMSA recorded 392 (97%). There was no statistical difference in mean number of leg movements recorded between the two modalities (p = 0.3). Conclusion: These preliminary results indicate that a smart phone application is able to accurately detect leg movements outside of the hospital environment and may be a useful tool for screening and follow up of patients with PLMs
Bielemann, R. M., Cascaes, A. M., Reichert, F. F., Domingues, M. R., & Gigante, D. P. (2012). Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Children from a Southern Brazilian City: A Population-Based Study. J Phys.Act.Health.
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess physical activity (PA) patterns (intensity and prevalence) in children according to demographic, socioeconomic and familiar characteristics. METHODS: In 2010, a cross-sectional study of 239 children aged 4 to 11 was conducted, in Pelotas, Southern Brazil. PA was measured by accelerometry and classified in different intensities. Insufficient physical activity was defined as less than 60 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA. Descriptive analyses of accelerometry-related variables were presented. Multivariate Poisson regression models were used to estimate the association between physical insufficient PA and co-variates. RESULTS: For both sexes, around 65% of the registered time was spent in sedentary activities and less than 20 min/day in vigorous activity. Age and economic status were inversely associated to PA in all categories of PA. Moderate and vigorous activities means were higher in boys than in girls. The prevalence of insufficient PA was 34.5% in girls and 19.5% in boys. CONCLUSIONS: We found important differences in physical activity patterns according to sex and economic status, as well as a significant decline in time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA with increasing age. Understanding the relationship between these sociodemographic factors is important to tackle low levels of PA
Black, A. C., Harel, O., & Matthews, G. (2012). Techniques for analyzing intensive longitudinal data with missing values. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 339-356). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Longitudinal studies are unique in their requirement of respondents to provide data repeatedly over time. Such studies may require multiple responses in a day, as may occur with experience sampling (or ecological momentary sampling), or may require participants to respond less frequently over a longer period of time. Particular threats to repeated measures studies, and specifically those involving momentary assessment, are fatigue, forgetfulness, noncompliance, and dropout. The result is unplanned missing data (MD). In this chapter, we discuss the problems and causes of missing data in studies of daily life that involve repeated measures, recommend techniques to prevent or minimize the occurrence of missing data, outline how analysts can determine what assumptions are most appropriate for their data, and review typical and best practices for handling incomplete intensive longitudinal data. We present a motivating example, using a subset of data collected by Conner (2009), in which university students were asked to provide daily diary data about their alcohol use and well-being over a 21-day period. In the example, we impose missing values on two variables and illustrate model parameter estimation with various MD techniques, demonstrating the impact of MD and the utility of informed methods for deriving unbiased and efficient estimates.
Bradley, R. H., McRitchie, S., Houts, R. M., Nader, P., & O’Brien, M. (2011). Parenting and the decline of physical activity from age 9 to 15. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8.
Background: There is a rapid decline in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during middle childhood and adolescence. Information on the environmental factors implicated in this decline is limited. This study focuses on family factors associated with the rate of decline in objectively measured physical activity during middle childhood and adolescence. Methods: Longitudinal analysis of 801 participants from 10 US sites in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development whose data included accelerometer-determined levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) between ages 9 and 15 years, as well as family process, BMI and demographic information. The sample included an even split of boys (49%) and girls (51%), was predominantly white (77%), and contained about 26% low income and 19% single parent families. The outcome measure was mean MVPA. It was based on 4 to 7 days of monitored physical activity. Results: Boys with lower parental monitoring scores and more days of parental encouragement had significantly more minutes of MVPA at age 9 years. The effect of parental monitoring, however, was moderated by early puberty. High parental monitoring was associated with decreased activity levels for boys experiencing later puberty and increased activity for boy experiencing early puberty. Minutes of MVPA for boys living in the Midwest decreased at significantly faster rates than boys living in any other region; and boys in the South declined faster than boys in the West. Girls in the Midwest and South declined faster than girls in the West and Northeast. Among girls, more days of parental exercise and transportation to activities were associated with more MVPA per day at age 9. However, more parental transportation to activities and less monitoring was associated with faster linear declines in daughtersGÇÖ MVPA between the ages of 9 and 15 years. For girls who experienced puberty early, parental encouragement was associated with more MVPA. Conclusions: Parenting processes, such as monitoring and encouragement, as well as the parents’ own level of physical activity, showed significant, but small, gender-specific associations with MVPA levels at age nine and the linear rate of decline in MVPA between ages 9 and 15.
Brown, B. M., Peiffer, J. J., Sohrabi, H. R., Mondal, A., Gupta, V. B., Rainey-Smith, S. R. et al. (2012). Intense physical activity is associated with cognitive performance in the elderly. Transl.Psychiatry, 2, e191.
Numerous studies have reported positive impacts of physical activity on cognitive function. However, the majority of these studies have utilised physical activity questionnaires or surveys, thus results may have been influenced by reporting biases. Through the objective measurement of routine levels of physical activity via actigraphy, we report a significant association between intensity, but not volume, of physical activity and cognitive functioning. A cohort of 217 participants (aged 60-89 years) wore an actigraphy unit for 7 consecutive days and underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. The cohort was stratified into tertiles based on physical activity intensity. Compared with individuals in the lowest tertile of physical activity intensity, those in the highest tertile scored 9%, 9%, 6% and 21% higher on the digit span, digit symbol, Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT) copy and Rey Figure Test 30-min recall test, respectively. Statistically, participants in the highest tertile of physical activity intensity performed significantly better on the following cognitive tasks: digit symbol, RCFT copy and verbal fluency test (all P<0.05). The results indicate that intensity rather than quantity of physical activity may be more important in the association between physical activity and cognitive function
Bussmann, J. B. J. & Ebner-Priemer, U. W. (2012). Ambulatory assessment of movement behavior: Methodology, measurement, and application. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 235-250). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Behavior is central to psychology in almost any definition of the field. A specific sub-domain of behavior is movement behavior, the overt performance of postures, movements, and activities in daily life, and its covert physiological consequences. Although overt behavior is a core aspect of psychology, assessment strategies have tended to focus on emotional, cognitive, or physiological responses. However, there is converging evidence that movement behavior is a unique and relevant domain of interest that cannot accurately be assessed by self-reports, questionnaires, or other instruments. The methodology of ambulatory assessment of movement behavior has benefited from a number of major developments over the last 15 years: New movement sensors and advanced computer algorithms allow precise, long-term, and user-friendly assessment of movement behavior, such as the amount of physical activity, momentary posture, basic types of motion, as well as movement pathologies in everyday life. Movement behavior thus includes not only quantitative aspects such as the amount and intensity of postures, movements, and activities but also qualitative aspects related to “how people move,” such as smoothness of movement, speed, and movement patterns. With this overview, we aim to introduce recent developments in ambulatory activity monitoring to a broad readership in psychology. We (1) report on some conceptual issues around the assessment of movement behavior; (2) provide a summary of techniques and instruments used to assess activity, postures, and movement; (3) discuss methodological aspects of measurement; and (4) demonstrate recent applications of ambulatory assessment of physical activity, posture, and movement within a wide range of psychological topics.
Carlstedt, R. A. (2012). Case 9-Psychophysiological assessment and biofeedback during official baseball games: Procedures, methodologies, findings and critical issues in applied sport psychology. In W.A.Edmonds & G. Tenenbaum (Eds.), Case studies in applied psychophysiology: Neurofeedback and biofeedback treatments for advances in human performance (pp. 160-200). Wiley-Blackwell.
(from the chapter) This chapter presents a validated multifaceted assessment and intervention protocol (Carlstedt Protocol; CP) that has been used on hundreds of athletes over the last 15 years. It is conceptually based on an integrative individual-differences model of peak performance that is supported by strong construct validity and an extensive evolving database of psychophysiological and performance relationships and findings across numerous sports. The CP stresses ecological validity, real-time psychophysiological monitoring, biofeedback-based multimodal intervention and importantly, extensive efficacy testing. The protocol involves a step-by-step hierarchical evidence-based approach that is predicated on the comprehensive assessment of athlete mind-body-motor response tendencies in pre-intervention and intervention phases prior to, during and after practice and official competition (real games/matches). The goal of the protocol is to establish statistical relationships between interventions and objective macro and micro outcome measures of a specific sport, the benchmark for determining whether a mental training method works and to what extent. It was designed to bring accountability to the assessment and intervention process in the fields of sport psychology and biofeedback. Readers will be exposed to specific components of the CP that were applied to starting players on an elite youth baseball team. Group data and findings will be presented along with contrasting case studies that demonstrate wide variability in terms of outcome or intervention efficacy, considerations that are crucial to higher evidentiary athlete assessment and mental training will be featured. It should be noted that this is the first study on record in which athletes’ psychophysiological responses were monitored and measured during official league games over the course of an entire season. Pre-intervention assessment and intervention phases (biofeedback) were carried out prior to every at-bat (over 1200 data points/repeated measures; about 100-150 at-bats per player). Complete datasets of psychometric, behavioral, psychophysiological (heart rate variability) and critical moment performance statistics (predictor and macro-micro criterion measures) were generated for analysis and athlete (client) feedback purposes. In addition to discussing group and case study findings, particular attention will be paid to critical issues in applied sport psychology/sport psychophysiology and biofeedback. A goal of this chapter is not only to present data and findings on athletes who have experienced the CP but also advocate for the integration of procedures and methodologies that are vital to evidence-based applied sport psychology, the credibility of the field of sport psychology/biofeedback and its practitioners. Consequently, points of critique and rationale for doing specific things within the protocol will be discussed throughout the chapter. As I progress through specific procedures of the CP player data will be inserted along with comments regarding their relevance. Certain procedures, methods and response outtakes (e.g. heart rate variability reports) will also be shown and discussed.
Ceja, L. & Navarro, J. (2012). ‘Suddenly I get into the zone’: Examining discontinuities and nonlinear changes in flow experiences at work. Human Relations, 65, 1101-1127.
Work-related flow is defined as a sudden and enjoyable merging of action and awareness that represents a peak experience in the daily lives of workers. Employees’ perceptions of challenge and skill and their subjective experiences in terms of enjoyment, interest and absorption were measured using the experience sampling method, yielding a total of 6981 observations from a sample of 60 employees. Linear and nonlinear approaches were applied in order to model both continuous and sudden changes. According to the R², AICc and BIC indexes, the nonlinear dynamical systems model (i.e. cusp catastrophe model) fit the data better than the linear and logistic regression models. Likewise, the cusp catastrophe model appears to be especially powerful for modelling those cases of high levels of flow. Overall, flow represents a nonequilibrium condition that combines continuous and abrupt changes across time. Research and intervention efforts concerned with this process should focus on the variable of challenge, which, according to our study, appears to play a key role in the abrupt changes observed in work-related flow.
Clays, E., De, B. D., Van, H. K., De, B. G., Kittel, F., & Holtermann, A. (2012). Occupational and leisure time physical activity in contrasting relation to ambulatory blood pressure. BMC Public Health, 12, 1002.
BACKGROUND: While moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activities are well documented to decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease, several studies have demonstrated an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in workers with high occupational activity. Research on the underlying causes to the contrasting effects of occupational and leisure time physical activity on cardiovascular health is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the relation of objective and self-report measures of occupational and leisure time physical activity with 24-h ambulatory systolic blood pressure (BP). METHODS: Results for self-reported physical activity are based on observations in 182 workers (60% male, mean age 51 years), while valid objective physical activity data were available in 151 participants. The usual level of physical activity was assessed by 5 items from the Job Content Questionnaire (high physical effort, lifting heavy loads, rapid physical activity, awkward body positions and awkward positions of head or arms at work) and one item asking about the general level of physical activity during non-working time. On a regular working day, participants wore an ambulatory BP monitor and an accelerometer physical activity monitor during 24 h. Associations were examined by means of Analysis of Covariance. RESULTS: Workers with an overall high level of self-reported occupational physical activity as well as those who reported to often lift heavy loads at work had a higher mean systolic BP at work, at home and during sleep. However, no associations were observed between objectively measured occupational physical activity and BP. In contrast, those with objectively measured high proportion of moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activity had a significantly lower mean systolic BP during daytime, while no differences were observed according to self-reported level of leisure time physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that workers reporting static occupational physical activities, unlike general physically demanding tasks characterized by dynamic movements of large muscle groups, are related to a higher daily systolic BP, while high objective levels of moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activity are related to lower daytime systolic BP. Ambulatory systolic BP may be a physiological explanatory factor for the contrasting effects of occupational and leisure time physical activity
Cooper, A. R., Page, A. S., Wheeler, B. W., Hillsdon, M., Griew, P., & Jago, R. (2010). Patterns of GPS measured time outdoors after school and objective physical activity in English children: The PEACH project. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7.
Background: Observational studies have shown a positive association between time outdoors and physical activity in children. Time outdoors may be a feasible intervention target to increase the physical activity of youth, but methods are required to accurately measure time spent outdoors in a range of locations and over a sustained period. The Global Positioning System (GPS) provides precise location data and can be used to identify when an individual is outdoors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether GPS data recorded outdoors were associated with objectively measured physical activity. Methods: Participants were 1010 children (11.0 ± 0.4 years) recruited from 23 urban primary schools in South West England, measured between September 2006 and July 2008. Physical activity was measured by accelerometry (Actigraph GT1M) and children wore a GPS receiver (Garmin Foretrex 201) after school on four weekdays to record time outdoors. Accelerometer and GPS data were recorded at 10 second epochs and were combined to describe patterns of physical activity when both a GPS and accelerometer record were present (outdoors) and when there was accelerometer data only (indoors). ANOVA was used to investigate gender and seasonal differences in the patterns of outdoor and indoor physical activity, and linear regression was used to examine the cross-sectional associations between GPS-measured time outdoors and physical activity. Results: GPS-measured time outdoors was a significant independent predictor of children’s physical activity after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Physical activity was more than 2.5 fold higher outdoors than indoors (1345.8 ± 907.3 vs 508.9 ± 282.9 counts per minute; F=783.2, p < .001). Overall, children recorded 41.7 ± 46.1 minutes outdoors between 3.30 pm and 8.30 pm, with more time spent outdoors in the summer months (p < .001). There was no gender difference in time spent outdoors. Physical activity outdoors was higher in the summer than the winter (p < .001), whilst there was no seasonal variation in physical activity indoors. Conclusions: Duration of GPS recording is positively associated with objectively measured physical activity and is sensitive to seasonal differences. Minute by minute patterning of GPS and physical activity data is feasible and may be a useful tool to investigate environmental influences on children’s physical activity and to identify opportunities for intervention.
Cranwell, J., Golightly, D., Fischer, J. E., Sharples, S., & O’Malley, C. (2012). Using mobile applications that combine self-report micro surveys to enhance GPS tracking data. The International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment, 11, 55-74.
Investigating highly contextual behaviours, such as travel choices or health activities, can benefit from automated data capture using GPS, but also require self-report of actions and intentions. We present a case study of how event-based micro-surveys can be combined with GPS to understand car sharing behaviour. An opportunity sample of 24 participants took part in a seven-day study. At the start of each journey, participants used a smartphone-based application to provide basic self-report information about their journeys and their amenability to sharing. The application then tracked their journey giving a GPS trace for distance, time and duration. The combined micro-survey and GPS approach gave useful data relating whether journeys were shared, whether they could be shared, and some of the characteristics of those journeys. This supported exploratory analysis and hypothesis testing. However, usability of the application was a major consideration in the acceptability of the study, particularly with regards to the design of open questions. Also, the time sensitive nature of contextual behaviour means there is a trade-off between the depth of data captured by micro-survey, and survey completion. Overall, while we find there is empirical value in the combination of micro-survey and GPS, application usability, and appropriate design to reflect the behaviour under study are major factors in the success of this approach.
De Young, K. P., Lavender, J. M., Wonderlich, S. A., Crosby, R. D., Engel, S. G., Mitchell, J. E. et al. (2012). Moderators of post-binge eating negative emotion in eating disorders. J Psychiatr.Res.
The purpose of this study was to test the impact of two variables on post-binge eating negative emotion in a combined sample of women with anorexia nervosa (AN; n = 47) and bulimia nervosa (BN; n = 121). Participants completed two weeks of an ecological momentary assessment protocol during which they provided multiple daily ratings of overall negative affect and guilt and reported eating disorder behaviors including binge eating and self-induced vomiting. The results indicate that both overall negative affect and guilt exhibited a statistically significantly decrease in the hour immediately following binge eating episodes. The decrease in guilt, but not overall negative affect, was moderated by eating disorder diagnosis and the tendency to engage in self-induced vomiting. Specifically, individuals with BN reported a greater reduction in guilt than those with AN, and individuals who did not typically engage in self-induced vomiting reported more decreases in guilt than those who typically engaged in self-induced vomiting. This study extends the existing literature on the relationship between negative affect and eating disorder behaviors, suggesting guilt as a potentially relevant facet of negative affect in the maintenance of binge eating. In addition, the findings indicate that two individual differences, eating disorder diagnosis and self-induced vomiting, may influence the trajectory of guilt following binge eating episodes
Demiralp, E., Thompson, R. J., Mata, J., Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Barrett, L. F. et al. (2012). Feeling blue or turquoise? Emotional differentiation in major depressive disorder. Psychol.Sci., 23, 1410-1416.
Some individuals have very specific and differentiated emotional experiences, such as anger, shame, excitement, and happiness, whereas others have more general affective experiences of pleasure or discomfort that are not as highly differentiated. Considering that individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) have cognitive deficits for negative information, we predicted that people with MDD would have less differentiated negative emotional experiences than would healthy people. To test this hypothesis, we assessed participants’ emotional experiences using a 7-day experience-sampling protocol. Depression was assessed using structured clinical interviews and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. As predicted, individuals with MDD had less differentiated emotional experiences than did healthy participants, but only for negative emotions. These differences were above and beyond the effects of emotional intensity and variability
Dunton, G. F., Liao, Y., Kawabata, K., & Intille, S. (2012). Momentary assessment of adults’ physical activity and sedentary behavior: Feasibility and validity. Frontiers in Psychology, 3.
Introduction: Mobile phones are ubiquitous and easy to use, and thus have the capacity to collect real-time data from large numbers of people. Research tested the feasibility and validity of an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) self-report protocol using electronic surveys on mobile phones to assess adults’ physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Methods: Adults (N D110; 73% female, 30% Hispanic, 62% overweight/obese) completed a 4-day signal-contingent EMA protocol (Saturday-Tuesday) with eight surveys randomly spaced throughout each day. EMA items assessed current activity (e.g., Watching TV/Movies, Reading/Computer, Physical Activity/Exercise). EMA responses were time-matched to minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary activity (SA) measured by accelerometer immediately before and after each EMA prompt. Results: Unanswered EMA prompts had greater MVPA ( 15 min) than answered EMA prompts (p D0.029) for under/normal weight participants, indicating that activity level might influence the likelihood of responding. The 15-min. intervals before versus after the EMA-reported physical activity (n = 296 occasions) did not differ in MVPA (p > 0.05), suggesting that prompting did not disrupt physical activity. SA decreased after EMA-reported sedentary behavior (nD904 occasions; p < 0.05) for overweight and obese participants. As compared with other activities, EMA-reported physical activity and sedentary behavior had significantly greater MVPA and SA, respectively, in the 15 min of the EMA prompt (ps < 0.001), providing evidence for criterion validity. Conclusion: Findings generally support the acceptability and validity of a 4-day signal-contingent EMA protocol using mobile phones to measure physical activity and sedentary behavior in adults. However, some MVPA may be missed among underweight and normal weight individuals.
Eid, M., Courvoisier, D. S., & Lischetzke, T. (2012). Structural equation modeling of ambulatory assessment data. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 384-406). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) From a methodological point of view, the major aim of ambulatory assessment is the measurement of variability over time. If behavior and feelings did not fluctuate over time, ambulatory assessment would be a waste of money because a single measurement would be sufficient for assessing an individual’s behavior or experience. However, not every fluctuation of scores over time indicates that the state of an individual really changes. Fluctuations in scores can just be due to measurement error. Because measurement errors cannot be avoided in the social and behavioral sciences, fluctuations of scores over time are at least partly due to measurement error. The crucial question then is to what degree behavior and feelings are really variable and how error-free states can be measured. Moreover, in order to detect the situational influences on behavior and experiences, the measurement of error-free, occasion-specific variables that can be related to situational characteristics is necessary. Structural equation modeling allows researchers to separate measurement error from true individual scores and is able to distinguish between variability that is due to unsystematic measurement error, and variability that reflects systematic influences of situations and time. Moreover, structural equation modeling offers the possibility to calculate coefficients that indicate the psychometric properties of measures, such as their reliability, stability, and variability. An introduction into structural equation modeling in general is given, for example, by Kline (2010) and Schumacker and Lomax (2010). In this chapter we show how structural equation modeling can be used for ambulatory assessment. We start with models for a single day. We first introduce general models of longitudinal analysis and show how these models can be adapted to the situation of individually varying times of observation. Then we extend this modeling approach to multiple days, focusing on models that are appropriate to analyze interindividual differences. Finally, we show how these models can be used to estimate scores of intraindividual variability.
Elkins, S. R., Moore, T. M., McNulty, J. K., Kivisto, A. J., & Handsel, V. A. (2012). Electronic Diary Assessment of the Temporal Association Between Proximal Anger and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration. Psychology of Violence.
Objective: The temporal association between proximal anger and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration was examined using electronic daily diary assessment methodology. In addition, relevant demographic and relational variables were examined as potential moderators of the association between anger and IPV perpetration. Method: Participants were 184 men and women in dating relationships who completed daily surveys reporting anger and IPV for a period of 2 months. Results: Increases in proximal anger were associated with greater odds of psychological (2.78), physical (2.38), and sexual aggression perpetration (2.27). Analyses also demonstrated a quadratic relationship for psychological aggression and proximal anger, such that increased anger was more strongly associated with psychological aggression when anger was relatively low versus higher in the first place. Moderators of the relationship between proximal anger and IPV perpetration included age and length of relationship. Conclusions: These data are the first to provide evidence for the temporal relationship between anger and IPV perpetration. Data support electronic diary assessment as an effective way to assess moment-to-moment partner interactions, increase participant compliance, and minimize retrospective recall bias. Electronic diary assessment may also hold promise for the creation of intervention programs that address proximal anger in conjunction with distal variables that increase risk for IPV perpetration.
Fanning, J., Mullen, S. P., & McAuley, E. (2012). Increasing physical activity with mobile devices: a meta-analysis. J Med.Internet Res, 14, e161.
BACKGROUND: Regular physical activity has established physical and mental health benefits; however, merely one quarter of the U.S. adult population meets national physical activity recommendations. In an effort to engage individuals who do not meet these guidelines, researchers have utilized popular emerging technologies, including mobile devices (ie, personal digital assistants [PDAs], mobile phones). This study is the first to synthesize current research focused on the use of mobile devices for increasing physical activity. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a meta-analysis of research utilizing mobile devices to influence physical activity behavior. The aims of this review were to: (1) examine the efficacy of mobile devices in the physical activity setting, (2) explore and discuss implementation of device features across studies, and (3) make recommendations for future intervention development. METHODS: We searched electronic databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, SCOPUS) and identified publications through reference lists and requests to experts in the field of mobile health. Studies were included that provided original data and aimed to influence physical activity through dissemination or collection of intervention materials with a mobile device. Data were extracted to calculate effect sizes for individual studies, as were study descriptives. A random effects meta-analysis was conducted using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software suite. Study quality was assessed using the quality of execution portion of the Guide to Community Preventative Services data extraction form. RESULTS: Four studies were of “good” quality and seven of “fair” quality. In total, 1351 individuals participated in 11 unique studies from which 18 effects were extracted and synthesized, yielding an overall weight mean effect size of g = 0.54 (95% CI = 0.17 to 0.91, P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Research utilizing mobile devices is gaining in popularity, and this study suggests that this platform is an effective means for influencing physical activity behavior. Our focus must be on the best possible use of these tools to measure and understand behavior. Therefore, theoretically grounded behavior change interventions that recognize and act on the potential of smartphone technology could provide investigators with an effective tool for increasing physical activity
Fisher, C. D., Minbashian, A., Beckmann, N., & Wood, R. E. (2012). Task Appraisals, Emotions, and Performance Goal Orientation. Journal of Applied Psychology.
We predict real-time fluctuations in employees’ positive and negative emotions from concurrent appraisals of the immediate task situation and individual differences in performance goal orientation. Task confidence, task importance, positive emotions, and negative emotions were assessed 5 times per day for 3 weeks in an experience sampling study of 135 managers. At the within-person level, appraisals of task confidence, task importance, and their interaction predicted momentary positive and negative emotions as hypothesized. Dispositional performance goal orientation was expected to moderate emotional reactivity to appraisals of task confidence and task importance. The hypothesized relationships were significant in the case of appraisals of task importance. Those high on performance goal orientation reacted to appraisals of task importance with stronger negative and weaker positive emotions than those low on performance goal orientation.
Fisher, C. D. & To, M. L. (2012). Using experience sampling methodology in organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33, 865-877.
Experience sampling methodology and daily diary (ESM/DD) research elicits repeated reports of immediate or very recent experiences from the same sample of people for several days or weeks. Experience sampling and diary methods were almost unheard of in organizational research 15 years ago, but the past decade has seen a rapid rise in their use. These methods are helpful in studying dynamic within-person processes involving affect, behavior, interpersonal interactions, work events, and other transient workplace phenomena over time. Assessing cross-level effects of traits or other stable features on within-person processes and reactivity is also possible with ESM/DD data. We provide an introduction to issues in designing and carrying out an ESM/DD study, including data collection choices and schedules, measures, technology, training and motivation of participants, and analysis of multilevel data. We offer best practice recommendations and refer readers to further resources for additional detail on conducting and analyzing ESM/DD research.
Fleeson, W. & Noftle, E. E. (2012). Personality research. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 525-538). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Experience sampling methodology (ESM) is a method that allows for repeated measurement of behavior states within the context of individuals’ everyday lives. Our purpose in this chapter is to articulate the kinds of conceptual questions about personality that ESM and other daily methods are uniquely suited to address. Because of its ability to assess what is actually happening in the moment, on multiple occasions, ESM opens up new questions about the trait-behavior relationship and the manifestation, the dynamics, and the inner workings of personality. In other words, how much and in what ways do people’s traits influence behavior? How do people’s personalities and behavior vary across occasions and time? How do people’s traits function, and according to which internal processes? Although ESM has contributed a great deal of understanding to the connection between relationship variables and behavior (Gable, Gosnell, & Prok, this volume), and affective traits and experienced affect (e.g., Augustine & Larsen, this volume), we wish to locate this chapter more centrally in the conceptual domain of personality by articulating five specific conceptual questions that are relevant to personality and are addressable by ESM.
Gabriel, K. P., McClain, J. J., Schmid, K. K., Storti, K. L., High, R. R., Underwood, D. A. et al. (2010). Issues in accelerometer methodology: The role of epoch length on estimates of physical activity and relationships with health outcomes in overweight, post-menopausal women. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7.
Current accelerometer technology allows for data collection using brief time sampling intervals (i.e., epochs). The study aims were to examine the role of epoch length on physical activity estimates and subsequent relationships with clinically-meaningful health outcomes in post-menopausal women. Methods: Data was obtained from the Woman On the Move through Activity and Nutrition Study (n = 102). Differences in activity estimates presented as 60s and 10s epochs were evaluated using paired t-tests. Relationships with health outcomes were examined using correlational and regression analyses to evaluate differences by epoch length. Results: Inactivity, moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity (MVPA) were significantly higher and light-intensity activity was significantly lower (all P < 0.001) when presented as 10s epochs. The correlation between inactivity and self-reported physical activity was stronger with 10s estimates (P < 0.03); however, the regression slopes were not significantly different. Conversely, relationships between MVPA and body weight, BMI, whole body and trunk lean and fat mass, and femoral neck bone mineral density was stronger with 60s estimates (all P < 0.05); however, regression slopes were similar. Conclusion: These findings suggest that although the use of a shorter time sampling interval may suggestively reduce misclassification error of physical activity estimates, associations with health outcomes did not yield strikingly different results. Additional studies are needed to further our understanding of the ways in which epoch length contributes to the ascertainment of physical activity in research studies.
Gastin, P. B., Meyer, D., & Robinson, D. (2012). Perceptions of wellness to monitor adaptive responses to training and competition in elite Australian football. J Strength.Cond.Res.
Perceptions of wellness are often used by athletes and coaches to assess adaptive responses to training. The purpose of this research was to describe how players were coping with the demands of elite level Australian football over a competitive season using subjective ratings of physical and psychological wellness and to assess the ecological validity of such a monitoring approach. Twenty seven players completed ratings for nine items (fatigue, general muscle, hamstring, quadriceps, pain/stiffness, power, sleep quality, stress, wellbeing). Players subjectively rated each item as they arrived at the training or competition venue on a 1 - 5 visual analog scale, with 1 representing the positive end of the continuum. A total of 2,583 questionnaires were analysed from completions on 183 days throughout the season (92 +/- 24 per player, 103 +/- 20 per week; mean +/- SD). Descriptive statistics and multi-level modelling were used to understand how player ratings of wellness varied over the season and during the week leading into game day and whether selected player characteristics moderated these relationships. Results indicated that subjective ratings of physical and psychological wellness were sensitive to weekly training manipulations (i.e., improve steadily throughout the week to a game day low, p < 0.001), to periods of unloading during the season (i.e., a week of no competition, p < 0.05) and to individual player characteristics (e.g., muscle strain after a game was poorer in players with high maximum speed, p < 0.01). It is concluded that self-reported player ratings of wellness provide a useful tool for coaches and practitioners to monitor player responses to the rigorous demands of training, competition and life as a professional athlete
Gidlow, C. J., Cochrane, T., Davey, R., & Smith, H. (2008). In-school and out-of-school physical activity in primary and secondary school children. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26, 1411-1419.
The aim of this study was to compare in-school and out-of-school physical activity within a representative sample. Socio-demographic, physical activity, and anthropometric data were collected from a random sample of children (250 boys, 253 girls) aged 3-16 years attending nine primary and two secondary schools. Actigraph GT1M accelerometers, worn for seven days, were used to estimate physical activity levels for in-school (typically 09.00-15.00 h), out-of-school (weekday), and weekend periods. Physical activity as accelerometer counts per minute were lower in school versus out of school overall (in school: 437.2 -¦ 172.9; out of school: 575.5 -¦ 202.8; P < 0.001), especially in secondary school pupils (secondary: 321.6 ± 127.5; primary: 579.2 ± 216.3; P < 0.001). Minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity accumulated in school accounted for 29.4 ± 9.8% of total weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity overall but varied by sector (preschool: 37.4 ± 6.2%; primary: 33.6 ± 8.1%; secondary: 23.0 ± 9.3%; F = 114.3, P < 0.001). Approximately half of the children with the lowest in-school activity compensated out of school during the week (47.4%) and about one-third at the weekend (30.0%). Overall, physical activity during the school day appears to be lower than that out of school, especially in secondary school children, who accumulate a lower proportion of their total weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity at school than younger children. As low in-school activity was compensated for beyond the school setting by less than half of children, promoting physical activity within the school day is important, especially in secondary schools.
Giesbrecht, G. F., Letourneau, N., Campbell, T., & Kaplan, B. J. (2012). Affective experience in ecologically relevant contexts is dynamic and not progressively attenuated during pregnancy. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 15, 481-485.
Pregnancy is thought to diminish a woman’s appraisal of and affective response to stressors. To examine this assumption, we used an electronic diary and an ecological momentary assessment strategy to record women’s (n = 85) experiences of positive and negative affect five times each day over 2 days within each trimester of pregnancy. The women also completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in each trimester. Multilevel modeling indicated nonlinear patterns for both positive and negative affect that differed by the level of depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that changes in the psychological experience over the course of pregnancy are dynamic and not progressively attenuated.
Godard, C., Roman, M., Rodriguez, M. P., Leyton, B., & Salazar, G. (2012). Variability of physical activity in 4 to 10-year-old children: a study by accelerometry. Arch.Argent Pediatr., 110, 388-393.
INTRODUCTION: When compared to popular questionnaires, accelerometry provides more reliable information regarding physical activity. Thus, the objective has been to document the variability of physical activity in Chilean children in relation to age, gender, nutritional status and days of the week, and to determine how many of them meet the recommendation for moderate to vigorous physical activity for more than an hour a day. POPULATION AND METHODS: One hundred and nine (109) school children aged 4-10 (67 boys, 42 girls) wore an accelerometer for 2, 3 or 4 consecutive days. Of them, 30 were obese (BMI>95th percentile by age and gender). In each subject, levels of physical activity were expressed in counts per minute (cpm) and means (SD) of cpm/hour. Moderate to vigorous physical activity was defined by the daily sum of cpm>900. RESULTS: Daytime physical activity had a mean of 21,697 (662) cpm/hour with considerable variation from one child to another, and from one time of the day to another in the same child. Individual cpm/hour was significantly associated to moderate to vigorous physical activity (R = 0.954). Differences were found between girls and boys (p < 0.01) and between obese and non-obese children (p < 0.01). There were no differences between children 9 years (p = 0.12). There was a slight difference between weekdays and weekends. Fifty-six (56) of 67 boys (83.6%) and 24 of 42 girls (57.1%) met the recommendation for moderate to vigorous physical activity for more than 60 minutes a day. CONCLUSION: There is a physical activity defcit in Chilean school children under 10 years, particularly in girls and obese kids
Gruber, R., Fontil, L., Bergmame, L., Wiebe, S. T., Amsel, R., Frenette, S. et al. (2012). Contributions of circadian tendencies and behavioral problems to sleep onset problems of children with ADHD. BMC Psychiatry, 12, 212.
BACKGROUND: Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are two to three times more likely to experience sleep problems. The purpose of this study is to determine the relative contributions of circadian preferences and behavioral problems to sleep onset problems experienced by children with ADHD and to test for a moderation effect of ADHD diagnosis on the impact of circadian preferences and externalizing problems on sleep onset problems. METHODS: After initial screening, parents of children meeting inclusion criteria documented child bedtime over 4 nights, using a sleep log, and completed questionnaires regarding sleep, ADHD and demographics to assess bedtime routine prior to PSG. On the fifth night of the study, sleep was recorded via ambulatory assessment of sleep architecture in the child’s natural sleep environment employing portable polysomnography equipment. Seventy-five children (26 with ADHD and 49 controls) aged 7-11 years (mean age 8.61 years, SD 1.27 years) participated in the present study. RESULTS: In both groups of children, externalizing problems yielded significant independent contributions to the explained variance in parental reports of bedtime resistance, whereas an evening circadian tendency contributed both to parental reports of sleep onset delay and to PSG-measured sleep-onset latency. No significant interaction effect of behavioral/circadian tendency with ADHD status was evident. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep onset problems in ADHD are related to different etiologies that might require different interventional strategies and can be distinguished using the parental reports on the CSHQ
Grühn, D., Lumley, M. A., Diehl, M., & Labouvie-Vief, G. (2012). Time-Based Indicators of Emotional Complexity: Interrelations and Correlates. Emotion.
Emotional complexity has been regarded as one correlate of adaptive emotion regulation in adulthood. One novel and potentially valuable approach to operationalizing emotional complexity is to use reports of emotions obtained repeatedly in real time, which can generate a number of potential time-based indicators of emotional complexity. It is not known, however, how these indicators relate to each other, to other measures of affective complexity, such as those derived from a cognitive-developmental view of emotional complexity, or to measures of adaptive functioning, such as well-being. A sample of 109 adults, aged 23 to 90 years, participated in an experience-sampling study and reported their negative and positive affect five times a day for one week. Based on these reports, we calculated nine different time-based indicators potentially reflecting emotional complexity. Analyses showed three major findings: First, the indicators showed a diverse pattern of interrelations suggestive of four distinct components of emotional complexity. Second, age was generally not related to time-based indicators of emotional complexity; however, older adults showed overall low variability in negative affect. Third, time-based indicators of emotional complexity were either unrelated or inversely related to measures of adaptive functioning; that is, these measures tended to predict a less adaptive profile, such as lower subjective and psychological well-being. In sum, time-based indicators of emotional complexity displayed a more complex and less beneficial picture than originally thought. In particular, variability in negative affect seems to indicate suboptimal adjustments. Future research would benefit from collecting empirical data for the interrelations and correlates of time-based indicators of emotional complexity in different contexts.
Hallman, D. M. & Lyskov, E. (2012). Autonomic regulation, physical activity and perceived stress in subjects with musculoskeletal pain: 24-hour ambulatory monitoring. Int.J Psychophysiol., 86, 276-282.
The aim of the study was to investigate autonomic nervous system regulation, physical activity (PA) and perceived stress and energy during daily activities in subjects with chronic muscle pain in the neck-shoulders (trapezius myalgia) (n=23) and symptom-free controls (n=22). Subjects underwent 24-hour objective ambulatory monitoring of heart rate variability (HRV) and PA, and reported their perceived stress and energy in a diary. Standard HRV measures were extracted in time and frequency domains. The volume and pattern of different types of activities were quantified in terms of intensity and duration of walking, and time spent sitting, standing and lying during the 24-hour measurement. Results showed shortened inter-beat-intervals (higher heart rate) and reduced HRV in the pain group, most pronounced during sleep (p<0.05). For overall PA, the pain group showed increased lying time, compared to controls (p<0.05). A different activity pattern was found in the pain group, with reduced leisure time PA and increased PA during morning hours, in comparison with controls (p<0.05). Both groups demonstrated low levels of perceived stress, whereas reduced energy was observed in the pain group (p<0.05). In conclusion, monitoring of 24-hour HRV demonstrated diminished HRV among persons with chronic neck-shoulder pain. This reflected aberration in autonomic regulation, suggesting reduced parasympathetic activation and increased sympathetic tone as an element in maintenance of chronic muscle pain
Han, M., Vinh, L. T., Lee, Y. K., & Lee, S. (2012). Comprehensive context recognizer based on multimodal sensors in a smartphone. Sensors.(Basel), 12, 12588-12605.
Recent developments in smartphones have increased the processing capabilities and equipped these devices with a number of built-in multimodal sensors, including accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS interfaces, Wi-Fi access, and proximity sensors. Despite the fact that numerous studies have investigated the development of user-context aware applications using smartphones, these applications are currently only able to recognize simple contexts using a single type of sensor. Therefore, in this work, we introduce a comprehensive approach for context aware applications that utilizes the multimodal sensors in smartphones. The proposed system is not only able to recognize different kinds of contexts with high accuracy, but it is also able to optimize the power consumption since power-hungry sensors can be activated or deactivated at appropriate times. Additionally, the system is able to recognize activities wherever the smartphone is on a human’s body, even when the user is using the phone to make a phone call, manipulate applications, play games, or listen to music. Furthermore, we also present a novel feature selection algorithm for the accelerometer classification module. The proposed feature selection algorithm helps select good features and eliminates bad features, thereby improving the overall accuracy of the accelerometer classifier. Experimental results show that the proposed system can classify eight activities with an accuracy of 92.43%
Harrison, C. L., Thompson, R. G., Teede, H. J., & Lombard, C. B. (2011). Measuring physical activity during pregnancy. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8.
Background: Currently, little is known about physical activity patterns in pregnancy with prior estimates predominantly based on subjective assessment measures that are prone to error. Given the increasing obesity rates and the importance of physical activity in pregnancy, we evaluated the relationship and agreement between subjective and objective physical activity assessment tools to inform researchers and clinicians on optimal assessment of physical activity in pregnancy. Methods: 48 pregnant women between 26-28 weeks gestation were recruited. The Yamax pedometer and Actigraph accelerometer were worn for 5-7 days under free living conditions and thereafter the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was completed. IPAQ and pedometer estimates of activity were compared to the more robust and accurate accelerometer data. Results: Of 48 women recruited, 30 women completed the study (mean age: 33.6 ± 4.7 years; mean BMI: 31.2 ± 5.1 kg/m²) and 18 were excluded (failure to wear [n = 8] and incomplete data [n = 10]). The accelerometer and pedometer correlated significantly on estimation of daily steps (? = 0.69, p < 0.01) and had good absolute agreement with low systematic error (mean difference: 505 ± 1498 steps/day). Accelerometer and IPAQ estimates of total, light and moderate Metabolic Equivalent minutes/day (MET min[sup]-1[/sup] day[sup]-1[/sup]) were not significantly correlated and there was poor absolute agreement. Relative to the accelerometer, the IPAQ under predicted daily total METs (105.76 ± 259.13 min-1 day-1) and light METs (255.55 ± 128.41 min[sup]-1[/sup] day[sup]-1[/sup]) and over predicted moderate METs (-112.25 ± 166.41 min[sup]-1[/sup] day[sup]-1[/sup]). Conclusion: Compared with the accelerometer, the pedometer appears to provide a reliable estimate of physical activity in pregnancy, whereas the subjective IPAQ measure performed less accurately in this setting. Future research measuring activity in pregnancy should optimally encompass objective measures of physical activity.
Hart, T. L., Swartz, A. M., Cashin, S. E., & Strath, S. J. (2011). How many days of monitoring predict physical activity and sedentary behaviour in older adults? The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8.
Background: The number of days of pedometer or accelerometer data needed to reliably assess physical activity (PA) is important for research that examines the relationship with health. While this important research has been completed in young to middle-aged adults, data is lacking in older adults. Further, data determining the number of days of self-reports PA data is also void. The purpose of this study was to examine the number of days needed to predict habitual PA and sedentary behavior across pedometer, accelerometer, and physical activity log (PA log) data in older adults. Methods: Participants (52 older men and women; age = 69.3 ± 7.4 years, range= 55-86 years) wore a Yamax Digiwalker SW-200 pedometer and an ActiGraph 7164 accelerometer while completing a PA log for 21 consecutive days. Mean differences each instrument and intensity between days of the week were examined using separate repeated measures analysis of variance for with pairwise comparisons. Spearman-Brown Prophecy Formulae based on Intraclass Correlations of .80, .85, .90 and .95 were used to predict the number of days of accelerometer or pedometer wear or PA log daily records needed to represent total PA, light PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA, and sedentary behavior. Results: Results of this study showed that three days of accelerometer data, four days of pedometer data, or four days of completing PA logs are needed to accurately predict PA levels in older adults. When examining time spent in specific intensities of PA, fewer days of data are needed for accurate prediction of time spent in that activity for ActiGraph but more for the PA log. To accurately predict average daily time spent in sedentary behavior, five days of ActiGraph data are needed. Conclusions: The number days of objective (pedometer and ActiGraph) and subjective (PA log) data needed to accurately estimate daily PA in older adults was relatively consistent. Despite no statistical differences between days for total PA by the pedometer and ActiGraph, the magnitude of differences between days suggests that day of the week cannot be completely ignored in the design and analysis of PA studies that involve < 7-day monitoring protocols for these instruments. More days of accelerometer data were needed to determine typical sedentary behavior than PA level in this population of older adults.
Hektner, J. M. (2012). Developmental psychology. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 585-600). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) The development of persons is not often perceptible from one moment to the next, or even from one day to the next. Thus, the pillars of developmental science are longitudinal studies spanning years. Nevertheless, micro-longitudinal studies of daily life that produce intensive longitudinal data have been invaluable to the study of development across most of the lifespan. Beginning with Csikszentmihalyi and Larson’s (1984) landmark study of the daily life of adolescents, developmental psychologists have used the experience sampling method (ESM) and its variants to capture the contexts of development, and the relations between those contexts and the behavior and inner psychological life of people. Developmental researchers have always taken context seriously, but they have also striven for methodological rigor, a frequent casualty when moving out of the laboratory. There is also a growing recognition of and interest in variations within people across time and situations. People do not all develop at the same rate or in the same direction, and some may have episodes of regressions followed by spurts of growth. Only research methods designed for studying daily life combine the “real-world,” “real-time,” and “within-person” perspectives in a methodologically rigorous way to satisfy many of the needs of the field of developmental science. The growing importance of such studies to the field is evident from their ever-increasing number and wider range (for a recent review, see Hoppmann & Riediger, 2009). These studies of daily life have been conducted with people ranging from childhood to old age. In the sections that follow, periods of the lifespan provide an organizational structure to a targeted review of the relevant literature. This is done, not to imply that the developmental questions and issues are different in each periodGÇöindeed, several themes recur throughout the lifespanGÇöbut because nearly all of this research is confined to a single developmental period, and most developmental psychologists still specialize in just one part of the lifespan.
Helbig-Lang, S., Lang, T., Petermann, F., & Hoyer, J. (2012). Anticipatory anxiety as a function of panic attacks and panic-related self-efficacy: An ambulatory assessment study in panic disorder. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 40, 590-604.
Background: Panic attacks and anticipatory anxiety are considered to be inter-correlated, yet distinctive, features of panic disorder, both contributing to its onset and maintenance as well as to the associated impairment. Given the difficulty to yield ecologically valid data on these fluctuating symptoms the natural course of anticipatory anxiety and its correlates have seldom been addressed with adequate methods. Aims: The current study aimed at further exploring the natural variance of anticipatory anxiety and its interdependence with panic-related variables. In addition, impact of anxiety sensitivity, and perceived ability to cope with panic on the relation between panic attacks and subsequent anxiety was inspected. Method: Based on an Ecological Momentary Assessment approach, 21 patients with panic disorder rated study variables continuously over one week; 549 question sets were completed. Results: Anticipatory anxiety followed a diurnal pattern and was associated with situational and internal variables typically linked to panic experiences. Preceding panic attacks intensified anticipatory anxiety and associated negative emotional states; however, perceived ability to cope attenuated these effects. Conclusion: Based on natural observation data, results largely support the importance of cognitive appraisals for anticipatory anxiety, and its interplay with panic attacks as it has been suggested by cognitive theory and recent findings in extinction learning research.
Hermida, R. C., Ayala, D. E., Fontao, M. J., Mojon, A., & Fernandez, J. R. (2012). Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring: Importance of Sampling Rate and Duration-48 Versus 24 Hours-on the Accurate Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk. Chronobiol.Int..
Independent prospective studies have found that ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM) is more closely correlated with target organ damage and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk than clinic BP measurement. This is based on studies in which BP was sampled every 15-30 min for </=24 h, without taking into account that reproducibility of any estimated parameter from a time series to be potentially used for CVD risk assessment might depend more on monitoring duration than on sampling rate. Herein, we evaluated the influence of duration (48 vs. 24 h) and sampling rate of BP measurements (form every 20-30 min up to every 2 h) on the prognostic value of ABPM-derived parameters. We prospectively studied 3344 subjects (1718 men/1626 women), 52.6 +/- 14.5 yrs of age, during a median follow-up of 5.6 yrs. Those with hypertension at baseline were randomized to ingest all their prescribed hypertension medications upon awakening or >/=1 of them at bedtime. At baseline, BP was measured at 20-min intervals from 07:00 to 23:00 h and at 30-min intervals at night for 48 h, and physical activity was simultaneously monitored every min by wrist actigraphy to accurately derive the awake and asleep BP means. Identical assessment was scheduled annually and more frequently (quarterly) if treatment adjustment was required. ABPM profiles were modified to generate time series of identical 48-h duration but with data sampled at 1- or 2-h intervals, or shorter, i.e., first 24 h, time series with data sampled at the original rate (daytime 20-min intervals/nighttime 30-min intervals). Bland-Altman plots indicated that the range of individual differences in the estimated awake and asleep systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) means between the original and modified ABPM profiles was up to 3-fold smaller for data sampled every 1 h for 48 h than for data sampled every 20-30 min for the first 24 h. Reduction of ABPM duration to just 24 h resulted in error of the estimated asleep SBP mean, the most significant prognostic marker of CVD events, in the range of -21.4 to +23.9 mm Hg. Cox proportional-hazard analyses adjusted for sex, age, diabetes, anemia, and chronic kidney disease revealed comparable hazard ratios (HRs) for mean BP values and sleep-time relative BP decline derived from the original complete 48-h ABPM profiles and those modified to simulate a sampling rate of one BP measurement every 1 or 2 h. The HRs, however, were markedly overestimated for SBP and underestimated for DBP when the duration of ABPM was reduced from 48 to only 24 h. This study on subjects evaluated prospectively by 48-h ABPM documents that reproducibility in the estimates of prognostic ABPM-derived parameters depends markedly on duration of monitoring, and only to a lesser extent on sampling rate. The HR of CVD events associated with increased ambulatory BP is poorly estimated by relying on 24-h ABPM, indicating ABPM for only 24 h may be insufficient for proper diagnosis of hypertension, identification of dipping status, evaluation of treatment efficacy, and, most important, CVD risk stratification. (Author correspondence: [email protected] )
Hislop, J. F., Bulley, C., Mercer, T. H., & Reilly, J. J. (2012). Comparison of accelerometry cut points for physical activity and sedentary behavior in preschool children: a validation study. Pediatr.Exerc.Sci., 24, 563-576.
This study compared accelerometry cut points for sedentary behavior, light and moderate to vigorous intensity activity (MVPA) against a criterion measure, the Children’s Activity Rating Scale (CARS), in preschool children. Actigraph accelerometry data were collected from 31 children (4.4 +/- 0.8 yrs) during one hour of free-play. Video data were coded using the CARS. Cut points by Pate et al., van Cauwenberghe et al., Sirard et al. and Puyau et al. were applied to calculate time spent in sedentary, light and MVPA. Repeated-measures ANOVA and paired t tests tested differences between the cut points and the CARS. Bland and Altman plots tested agreement between the cut points and the CARS. No significant difference was found between the CARS and the Puyau et al. cut points for sedentary, light and MVPA or between the CARS and the Sirard et al. cut point for MVPA. The present study suggests that the Sirard et al. and Puyau et al. cut points provide accurate group-level estimates of MVPA in preschool children
Hjorth, M. F., Chaput, J. P., Damsgaard, C. T., Dalskov, S. M., Michaelsen, K. F., Tetens, I. et al. (2012). Measure of sleep and physical activity by a single accelerometer: Can a waist-worn Actigraph adequately measure sleep in children? Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 10, 328-335.
Accelerometers could potentially be used to assess physical activity and sleep using the same monitor; however, two different positions are typically used for the assessment of physical activity and sleep (waist and wrist, respectively). The aim of this study is to evaluate the concordance between wrist- and waist-worn Actigraphs for sleep scoring using existing algorithms developed for placement on the wrist. Sixty-two Danish children aged 10.3 ± 0.6 years (mean ± standard deviation) wore an accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X+ Tri-Axis Accelerometer Monitor) on the right hip and on the non-dominant wrist for a continuous 7 days and 8 nights. The minute-by-minute sleep-wake agreement was evaluated and the concordance among sleep indicators was assessed using one-way ANOVA, Bland-Altman plots and Pearson correlations. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 98.8-99.7, 29.8-46.9 and 86.6-88.9%, respectively. Total sleep time and sleep efficiency were higher when assessed from the waist compared to the wrist measurement site (73.8 min, P < 0.001; 12.6%, P < 0.001, respectively). In conclusion, the waist-worn and wrist-worn Actigraph monitors cannot be used interchangeably for the measurement of sleep indicators in children using the present algorithms. However, the waist-worn Actigraph monitor can provide a proxy measure of total sleep time for ranking purposes in epidemiologic studies.
Hofmann, W. & Fisher, R. R. (2012). How guilt and pride shape subsequent self-control. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3, 682-690.
The present research utilized experience sampling data to investigate how guilt and pride experiences in response to self-control failure versus success affect future self-control when encountering the same type of temptation (thematic self-control). Guilt showed signs of a “mixed blessing” such that previous guilt led to an increase in subsequent self-regulatory goal importance and conflict awareness; however, accounting for these beneficial effects, guilt also had a detrimental residual effect on the successful inhibition of recurring temptation. Pride, in contrast, had uniformly positive effects on subsequent self-control in the form of increased goal importance, increased conflict, and increased likelihood to use self-control to resist temptation. These results contrasted in theoretically important ways from an analysis of short-term spillover effects of incidental guilt and pride on thematically unrelated subsequent self-control. Potential mechanisms and implications of these findings are discussed.
Huckvale, K., Car, M., Morrison, C., & Car, J. (2012). Apps for asthma self-management: a systematic assessment of content and tools. BMC Med., 10, 144.
BACKGROUND: Apps have been enthusiastically adopted by the general public. They are increasingly recognized by policy-makers as a potential medium for supporting self-management of long-term conditions. We assessed the degree to which current smartphone and tablet apps for people with asthma offer content and tools of appropriate quality to support asthma self-management. METHODS: We adapted systematic review methodology to the assessment of apps. We identified English-language asthma apps for all ages through a systematic search of official app stores. We systematically assessed app content using criteria derived from international guidelines and systematic review of strategies for asthma self-management. We covered three domains: comprehensiveness of asthma information, consistency of advice with evidence and compliance with health information best practice principles. RESULTS: We identified 103 apps for asthma in English, of which 56 were sources of information about the condition and 47 provided tools for the management of asthma. No apps offered both types of functionality. Only three information apps approached our definition of comprehensiveness of information about asthma. No apps provided advice on lay management of acute asthma that included details of appropriate reliever medication use. In 32 of 72 instances, apps made unequivocal recommendations about strategies for asthma control or prophylaxis that were unsupported by current evidence. Although 90% of apps stated a clear purpose, compliance with other best practice principles for health information was variable. Contact details were located for 55%, funding source for 18% and confidentiality policy for 17%. CONCLUSIONS: No apps for people with asthma combined reliable, comprehensive information about the condition with supportive tools for self-management. Healthcare professionals considering recommending apps to patients as part of asthma self-management should exercise caution, recognizing that some apps like calculators may be unsafe; that no current app will meet the need of every patient; and that ways of working must be adapted if apps are to be introduced, supported and sustained in routine care. Policy-makers need to consider the potential role for assurance mechanisms in relation to apps. There remains much to be done if apps are to find broad use in clinical practice; clinicians cannot recommend tools that are inaccurate, unsafe or lack an evidence base
Hughes, A. J. & Rutherford, B. J. (2012). Hemispheric interaction, task complexity, and emotional valence: Evidence from naturalistic images. Brain Cogn, 81, 167-175.
Two experiments extend the ecological validity of tests of hemispheric interaction in three novel ways. First, we present a broad class of naturalistic stimuli that have not yet been used in tests of hemispheric interaction. Second, we test whether probable differences in complexity within the class of stimuli are supported by outcomes from measures of hemispheric interaction. Third, we use a procedure that presents target stimuli at fixation rather than at a lateralized location in order to more closely approximate normal viewing behavior. Images of positive or negative valence were presented with a lateralized distractor or no distractor at all. Response time and accuracy to determine whether an image was pleasant or unpleasant was measured. Results found that positive images were more quickly and accurately processed by the left hemisphere alone, while negative images were more quickly processed when the hemispheres interacted, and were more accurately processed when the hemispheres interacted than the left hemisphere alone. The findings support the idea that hemispheric interaction costs the performance of a simple task and benefits the performance of a complex task, and that the respective cost or gain is mediated by the pattern of laterality for emotional processing
Huisinga, J. M., Mancini, M., St George, R. J., & Horak, F. B. (2012). Accelerometry Reveals Differences in Gait Variability Between Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls. Ann.Biomed.Eng.
Variability of movement reflects important information for the maintenance of the health of the system. For pathological populations, changes in variability during gait signal the presence of abnormal motor control strategies. For persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), extensive gait problems have been reported including changes in gait variability. While previous studies have focused on footfall variability, the present study used accelerometers on the trunk to measure variability during walking. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the variability of the acceleration pattern of the upper and lower trunk in PwMS compared to healthy controls. We extracted linear and nonlinear measures of gait variability from 30 s of steady state walking for 15 PwMS and 15 age-matched healthy controls. PwMS had altered variability compared to controls with greater Lyapunov exponent in the ML (p < 0.001) and AP (p < 0.001) directions, and greater frequency dispersion in the ML direction (p = 0.034). PwMS also demonstrated greater mean velocity in the ML direction (p = 0.045) and lower root mean square of acceleration in the AP direction (p = 0.040). These findings indicate that PwMS have altered structure of variability of the trunk during gait compared to healthy controls and agree with previous findings related to changes in gait variability in PwMS
Hutton, J. & Leung, J. (2012). Treatment of spinal cord compression: are we overusing radiotherapy alone compared to surgery and radiotherapy? Asia Pac.J Clin.Oncol..
INTRODUCTION: This article describes how patients with metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) were treated from 2005 to 2011 at a single institution. A comparison is made with an international and standardized scoring system which would have predicted which patients would have a better outcome with neurosurgery in addition to radiotherapy in accordance with current best practice standards. METHOD: A retrospective audit of all MSCC patients presenting from 2005 to 2011 was undertaken. An assessment of outcome was made by using ambulatory assessment tool and by comparing overall survival with published standards. RESULTS: In all, 39 patients were identified, of whom 37 received radiotherapy alone and two (5%) received surgery and postoperative radiotherapy. The international standardized scoring system predicted 28 (72%) of the 39 patients might have had a better outcome with neurosurgery in addition to radiotherapy. MSCC patients generally had reasonable outcomes, but selected patients could potentially do better with decompressive surgery. CONCLUSION: There is a subset of MSCC patients who have poor predicted ambulatory rates after radiotherapy alone and who may benefit from decompressive surgery. It is recommended that MSCC patients be categorized according to the international scoring system to identify appropriate candidates for surgical intervention and postoperative radiotherapy or radiotherapy alone
Intille, S. S. (2012). Emerging technology for studying daily life. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 267-282). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) This chapter explores emerging developments in the use of technology for studying daily life. The rapid adoption of sensor-enabled mobile technologies, especially phones, will create new opportunities for researchers interested in measurement of behavior. Innovations in technology will also make possible novel forms of real-time, computer-driven interventions, in which the computer presents information at automatically determined and behaviorally based “teachable moments.” This chapter highlights measurement and intervention opportunities that will emerge as sensor-enabled mobile devices become more computationally powerful and commonplace. These phones make possible a new fusion of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and ambulatory monitoring, in which triggering of self-report, data collection, or feedback related to encouraging participant compliance is based on automatic analysis of the ambulatory monitoring data in real time by the mobile device. Researchers will no longer be limited to systematic, stratified, or purposive EMA sampling methods. Context-sensitive ecological momentary assessment (CS-EMA; Intille, 2007; Intille et al., 2003) creates a fourth option: purposive sampling in response to automatically detected user behavior, context, or physiological response, as measured passively or semiautomatically using sensors.
Ireland, A. M., Wiklund, I., Hsieh, R., Dale, P., & O’Rourke, E. (2012). An electronic diary is shown to be more reliable than a paper diary: results from a randomized crossover study in patients with persistent asthma. J Asthma, 49, 952-960.
OBJECTIVES: Test-retest reliability of an asthma paper diary versus an electronic diary (e-diary) with an integrated peak flow meter was investigated. The equivalence of the two modes was also evaluated. METHODS: Prospective, randomized crossover study design in adolescents (12-17 years) and adults (>/=18 years). Key inclusion criteria were persistent asthma, Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores >/=16, use of inhaled corticosteroid with or without long-acting beta-agonist for >/=12 weeks, nocturnal awakenings <2 times in the past week, and activity limitations <1 per week. Participants were randomized to either paper then e-diary or e-diary then paper, to be completed for 14 days each. RESULTS: Forty-seven participants completed all study visits. Weekly percentage of symptom-free days (SFDs) and rescue-free days (RFDs) were calculated. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) of Week 1 mean SFD and RFD (test) and Week 2 mean SFD and RFD (retest), respectively, were estimated in three groups defined as stable: (i) minimal changes in asthma symptoms, as measured by the global patient reported symptom change question, (ii) less than 15% change (absolute value) in 1 second FEV(1) at adjacent study visits, and (iii) changes in ACT scores less than three points for each mode. SFD demonstrated acceptable ICC (>/=0.70) using all three definitions of asthma stability for both modes. CONCLUSION: Acceptable reproducibility of the percentage of RFD (ICC = 0.78) was only observed for the e-diary using the FEV(1) stability criterion. The ICCs for SFD and RFD were acceptable, 0.84 and 0.70, respectively, suggesting better reliability for the e-diary
Jago, R., Fox, K. R., Page, A. S., Brockman, R., & Thompson, J. L. (2010). Physical activity and sedentary behaviour typologies of 10-11 year olds. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7.
Background: Targeted interventions may be more effective at increasing children’s physical activity. The aim of this study was to identify clusters of children based on physical activity and sedentary patterns across the week. Methods: Participants were 761, 10-11 year old children. Participants self-reported time spent in eight physical activity and sedentary contexts and wore an accelerometer. Cluster analysis was conducted on the time spent in the self-reported physical activity and sedentary contexts. Mean minutes of accelerometer derived of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time were derived for the entire week, weekdays only, weekend days and four different time periods across each type (weekend or weekday) of days. Differences in the physical activity patterns of the groups derived from the cluster analysis were assessed for overall physical activity as well as for the four time periods on weekdays and weekend days. Results: Three clusters emerged: 1) High active/Low sedentary; 2) Low active/Moderate sedentary; and 3) High Active/High sedentary. Patterns of activity differed across the week for each group and the High Active/High sedentary obtained the most minutes of MVPA. Conclusions: Patterns of physical activity and sedentary time differed across the week for each cluster. Interventions could be targeted to the key periods when each group is inactive.
Jahng, S. (2012). Multilevel models for intensive longitudinal data with heterogeneous error structure: Covariance transformation and variance function models. ProQuest Information & Learning, US.
Recent developments in data collection methods in the behavioral and social sciences, such as Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) enables researchers to gather intensive longitudinal data (ILD) and to examine more detailed features of intraindividual variation of a variable(s) over time. Due to its high intensity of assessments within individuals, ILD often has different characteristics from traditional longitudinal data with a few measurement occasions and requires different assumptions of statistical models in use. In the present thesis, issues in the analysis of ILD and problems of current use of statistical models for the analysis of ILD are discussed and investigated. Specifically, the issue of heterogeneity of autocorrelation and variance across individuals in ILD is extensively studied for multilevel models (MLMs). In chapter 2, a brief introduction to multilevel models and issues in modeling residual covariance structure in MLMs are provided and discussed. In chapter 3, it is shown that bias in estimation of parameters in MLMs under homogeneity assumption is not ignorable when autocorrelation differs across individuals and its average is high. It is also shown that a transformation method, which multiplies variables in the model by the inverse of Cholesky factor of individual-specific error covariance, attenuates the bias for ILD. Chapter 4 reviews variance function models for heterogeneous variance and introduces a two-step MLM approach for modeling heterogeneous variance using squared residuals. A simulation study showed that the two-step MLM does not suffer from non-convergence and is applicable to ILD.
Janssens, M., Lataster, T., Simons, C. J., Oorschot, M., Lardinois, M., van, O. J. et al. (2012). Emotion recognition in psychosis: no evidence for an association with real world social functioning. Schizophr.Res, 142, 116-121.
BACKGROUND: Patients with psychotic disorders show impairments in the recognition of emotions in other people. These impairments have been associated with poor social functioning as measured by self-report questionnaires, clinical interviews and laboratory-based tests of social skills. The ecological validity of these tests, however, is low. Associations were examined between emotion recognition and daily life social interactions in 50 patients diagnosed with a non-affective psychotic disorder and 67 healthy controls. METHODS: All participants were assessed with the Degraded Facial Affect Recognition Task (DFAR), a computer test measuring the recognition of emotional facial expressions. Social functioning in daily life was assessed using the Experience Sampling Method (a random time sampling technique) with focus on measures of social context and appraisal of the social situation. RESULTS: Groups differed significantly in the recognition of angry faces, whereas no differences existed for other emotions. There were no associations between emotion recognition and social functioning in daily life and there was no evidence for differential associations in patients as compared to controls. DISCUSSION: Social functioning, when assessed in an ecologically valid fashion, is not sensitive to variation in the traditional experimental assessment of emotion recognition. Real life measures of functioning should guide research linking the handicaps associated with psychosis to underlying cognitive and emotional dysregulation
Jones, N. & Youngs, P. (2012). Attitudes and affect: Daily emotions and their association with the commitment and burnout of beginning teachers. Teachers College Record, 114, 1-36.
Background/Context: The increasing number of districts implementing mentoring and induction programs suggests that policymakers are aware of the need to increase the support available to new teachers. The argument underlying many of these programs is based, at least partly, on assumptions about beginning teachers’ emotional responses to their work. Yet while considerable research has studied the effects of induction programs, few researchers have rigorously collected data on how beginning teachers’ affective experiences seem to impact their career plans. Purpose of the Study: We tested a framework developed in the organizational behavior literature known as affective events theory (AET), which proposes that emotional responses to work, coupled with abstract beliefs about one’s job, can influence overall judgments about job satisfaction. Specifically, we drew on research from education and organizational behavior to test whether mean levels of positive affect, negative affect, skill, and fatigue are associated with intentions to remain in teaching (i.e., commitment to one’s teaching assignment), commitment to one’s school, and levels of burnout. Research Design: Sources of data in this study include survey data collected at two time points (fall 2007 and spring 2008) from 42 beginning general and special education teachers in three districts in Michigan and Indiana, as well as data collected using the experience sampling method (ESM), a time sampling method for gaining information about individuals’ immediate experiences. The inclusion of both data sources allowed us to capitalize on the richness of the ESM data-which accounts for variation in teachers’ momentary affective states-while also supporting the data with more traditional survey measures. Conclusions/Recommendations: We found that mean levels of positive affect and skill are positively associated with commitment, even when controlling for prior commitment. Similarly, negative affect and tiredness seem to be predictive of teacher burnout. These results suggest that, by taking account of teachers’ emotional reactions to their work (in addition to features of their work environments), researchers, policymakers, and district administrators will be better positioned to support special and general educators during their early years of teaching.
Kawada, T., Suzuki, H., Shimizu, T., & Katsumata, M. (2012). Agreement in regard to total sleep time during a nap obtained via a sleep polygraph and accelerometer: A comparison of different sensitivity thresholds of the accelerometer. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 19, 398-401.
Background: Appropriate sensitivity threshold of accelerometer to measure total sleep time during nap is not established. Purpose Actigraphy-derived total sleep times during naps were calculated using three different sensitivity threshold values and compared with polysomnography. Method: The mean age of the 60 subjects (53 men and 7 women) was 22.8, ranging from 22 to 27 years. Determination of the sleep stage by the polygraph and the sleep/wake judgment by the accelerometer obeyed the sleep/wake judgment, and the accelerometer was monitored under different sensitivity threshold settings. The study was carried out during one afternoon with a 3-h nap opportunity. Kappa statistics, correlations, and several indices of accuracy were compared using statistical methods. Results: The mean total sleep times during a nap set for 180 min were 160.4, 151.8, and 140.5 min, respectively, as judged under the low-sensitive, middle-sensitive, high-sensitive settings of an accelerometer worn on the non-dominant wrist. The corresponding mean total sleep time as calculated using a sleep polygraph was 133.0 min. Sleep/wake judgment by three levels of threshold values for the accelerometer showed that high-sensitive threshold showed relatively high specificity (0.452) compared with specificities by the low-sensitive threshold (0.249) or by the middle-sensitive threshold (0.358). The concordance correlation coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (in parenthesis) between the total sleep time judged by polygraph and low-sensitive, middle-sensitive, or high-sensitive accelerometer were 0.40 (0.26-0.51), 0.53 (0.38-0.65), and 0.64 (0.49-0.75), respectively. The Bland-Altman plot of the measurements showed higher agreement between the total sleep time by polygraph and by the accelerometer using the high-sensitive threshold. Conclusions: From the result obtained in this study, the high-sensitive accelerometer showed the strongest agreement of total sleep time and sleep/wake judgment with the calculated value using the sleep polygraph.
Kikuchi, H., Yoshiuchi, K., Yamamoto, Y., Komaki, G., & Akabayashi, A. (2012). Diurnal variation of tension-type headache intensity and exacerbation: An investigation using computerized ecological momentary assessment. BioPsychoSocial Medicine, 6.
Backgrounds: Tension-type headache is a common psychosomatic disease. However, diurnal variation of headache is yet to be clarified, perhaps due to the lack of an appropriate method to investigate it. Like other painful diseases, it would be helpful to know if there is diurnal variation in tension-type headaches, both for managing headaches and understanding their pathophysiology. The aim of this study was to determine if there is diurnal variation in the intensity and exacerbation of tension-type headache. Methods: Patients (N = 31) with tension-type headache recorded for one week their momentary headache intensity several times a day and their acute headache exacerbations using a watch-type computer as an electronic diary (computerized ecological momentary assessment). Multilevel modeling was used to test the effects of time of day on momentary headache intensity and on the occurrence of acute exacerbations. Results: A significant diurnal variation in momentary headache intensity was shown (P = 0.0005), with the weakest headaches in the morning and a peak in the late afternoon. A between-individual difference in the diurnal pattern was suggested. On-demand medication use was associated with a different diurnal pattern (P = 0.025), suggesting that headache intensity decreases earlier in the evening in subjects who used on-demand medication, while headache subtype, prophylactic medication use, and sex were not associated with the difference. The occurrence of acute headache exacerbation also showed a significant diurnal variation, with a peak after noon (P = 0.0015). Conclusions: Tension-type headache was shown to have a significant diurnal variation. The relation to pathophysiology and psychosocial aspects needs to be further explored.
Kolodyazhniy, V., Späti, J., Frey, S., Götz, T., Wirz-Justice, A., Kräuchi, K. et al. (2012). An improved method for estimating human circadian phase derived from multichannel ambulatory monitoring and artificialneural networks. Chronobiology International, 29, 1078-1097.
Recently, we developed a novel method for estimating human circadian phase with noninvasive ambulatory measurements combined with subject-independent multiple regression models and a curve-fitting approach. With this, we were able to estimate circadian phase under real-life conditions with low subject burden, i.e., without need of constant routine (CR) laboratory conditions, and without measuring standard circadian markers, such as core body temperature (CBT) or pineal hormone melatonin rhythms. The precision of ambulatory-derived estimated circadian phase was within an error of 12 ± 41 min (mean ± SD) in comparison to melatonin phase during a CR protocol. The physiological measures could be reduced to a triple combination: skin temperatures, irradiance in the blue spectral band of ambient light, and motion acceleration. Here, we present a nonlinear regression model approach based on artificial neural networks for a larger data set (25 healthy young males), including both the original data and additional data collected in the same protocol and using the same equipment. Throughout our validation study, subjects wore multichannel ambulatory monitoring devices and went about their daily routine for 1 wk. The devices collected a large number of physiological, behavioral, and environmental variables, including CBT, skin temperatures, cardiovascular and respiratory functions, movement/posture, ambient temperature, spectral composition and intensity of light perceived at eye level, and sleep logs. After the ambulatory phase, study volunteers underwent a 32-h CR protocol in the laboratory for measuring unmasked circadian phase (i.e., “midpoint” of the nighttime melatonin rhythm). To overcome the complex masking effects of many different confounding variables during ambulatory measurements, neural network-based nonlinear regression techniques were applied in combination with the cross-validation approach to subject-independent prediction of circadian phase. The most accurate estimate of circadian phase with a prediction error of -3 ± 23 min (mean ± SD) was achieved using only two types of the measured variables: skin temperatures and irradiance for ambient light in the blue spectral band. Compared to our previous linear multiple regression modeling approach, motion acceleration data can be excluded and prediction accuracy, nevertheless, improved. Neural network regression showed statistically significant improvement of variance of prediction error over traditional approaches in determining circadian phase based on single predictors (CBT, motion acceleration, or sleep logs), even though none of these variables was included as predictor. We, therefore, have identified two sets of noninvasive measures that, combined with the prediction model, can provide researchers and clinicians with a precise measure of internal time, in spite of the masking effects of daily behavior. This method, here validated in healthy young men, requires testing in a clinical or shiftwork population suffering from circadian sleep-wake disorders.
Kubiak, T. & Krog, K. (2012). Computerized sampling of experiences and behavior. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 124-143). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Conducting experience sampling studies has been made substantively easier over the last two decades with readily available computerized solutions. Our aim in this chapter is to offer the reader advice about which criteria to consider before choosing a particular software package for experience sampling and a current overview of available solutions. The chapter is divided into four parts. First, we give a short overview of currently available platforms. We also dare to venture some-necessarily subjective-predictions as to which platform is the safest choice for a researcher who seriously wants to engage in computerized experience sampling in the years to come. Second, we will briefly outline criteria one should consider before choosing a particular software solution. In our view, the criteria for software choice should be based largely on the features one needs for a given study. Third, we give an overview of currently available software solutions, with a particular focus on open-source software. Commercial software is included as well. Finally, we give some helpful hints for implementing computerized experience sampling using a given software solution and platform. We conclude this chapter with some final remarks on future trends and possibilities that are to be expected in the field.
Kuerbis, A., Armeli, S., Muench, F., & Morgenstern, J. (2012). Motivation and Self-Efficacy in the Context of Moderated Drinking: Global Self-Report and Ecological Momentary Assessment. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
Despite ample research demonstrating the role of motivation and self-efficacy in predicting drinking in the context of abstinence, little research explicitly explores their role in the context of moderation, and none have utilized daily diary methods. The purpose of this study was to (a) explore the concordance between global self-report and daily diary composite measures of motivation and self-efficacy and (b) compare the ability of each in predicting drinking outcomes in the context of a study of brief AUD treatments focused on controlled drinking. Problem drinkers (N = 89) were assessed, provided feedback about their drinking, and randomly assigned to one of three conditions: two brief AUD treatments or a third group asked to change on their own. Global self-report (GSR) measures were administered at baseline and Week 8 (end of treatment). Daily diary composites (DDC) were created from data collected via an Interactive Voice Recording system during the week prior to baseline and the week prior to Week 8. Findings revealed some concordance between GSR and DDC at both baseline and Week 8, indicating the two methods capture some of the same construct; however, their respective relationships to drinking differed. DDC for both baseline and Week 8 significantly predicted Week 8 drinking outcomes, whereas only change in GSR significantly predicted drinking outcomes. Findings suggest that motivation and self-efficacy are important to moderated drinking, and that both GSR and daily diary methods are useful in understanding mechanisms of change in the context of moderation. Daily diary methods may provide significant advantages. Limitations and arenas for future research are discussed.
Kuffel, E. E., Crouter, S. E., Haas, J. D., Frongillo, E. A., & Bassett, D. R. J. (2011). Validity of estimating minute-by-minute energy expenditure of continuous walking bouts by accelerometry. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8.
Background: Objective measurement of physical activity remains an important challenge. For wearable monitors such as accelerometer-based physical activity monitors, more accurate methods are needed to convert activity counts into energy expenditure (EE). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of the refined Crouter 2-Regression Model (C2RM) for estimating EE during the transition from rest to walking and walking to rest. A secondary purpose was to determine the extent of overestimation in minute-by-minute EE between the refined C2RM and the 2006 C2RM. Methods: Thirty volunteers (age, 28 ± 7.7 yrs) performed 15 minutes of seated rest, 8 minutes of over-ground walking, and 8 minutes of seated rest. An ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer and Cosmed K4b² portable metabolic system were worn during all activities. Participants were randomly assigned to start the walking bout at 0, 20, or 40 s into the minute (according to the ActiGraph clock). Acceleration data were analyzed by two methods: 2006 Crouter model and a new refined model. Results: The 2006 Crouter 2-Regression model over-predicted measured kcal kg[sup]-1[/sup] hr[sup]-1[/sup] during the first and last transitional minutes of the 20-s and 40-s walking conditions (P < 0.001). It also over-predicted the average EE for a walking bout (4.0 ± 0.5 kcal kg[sup]-1[/sup] hr[sup]-1[/sup]), compared to both the measured kcal kg[sup]-1[/sup] hr[sup]-1[/sup] (3.6 ± 0.7 kcal kg[sup]-1[/sup] hr[sup]-1[/sup]) and the refined Crouter model (3.5 ± 0.5 kcal kg[sup]-1[/sup] hr[sup]-1[/sup]) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The 2006 Crouter 2-regression model over-predicts EE at the beginning and end of walking bouts, due to high variability in accelerometer counts during the transitional minutes. The new refined model eliminates this problem and results in a more accurate prediction of EE during walking.
Kuppens, P., Champagne, D., & Tuerlinckx, F. (2012). The Dynamic Interplay between Appraisal and Core Affect in Daily Life. Front Psychol., 3, 380.
Appraisals and core affect are both considered central to the experience of emotion. In this study we examine the bidirectional relationships between these two components of emotional experience by examining how core affect changes following how people appraise events and how appraisals in turn change following how they feel in daily life. In an experience sampling study, participants recorded their core affect and appraisals of ongoing events; data were analyzed using cross-lagged multilevel modeling. Valence-appraisal relationships were found to be characterized by congruency: the same appraisals that were associated with a change in pleasure-displeasure (motivational congruency, other-agency, coping potential, and future expectancy), changed themselves as a function of pleasure-displeasure. In turn, mainly secondary appraisals of who is responsible and how one is able to cope with events were associated with changes in arousal, which itself is followed by changes in the future appraised relevance of events. These results integrate core affect and appraisal approaches to emotion by demonstrating the dynamic interplay of how appraisals are followed by changes in core affect which in turn change our basis for judging future events
Lataster, T., Valmaggia, L., Lardinois, M., van, O. J., & Myin-Germeys, I. (2012). Increased stress reactivity: a mechanism specifically associated with the positive symptoms of psychotic disorder. Psychol.Med., 1-12.
BACKGROUND: An increased reactivity to stress in the context of daily life is suggested to be an independent risk factor underlying the positive symptoms of psychotic disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate whether positive symptoms moderate the association between everyday stressful events and negative affect (NA), known as stress reactivity. This hypothesis was put to the test in patients with a diagnosis of psychotic disorder. Method The Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were used to assess positive and negative symptoms. The experience sampling method (ESM), a structured diary technique, was used to measure stress reactivity and psychotic symptoms in daily life. RESULTS: Higher levels of positive symptoms (CASH: B = 0.14, p = 0.005; PANSS: B = 0.05, p = 0.000; ESM: B = 0.03, p = 0.000) and lower levels of negative symptoms (PANSS: B = - 0.05, p = 0.001) significantly moderate the association between unpleasant events and NA. No significant moderating effect was found for CASH negative symptoms. Moreover, the moderating effect of lifetime and current symptoms on the stress-NA association was significantly larger for those patients with predominantly positive symptoms (CASH: B = 0.09, p = 0.000; PANSS: B = 0.08, p = 0.000; ESM: B = 0.13, p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a ‘psychotic syndrome’ with high levels of positive symptoms and low levels of negative symptoms show increased reactivity to stress in daily life, indicating that stress reactivity is a possible risk factor underlying this syndrome
Lee, B. G. & Chung, W. Y. (2012). A smartphone-based driver safety monitoring system using data fusion. Sensors.(Basel), 12, 17536-17552.
This paper proposes a method for monitoring driver safety levels using a data fusion approach based on several discrete data types: eye features, bio-signal variation, in-vehicle temperature, and vehicle speed. The driver safety monitoring system was developed in practice in the form of an application for an Android-based smartphone device, where measuring safety-related data requires no extra monetary expenditure or equipment. Moreover, the system provides high resolution and flexibility. The safety monitoring process involves the fusion of attributes gathered from different sensors, including video, electrocardiography, photoplethysmography, temperature, and a three-axis accelerometer, that are assigned as input variables to an inference analysis framework. A Fuzzy Bayesian framework is designed to indicate the driver’s capability level and is updated continuously in real-time. The sensory data are transmitted via Bluetooth communication to the smartphone device. A fake incoming call warning service alerts the driver if his or her safety level is suspiciously compromised. Realistic testing of the system demonstrates the practical benefits of multiple features and their fusion in providing a more authentic and effective driver safety monitoring
Lischetzke, T., Pfeifer, H., Crayen, C., & Eid, M. (2012). Motivation to regulate mood as a mediator between state extraversion and pleasant-unpleasant mood. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 414-422.
This experience sampling study investigated whether state extraversion (i.e., momentary extraverted behavior) is positively associated with pleasant affect within persons and whether mood regulation motivation mediates this relationship. Seven times per day for one week, 162 participants reported on their state extraversion, pleasant-unpleasant mood, and mood regulation intention. Higher state extraversion was related to more pleasant mood, and this within-persons relationship held for 89% of individuals. Analyses with lagged predictors revealed that state extraversion predicted an increase in pleasant mood from one occasion to the next. Dispositional extraversion did not moderate the within-persons relationship. Hedonic mood regulation intention mediated the relation between state extraversion and pleasant-unpleasant mood. The findings support a self-regulation explanation of the extraversion-pleasant affect link.
Liu, Y., Zhu, S. H., Wang, G. H., Ye, F., & Li, P. Z. (2013). Validity and reliability of multiparameter physiological measurements recorded by the equivital lifemonitor during activities of various intensities. J Occup.Environ.Hyg., 10, 78-85.
The Equivital LifeMonitor EQ02 is a multiparameter body-worn system capable of logging and transmitting physiological data describing a wearer’s cardiorespiratory and thermal status. A number of vital signs can be acquired by the system, including electrocardiography, respiratory inductance plethysmography, posture/activity, multipoint skin temperature, and core temperature. The validity and reliability of the multiparameter physiological data recorded by the EQ02 were assessed. Participants performed resting, low-, and moderate intensity activities and wore the EQ02 and other calibrated laboratory physiological monitoring devices simultaneously. Heart rate, respiratory rate, multipoint skin temperature, and core temperature recorded by the EQ02 were compared with measurements recorded by standard devices. Results show that the validity error scores for HR and RR for all three activities were not significantly different from zero, and the CV, 95% LOA, and r were all clinically accepted. The validity error score for MT(SK) (0.59 degrees C) falls outside the limits of 0.5 degrees C, but the differences were parallel, r remained high (0.96), and 95% LOA remained narrow (+/-0.88 degrees C). The validity error score for T(C) (-0.1 degrees C) was similar in direction and magnitude to other studies, and r (0.98) and 95% LOA (+/-0.22 degrees C) showed acceptable agreement between devices. The reliability error scores for HR, RR, MT(SK), and T(C) between trials were significantly different from zero. The 95% LOA, CV, and ICC for the EQ02 were similar to standard devices and were all clinically accepted. These findings demonstrate the validity and reliability of the EQ02 for ambulatory monitoring of multiple physiological parameters and suggest that the system could be used to provide a complete human physiological monitoring platform for the study of occupational health, environmental hygiene, and other application fields requiring ambulatory monitoring of multiparameter physiological status
Lukas, S. E., Penetar, D., Su, Z., Geaghan, T., Maywalt, M., Tracy, M. et al. (2012). A standardized kudzu extract (NPI-031) reduces alcohol consumption in nontreatment-seeking male heavy drinkers. Psychopharmacology (Berl).
OBJECTIVE: We previously demonstrated that short-term treatment with a standardized kudzu extract (NPI-031) reduced alcohol drinking by men and women in a natural setting. The present study was conducted in nontreatment-seeking heavy drinkers to assess the safety and efficacy of 4 weeks of kudzu extract in an outpatient setting. METHOD: This randomized between-subject, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 2 weeks of baseline, 4 weeks of treatment, and 2 weeks of follow-up. Seventeen men (21-33 years) who reported drinking 27.6 +/- 6.5 drinks/week with a diagnosis of alcohol abuse/dependence took either kudzu extract (250 mg isoflavones, t.i.d.) or matched placebo on a daily basis. They reported alcohol consumption and desire to use alcohol using a wrist actigraphy device; twice weekly laboratory visits were scheduled to monitor medication adherence and adverse events. RESULTS: Medication adherence was excellent and there were no adverse events and changes in vital signs, blood chemistry, and renal or liver function. There was no effect on alcohol craving, but kudzu extract significantly reduced the number of drinks consumed each week by 34-57 %, reduced the number of heavy drinking days, and significantly increased the percent of days abstinent and the number of consecutive days of abstinence. CONCLUSIONS: A standardized formulation of kudzu extract produced minimal side effects, was well-tolerated, and resulted in a modest reduction in alcohol consumption in young nontreatment-seeking heavy drinkers. Additional studies using treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent persons will be necessary to determine the usefulness of this herbal preparation in reducing alcohol use in other populations
Macdonell, K., Gibson-Scipio, W., Lam, P., Naar-King, S., & Chen, X. (2012). Text Messaging to Measure Asthma Medication Use and Symptoms in Urban African American Emerging Adults: A Feasibility Study. J Asthma.
Objective. Urban African American adolescents and young adults face disproportionate risk of asthma morbidity and mortality. This study was the first to assess the feasibility of Ecological Momentary Assessment via text messaging to measure asthma medication use and symptoms in African Americans aged 18-25 years. Methods. This study used automated text messaging with N = 16 participants for 14 consecutive days. Participants sent event-based messages whenever they experienced asthma symptoms or took asthma rescue or controller medications. They also received time-based messages daily that prompted for a response about asthma medications or symptoms. Results. Feasibility was assessed using response rates and participant feedback. Rates of event-based messages were relatively low (M = 0.85 messages sent per participant/day), but participants were very responsive to time-based messages (78.5%). All participants expressed positive feedback about the program, though 40.0% reported confusion with event-based messages and most preferred time-based messages. The assessment found low medication adherence rates and reasons for missing medication consistent with previous research with youth with asthma. Conclusion. Text messaging may be a useful method to measure medication use and symptoms in “real time,” particularly using time-based prompts. Results could be used to provide personalized feedback on adherence as part of a tailored intervention
Magnan, R. E., Koblitz, A. R., McCaul, K. D., & Dillard, A. J. (2012). Self-Monitoring Effects of Ecological Momentary Assessment on Smokers’ Perceived Risk and Worry. Psychol.Assess..
Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), we sought to determine whether differences in reporting would exist for smokers who self-monitored their smoking-related negative thoughts five times daily in comparison to a non-EMA control group. One hundred seventeen smokers were randomly assigned to two conditions. Eighty-eight smokers carried personal digital assistants (PDAs) for 2 weeks and monitored negative thoughts each day, and 29 smokers did not self-monitor their negative thoughts. All smokers completed pretest and posttest assessments reporting their perceived risk and worry associated with smoking consequences. The data revealed evidence of self-monitoring effects, as smokers in the EMA condition reported less worry after 2 weeks of self-monitoring compared to smokers in the control condition. The two conditions did not differ in their reports of perceived risk of smoking consequences. These data suggest that EMA procedures asking respondents to self-monitor their thoughts about smoking may influence feelings about their smoking behavior.
Mak, T. N., Prynne, C. J., Cole, D., Fitt, E., Roberts, C., Bates, B. et al. (2012). Assessing eating context and fruit and vegetable consumption in children: new methods using food diaries in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme. Int.J Behav.Nutr.Phys.Act., 9, 126.
BACKGROUND: Eating context is the immediate environment of each eating occasion (EO). There is limited knowledge on the effects of the eating context on food consumption in children, due to the difficulty in measuring the multiple eating contexts children experience throughout the day. This study applied ecological momentary assessment using food diaries to explore the relationships between eating context and fruit and vegetable consumption in UK children. METHODS: Using 4 d unweighed food diaries, data were collected for 642 children aged 1.5-10y in two years of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2008-2010). Participants recorded all foods and drinks consumed at each EO, where and with whom the food was consumed, whether the TV was on and if eaten at a table. Mixed logistic regression and mixed multinomial logistic regression were used to calculate associations between eating contexts and fruit and vegetables (FV) consumed by quartiles. RESULTS: Of 16,840 EOs, 73% took place at home and 31% with parents only. Frequency of eating alone and with friends increased with age. Compared to eating at home, children aged 1.5-3y were more likely to consume fruit at care outside home (>10-50g OR:2.39; >50-100g OR:2.12); children aged 4-6y were more likely to consume fruit (>50-100g OR:3.53; >100g OR:1.88) and vegetables at school (>30-60g OR:3.56). Compared to eating with parents only, children aged 1.5-3y were more likely to consume fruit with friends (>10-50g OR:2.69; >50-100g OR:3.49), and with carer and other children/others (>10-50g OR:2.25); children aged 4-6y were more likely to consume fruit (>50-100g OR:1.96) and vegetables with friends (>30-60g OR:3.56). Children of all ages were more likely to eat vegetables when the TV was off than on and at a table than not at table. CONCLUSIONS: The use of food diaries to capture multiple eating contexts and detailed fruit and vegetable consumption data was demonstrated at a population level. Higher odds of FV consumption were seen from structured settings such as school and care outside home than at home, as well as when eating at a table and the TV off. This study highlights eating contexts where provision of fruit and vegetables could be improved, especially at home. Future research should take eating context into consideration when planning interventions to target children’s food consumption and eating behaviour
Marhe, R., Waters, A. J., van de Wetering, B. J., & Franken, I. H. (2012). Implicit and Explicit Drug-Related Cognitions During Detoxification Treatment Are Associated With Drug Relapse: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study. J Consult Clin.Psychol..
Objective: Relapse is a major problem in drug addiction treatment. Both drug craving and drug-related cognitions (e.g., attentional bias and implicit attitudes to drugs) may contribute to relapse. Using ecological momentary assessments, we examined whether craving and cognitions assessed during drug detoxification treatment were associated with relapse. Method: Participants were 68 heroin-dependent inpatients undergoing clinical detoxification at an addiction treatment center. Participants carried around a personal digital assistant for 1 week. Participants completed up to 4 random assessments (RAs) per day. They also completed an assessment when they experienced a temptation to use drugs (TA). At each assessment, participants reported their craving and attitudes to drugs. Implicit cognitions were assessed with a drug Stroop task (attentional bias) and an Implicit Association Test (implicit attitudes). Results: Individuals who relapsed during the study week exhibited a larger attentional bias and more positive implicit attitudes to drugs than did nonrelapsers at TAs (but not RAs). In addition, compared to nonrelapsers, relapsers reported higher levels of craving and more positive explicit attitudes to drugs at TAs than at RAs. Additional within-subject analyses revealed that attentional bias for drugs at TAs increased before relapse. Conclusions: Drug-related cognitive processes assessed with ecological momentary assessments were associated with relapse during drug detoxification. Real-time assessment of craving and cognitions may help to identify which individuals are at risk of relapse and when they are at risk of relapse.
McCabe, K. O. & Fleeson, W. (2012). What is extraversion for? Integrating trait and motivational perspectives and identifying the purpose of extraversion. Psychol.Sci., 23, 1498-1505.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the manifestation of extraversion (i.e., acting and being extraverted) in everyday behavior can be explained by intentional (functional) constructs, namely, goals. By using a model in which personality states serve as an outcome of specific, momentary goal pursuit, we were able to identify the function of extraversion states in everyday behavior. Using experience-sampling methodology, we asked participants to describe their state extraversion, goal pursuit, and state affect over 10 days. Results show that 18 selected goals predicted 74% of the variance in state extraversion; both within-person and between-person fluctuations in state extraversion were strongly associated with changes in momentary goal pursuit. We extended findings relating state extraversion and state positive affect, showing that the relationship between goals and positive affect was partially mediated by state extraversion
McCabe, K. O., Mack, L., & Fleeson, W. (2012). A guide for data cleaning in experience sampling studies. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 321-338). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) The purpose of this chapter is to recommend strategies for preventing and identifying problems in personal digital assistant (PDA) data. We provide a guide for data cleaning procedures, which may promote and facilitate PDA usage in studies that employ experience sampling methodology (ESM). The literature lacks a clear discussion and standardization of how to detect errors in PDA data and how to prepare the data for analysis. It is important to clean PDA data properly for at least three reasons. First, careful cleaning ensures that PDA studies adhere to the rigorous standardization that is fundamental to psychological research. Second, proper data cleaning enhances the reliability, validity, and power of the data. Third, data cleaning prevents data errors from being compounded and exacerbated when conducting analyses, particularly analyses of individual differences in within-person effects. We are assuming that readers are familiar with ESM and other daily measures. However, for completeness, by ESM we denote a method that allows for repeated measurement of behavior states within the context of individuals’ everyday lives. The cleaning step is sometimes the most difficult step in the whole process of conducting an ESM study, but researchers should not allow complexity of the data to prevent them from upholding rigorous scientific standards. In this chapter, we present several problems we have found when cleaning our own data, along with our recommendations for identifying and solving these problems. Our approach in this chapter presumes use of certain kinds of technology; specifically, we use Palm Z22 PDAs with the Experience Sampling Program (ESP; Barrett & Feldman Barrett, 2000), which interfaces with the Palm OS platform. However, the techniques are generalizable across technologies, with adaptation.
McCormick, B. P., Snethen, G., & Lysaker, P. H. (2012). Emotional episodes in the everyday lives of people with schizophrenia: the role of intrinsic motivation and negative symptoms. Schizophr.Res, 142, 46-51.
Research on emotional experience has indicated that subjects with schizophrenia experience less positive, and more negative emotional experience than non-psychiatric subjects in natural settings. Differences in the experience of emotion may result from differences in experiences such that everyday activities may evoke emotions. The purpose of this study was to identify if everyday experience of competence and autonomy were related to positive and negative emotion. Adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders were recruited from day treatment programs (N=45). Data were collected using experience-sampling methods. A number of subjects failed to meet data adequacy (N=13) but did not differ from retained subjects (N=32) in symptoms or cognition. Positive and negative emotion models were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling Everyday activities were characterized by those reported as easily accomplished and requiring at most moderate talents. Positive emotional experiences were stronger than negative emotional experiences. The majority of variance in positive and negative emotion existed between persons. Negative symptoms were significantly related to positive emotion, but not negative emotion. The perception that motivation for activity was external to subjects (e.g. wished they were doing something else) was related to decreased positive emotion and enhanced negative emotion. Activities that required more exertion for activities was related to enhanced positive emotion, whereas activities that subjects reported they wanted to do was associated with reduced negative emotion. The implications of this study are that everyday experiences of people with schizophrenia do affect emotional experience and that management of experience to enhance positive emotion may have therapeutic benefits
McCrae, C. S., Vatthauer, K. E., Dzierzewski, J. M., & Marsiske, M. (2012). Habitual Sleep, Reasoning, and Processing Speed in Older Adults with Sleep Complaints. Cognit.Ther.Res, 36, 156-164.
The relationship between habitual sleep and cognition in older adults with sleep complaints is poorly understood, because research has focused on younger adults, used experimental or retrospective quasi-experimental designs, and generally produced equivocal results. Prospective studies using sleep diaries are rare, but may provide important insights into this relationship as they offer greater ecological validity and allow for examination of the impact of night-to-night variability in sleep (an often overlooked aspect of sleep) on cognitive performance. Seventy-two older adults (M(age) = 70.18 years, SD(age) = 7.09 years) completed fourteen consecutive days of sleep diaries and paper/pencil self-administered cognitive tasks, including measures of processing speed (Symbol Digit) and reasoning (Letter Series). Regression analyses revealed increased average total wake time (TWT) during the night was associated with higher Symbol Digit scores, beta = 0.45, P < 0.05. Night-to-night variability in either total sleep time (TST) or TWT was not associated with either cognitive measure. Implications and potential explanations for these initially counterintuitive findings are discussed
McMahon, E. J., Bauer, J. D., Hawley, C. M., Isbel, N. M., Stowasser, M., Johnson, D. W. et al. (2012). The effect of lowering salt intake on ambulatory blood pressure to reduce cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease (LowSALT CKD study): protocol of a randomized trial. BMC Nephrol., 13, 137.
BACKGROUND: Despite evidence implicating dietary sodium in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in chronic kidney disease (CKD), quality intervention trials in CKD patients are lacking. This study aims to investigate the effect of reducing sodium intake on blood pressure, risk factors for progression of CKD and other cardiovascular risk factors in CKD. METHODS/DESIGN: The LowSALT CKD study is a six week randomized-crossover trial assessing the effect of a moderate (180 mmol/day) compared with a low (60 mmol/day) sodium intake on cardiovascular risk factors and risk factors for kidney function decline in mild-moderate CKD (stage III-IV). The primary outcome of interest is 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, with secondary outcomes including arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity), proteinuria and fluid status. The randomized crossover trial (Phase 1) is supported by an ancillary trial (Phase 2) of longitudinal-observational design to assess the longer term effectiveness of sodium restriction. Phase 2 will continue measurement of outcomes as per Phase 1, with the addition of patient-centered outcomes, such as dietary adherence to sodium restriction (degree of adherence and barriers/enablers), quality of life and taste assessment. DISCUSSION: The LowSALT CKD study is an investigator-initiated study specifically designed to assess the proof-of-concept and efficacy of sodium restriction in patients with established CKD. Phase 2 will assess the longer term effectiveness of sodium restriction in the same participants, enhancing the translation of Phase 1 results into practice. This trial will provide much-needed insight into sodium restriction as a treatment option to reduce risk of CVD and CKD progression in CKD patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Universal Trial Number: U1111-1125-2149. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry Number: ACTRN12611001097932
McManus, D. D., Lee, J., Maitas, O., Esa, N., Pidikiti, R., Carlucci, A. et al. (2012). A novel application for the detection of an irregular pulse using an iPhone 4S in patients with atrial fibrillation. Heart Rhythm..
BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common and associated with adverse health outcomes. Timely detection of AF can be challenging using traditional diagnostic tools. Smartphone use is increasing and may provide an inexpensive and user-friendly means to diagnose AF. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that a smartphone-based application could detect an irregular pulse from AF. METHODS: Seventy-six adults with persistent AF were consented for participation in our study. We obtained pulsatile time series recordings before and after cardioversion using an iPhone 4S camera. A novel smartphone application conducted real-time pulse analysis using 2 statistical methods: root mean square of successive RR difference (RMSSD/mean) and Shannon entropy (ShE). We examined the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive accuracy of both algorithms using the 12-lead electrocardiogram as the gold standard. RESULTS: RMSDD/mean and ShE were higher in participants in AF than in those with sinus rhythm. The 2 methods were inversely related to AF in regression models adjusting for key factors including heart rate and blood pressure (beta coefficients per SD increment in RMSDD/mean and ShE were-0.20 and-0.35; P<.001). An algorithm combining the 2 statistical methods demonstrated excellent sensitivity (0.962), specificity (0.975), and accuracy (0.968) for beat-to-beat discrimination of an irregular pulse during AF from sinus rhythm. CONCLUSIONS: In a prospectively recruited cohort of 76 participants undergoing cardioversion for AF, we found that a novel algorithm analyzing signals recorded using an iPhone 4S accurately distinguished pulse recordings during AF from sinus rhythm. Data are needed to explore the performance and acceptability of smartphone-based applications for AF detection
Mehl, M. R. & Conner, T. S. (2012). Handbook of research methods for studying daily life. New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the jacket) Laboratory-based experimental methods historically have been the strength and pride of psychology and related disciplines. Yet a comprehensive science of behavior also requires the study of humans in real life. Bringing together leading investigators, this book reviews the breadth of current approaches for studying how people think, feel, and behave in everyday environments. The Handbook is organized in four parts. Part I covers the theoretical and methodological foundations of conducting daily life research. Part II provides guidance for designing a high-quality study and selecting and implementing appropriate methods. The chapters describe experience sampling methods, diary methods, ambulatory physiological measures, and other toolsGÇöincluding recording technologies and computerized approachesGÇöthat allow repeated, real-time measurement in natural settings. Part III focuses on techniques for analyzing intensive data from daily life, featuring practical discussions of power analysis, psychometrics, data cleaning, multilevel modeling, time series analysis, and other topics. Part IV reviews how methods for studying daily life have been employed in different subfields and research areas, such as the study of emotion, close relationships, personality, health, development, psychopathology, and mental health treatment. Specific advantages and challenges inherent to using the methods in each area are discussed. Timely and authoritative, this handbook meets a key need for research psychologists and for graduate students in social/personality, health, developmental, industrial/organizational, and clinical psychology.
Mehl, M. R. & Robbins, M. L. (2012). Naturalistic observation sampling: The Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR). In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 176-192). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) The Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) is a portable audio recorder that is set to record periodically brief snippets of ambient sounds. Participants attach it to their belts or carry it in a purse-like bag while going about their daily lives. In tracking moment-to-moment ambient sounds around the participants, the EAR yields acoustic logs of their days as they naturally unfold. In sampling only a fraction of the time, instead of recording continuously, it makes large-scale naturalistic observation studies feasible. Our purpose in this chapter is to provide a review and discussion of this still relatively young naturalistic observational sampling method. Within the research methods for studying daily life, the EAR clearly occupies a methodological niche; it is not for everyone and everything. It is highly labor-intensive and thus requires careful deliberation as to when it should be used instead of more economic methods (e.g., experience sampling, daily diaries). However, in providing ecological behavioral measures that are independent of self-report and often beyond what self-report can capture, it can yield valuable findings that are difficult to obtain otherwise and support the field in the mission gradually to “put a bit more behavior back into the science of behavior” (Baumeister, Vohs, & Funder, 2007).
Mellone, S., Tacconi, C., Schwickert, L., Klenk, J., Becker, C., & Chiari, L. (2012). Smartphone-based solutions for fall detection and prevention: the FARSEEING approach. Z.Gerontol.Geriatr., 45, 722-727.
Falls are not an inevitable consequence of aging. The risk and rate of falls can be reduced. Recent improvements in smartphone technology enable implementation of a wide variety of services and applications, thus making the smartphone more of a digital companion than simply a communication tool. This paper presents the results obtained by the FARSEEING project where smartphones are one example of intervention in a population-based scenario. The applications developed take advantage of the smartphone-embedded inertial sensors and require that subjects wear the smartphone by means of a waist belt. The uFall Android application has been developed for monitoring the user’s motor activities at home. The application does not require any direct interaction with the user and it is also capable of running a real-time fall-detection algorithm. uTUG is a stand-alone application for instrumenting the Timed Up and Go test, which is a test often included in fall risk assessment protocols. The application acts like a pocket-sized motion laboratory, since it is capable not only of recording the trial but also of processing the data and immediately displaying the results. uTUG is designed to be self-administrable at home
Memari, A. H., Ghaheri, B., Ziaee, V., Kordi, R., Hafizi, S., & Moshayedi, P. (2012). Physical activity in children and adolescents with autism assessed by triaxial accelerometry. Pediatr.Obes..
What is already known about this subject Individuals with disabilities are more likely to be sedentary compared to the general population. Individuals with ASD show several impairments in motor and physical functioning. Lack of opportunity is the primary factor that brings minimal physical activity to children with ASD. What this study adds There was a substantial reduction in level of PA across the adolescent years in ASD. A decline in PA level and opportunities at school can contribute to a reduction in individual’s total PA in ASD. Household structure, sedentary activities, comorbidities and obesity are associated with PA level in children and adolescents with ASD. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine physical activity (PA) patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as well as to address PA determinant factors by employing triaxial accelerometry. METHODS: In a school-based cross-sectional study of 80 children and adolescents with ASD (mean = 9.6, standard deviation = 1.8), we investigated demographics, children’s behavioural and clinical profile, and their PA data as objectively measured using an Actigraph GT3X on the right hip for seven consecutive days. All activity measures were expressed as counts per minute (c.p.m.). RESULTS: There was a substantial reduction in activity across the adolescent years in ASD. Girls were significantly less active than boys with ASD. Participants were remarkably less active in school compared to after-school, and there was a PA decline during weekdays compared to weekends, which was not significant. Household structure, sedentary pursuits, comorbidities and obesity were identified as other determinants of PA in children with ASD. CONCLUSIONS: Given the limited objective assessment of PA in children with ASD, our findings stressed the need for improving PA programmes, particularly for girls and older children with ASD. This study also provided important information for counselling clinicians, families and school policy-makers about health issues in ASD
Mendoza, J. A., McLeod, J., Chen, T. A., Nicklas, T. A., & Baranowski, T. (2012). Convergent Validity of Preschool Children’s Television Viewing Measures among Low-Income Latino Families: A Cross-Sectional Study. Child Obes..
Background: Television viewing is an important modifiable risk factor for childhood obesity. However, valid methods for measuring children’s TV viewing are sparse and few studies have included Latinos, a population disproportionately affected by obesity. The goal of this study was to test the reliability and convergent validity of four TV viewing measures among low-income Latino preschool children in the United States. Methods: Latino children (n=96) ages 3-5 years old were recruited from four Head Start centers in Houston, Texas (January, 2009, to June, 2010). TV viewing was measured concurrently over 7 days by four methods: (1) TV diaries (parent reported), (2) sedentary time (accelerometry), (3) TV Allowance (an electronic TV power meter), and (4) Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) on personal digital assistants (parent reported). This 7-day procedure was repeated 3-4 weeks later. Test-retest reliability was determined by intraclass correlations (ICC). Spearman correlations (due to nonnormal distributions) were used to determine convergent validity compared to the TV diary. Results: The TV diary had the highest test-retest reliability (ICC=0.82, p<0.001), followed by the TV Allowance (ICC=0.69, p<0.001), EMA (ICC=0.46, p<0.001), and accelerometry (ICC=0.36-0.38, p<0.01). The TV Allowance (r=0.45-0.55, p<0.001) and EMA (r=0.47-0.51, p<0.001) methods were significantly correlated with TV diaries. Accelerometer-determined sedentary minutes were not correlated with TV diaries. The TV Allowance and EMA methods were significantly correlated with each other (r=0.48-0.53, p<0.001). Conclusions: The TV diary is feasible and is the most reliable method for measuring US Latino preschool children’s TV viewing
Menne-Lothmann, C., Jacobs, N., Derom, C., Thiery, E., van Os, J., & Wichers, M. (2012). Genetic and environmental causes of individual differences in daily life positive affect and reward experience and its overlap with stress-sensitivity. Behavior Genetics, 42, 778-786.
Momentary positive affect (PA) and reward experience may underlie subjective wellbeing, and index mental health resilience. This study examines their underlying sources of variation and the covariation with stress-sensitivity. The experience sampling method was used to collect multiple appraisals of mood and daily life events in 520 female twins. Structural equation model fitting was employed to determine sources of variation of PA, reward experience, and the association between reward experience and stress-sensitivity. PA was best explained by shared and non-shared environmental factors, and reward experience by non-shared environmental factors only, although the evidence was also suggestive of a small genetic contribution. Reward experience and stress-sensitivity showed no association. PA was not heritable. MostGÇöif not all GÇövariance of reward experience was explained by environmental influences. Stress-sensitivity, indexing depression vulnerability, and reward experience were non-overlapping, suggesting that resilience traits are independent from stress-sensitivity levels in a general population sample.
Metcalf, B., Henley, W., & Wilkin, T. (2012). Effectiveness of intervention on physical activity of children: Systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials with objectively measured outcomes (EarlyBird 54). BMJ: British Medical Journal, 345, 1-11.
Objective: To determine whether, and to what extent, physical activity interventions affect the overall activity levels of children. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources: Electronic databases (Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus) and reference lists of included studies and of relevant review articles. Study selection: Design: randomised controlled trials or controlled clinical trials (cluster and individual) published in peer reviewed journals. Intervention: incorporated a component designed to increase the physical activity of children/adolescents and was at least four weeks in duration. Outcomes: measured whole day physical activity objectively with accelerometers either before or immediately after the end of the intervention period. Data analysis: Intervention effects (standardised mean differences) were calculated for total physical activity, time spent in moderate or vigorous physical activity, or both for each study and pooled using a weighted random effects model. Meta-regression explored the heterogeneity of intervention effects in relation to study participants, design, intervention type, and methodological quality. Results: Thirty studies (involving 14 326 participants; 6153 with accelerometer measured physical activity) met the inclusion criteria and all were eligible for meta-analysis/meta-regression. The pooled intervention effect across all studies was small to negligible for total physical activity (standardised mean difference 0.12, 95% confidence interval 0.04 to 0.20; P < 0.01) and small for moderate or vigorous activity (0.16, 0.08 to 0.24; P < 0.001). Meta-regression indicated that the pooled intervention effect did not differ significantly between any of the subgroups (for example, for total physical activity, standardised mean differences were 0.07 for age < 10 years and 0.16 for ?10 years, P = 0.19; 0.07 for body mass index across the entire range and 0.22 for exclusively overweight/obese children, P = 0.07; 0.12 for study duration ? 6 months and 0.09 for > 6 months, P = 0.71; 0.15 for home/family based intervention and 0.10 for school based intervention, P = 0.53; and 0.09 for higher quality studies and 0.14 for lower quality studies, P = 0.52). Conclusions: This review provides strong evidence that physical activity interventions have had only a small effect (approximately 4 minutes more walking or running per day) on children’s overall activity levels. This finding may explain, in part, why such interventions have had limited success in reducing the body mass index or body fat of children.
Motl, R. W., Sandroff, B. M., & Sosnoff, J. J. (2012). Commercially available accelerometry as an ecologically valid measure of ambulation in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Expert.Rev.Neurother., 12, 1079-1088.
Ambulatory impairment is a prevalent consequence of multiple sclerosis (MS) that is often measured in controlled contexts using performance tests that lack ecological validity. This underscores the importance of considering alternative, ecologically valid approaches, such as commercially available accelerometers, for measuring community ambulation in individuals with MS. This consideration is warranted based on problems with existing measures of ambulation in MS (e.g., poor responsiveness and patient-clinician discordance); conceptual associations among MS pathology, impairment and gait function with relevance for the signal detected by accelerometers; assumptions that are empirically supported for the application of commercially available accelerometers as a measure of community ambulation; and evidence supporting the output of commercially available accelerometers as a measure of ambulation. Collectively, the authors believe the time is ripe for the application of commercially available accelerometers as an outcome measure of community ambulation in MS. Such an application has the potential to maximize the understanding of ambulatory impairments in real-world conditions for clinical research and practice involving individuals with MS
Motl, R. W., Pilutti, L., Sandroff, B. M., Dlugonski, D., Sosnoff, J. J., & Pula, J. H. (2012). Accelerometry as a measure of walking behavior in multiple sclerosis. Acta Neurol.Scand..
OBJECTIVE: Accelerometry has been identified as a possible ecologically valid and objective approach for measuring community ambulation in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study provides a validation of accelerometer output based on associations with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) Scale, and Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale-12 (MSWS-12) scores, timed 25-foot walk (T25FW) and 6-min walk (6MW) performance, oxygen cost (O(2) cost) of walking, and spatial and temporal parameters of gait. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 256 persons with MS completed the PDDS and MSWS-12, underwent an examination for the generation of an EDSS score, undertook two T25FW tests and a 6MW while wearing a portable metabolic unit for measuring the O(2) cost of walking, completed two trials of comfortable walking on a GAITRite electronic walkway for measuring spatial and temporal parameters of gait, and then wore an Actigraph accelerometer during the waking hours of a 7-day period. RESULTS: The accelerometer output was significantly correlated with EDSS (rho = -0.522), PDDS (rho = -0.551), and MSWS-12 (rho = -0.617) scores, T25FW (rho = -0.595) and 6MW (rho = 0.630) performance, and O(2) cost of walking (rho = -0.457). Regarding gait parameters, the accelerometer output was significantly correlated with velocity (rho = 0.420), cadence (rho = 0.349), step time (rho = -0.353), step length (rho = 0.395), double support (rho = -0.424), and single support (rho = 0.400). CONCLUSION: We provide comprehensive evidence from a large sample of persons with MS that further supports accelerometry as a measure of walking behavior
Motl, R. W., Sandroff, B. M., Suh, Y., & Sosnoff, J. J. (2012). Energy cost of walking and its association with gait parameters, daily activity, and fatigue in persons with mild multiple sclerosis. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 26, 1015-1021.
Background: Energy cost of walking (Cw) is elevated in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), perhaps because of gait impairment, and may impact daily activity and fatigue. Objective: The authors examined for associations between C[sub]w[/sub], spatiotemporal gait parameters, daily activity, and perceived fatigue in persons with mild MS. Methods: Forty-four participants completed 4 trials of walking on a GAITRite mat and one 6-minute trial of walking on a treadmill at a constant, controlled speed of 54 m min-1 while expired gases were analyzed for oxygen consumption. Participants also completed the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and wore a waist-mounted accelerometer for 7 days. Results. C[sub]w[/sub] was significantly and inversely associated with gait speed (r = -.25) and stride length (r = -.32) and positively associated with double limb support (r = .27). C[sub]w[/sub] was significantly and inversely associated with daily accelerometer activity counts (r = -.35) and positively associated with FSS scores (? = .31). Conclusion: The results support the development and application of rehabilitation strategies to address impaired gait parameters as an approach to improve C[sub]w[/sub], daily activities, and fatigue.
Mutschler, J., von Zitzewitz, F., R+Âssler, W., & Grosshans, M. (2012). Application of electronic diaries in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Psychiatria Danubina, 24, 206-210.
Background: Despite the dissemination of second generation antipsychotics for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, outcomes remain suboptimal, largely due to poor treatment and drug adherence. The primary aim of the current study was to assess the tolerability, validity and feasibility of the pocket-sized electronic diary Medicus[sup]-«[/sup]. Subjects and Methods: Our case observations attempted to evaluate eighteen patients suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. All of the patients were treated with the second generation antipsychotic quetiapine. We followed them up in two German medical centers over two years. Results: The present results display an improvement of mood-stability in all patients treated with quetiapine. All patients were in regular contact to their psychiatrist over a period of 24 months. A complete description of the coherences between the symptoms was essential for estimation, which was conducted by Medicus[sup]-«[/sup]. Moreover, Medicus[sup]-«[/sup] seem to be useful for improving compliance within a medication regimen. Conclusions: Although uncontrolled case observations can only be interpreted with caution, Medicus[sup]-«[/sup] seems to deserve further investigation and may hold the potential to optimize treatment and drug adherence in patients suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.
Myin-Germeys, I. (2012). Psychiatry. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 636-650). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) The essence of psychiatric symptoms is that they are natural experiences emerging in the realm of normal daily life, often in interaction with contextual features. This central characteristic, however, is often overlooked. With increasingly sophisticated methods to investigate brain functions, genetic mechanisms, or neuropsychological performance, we know disappointingly little about the expression of psychopathological symptoms in daily life and the dynamic interplay between the person and his or her environment in psychiatry. Fortunately, there is a growing awareness that the study of psychiatric patients in the context of normal daily life may provide a powerful and necessary addition to more conventional and cross-sectional research strategies. A growing body of studies is using techniques such as experience sampling methods (ESM) or ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to study psychopathology in real life. This chapter consists of practical guidelines for ESM relevant to studying psychiatric patients, as well as an overview of topics in psychiatry for which daily life studies may be particularly relevant.
Natale, V., Drejak, M., Erbacci, A., Tonetti, L., Fabri, M., & Martoni, M. (2012). Monitoring sleep with a smartphone accelerometer. Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 10, 287-292.
The present pilot study aimed to compare sleep estimation with a smartphone accelerometer to that of an actigraph accelerometer in healthy adults. Thirteen volunteers (four females; mean age 22.97 ± 3.44) simultaneously wore Actiwatch actigraphs and put the smartphone close to the pillow for at least four consecutive overnight recordings. On the whole, the agreement between the two devices was reasonably satisfactory for all sleep parameters considered (Total Sleep Time, Wake After Sleep Onset and Sleep Efficiency) but not for Sleep Onset Latency. To deeply understand the suitability of the smartphone in assessing sleep, future studies should necessarily use polysomnography.
Nezlek, J. B. (2012). Multilevel modeling analyses of diary-style data. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 357-383). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Researchers who use ambulatory assessment methods and various types of diaries are increasingly (almost invariably) using some type of multilevel technique to analyze their data. This reflects the fact that the data collected in such studies are inherently multilevel. A sample of individuals provides data on a repeated basis, creating a multilevel data structure in which people constitute one level of analysis and the repeated measures they provide constitute another level, or levels, of analysis. In this chapter I discuss multilevel random coefficient modeling (MLM), the technique that is currently thought to be the best way to analyze such multilevel data structures. I introduce MLM and present ways of using MLM that are well suited for analyzing data generated in ambulatory assessment and diary studies. When writing this chapter, I tried to address the needs of two audiences: researchers who are quire familiar with MLM to analyze data collected using ambulatory assessment and other intensive repeated measures, and scholars (both new and established) who are not at all familiar with such applications. To address the needs of these different audiences I have provided sufficient introductory material to allow those who are unfamiliar to understand the basic principles involved, while describing more sophisticated applications for the benefit of those who are already familiar. Consequently, those who are familiar with MLM analyses of diary data may wish to skip or skim introductory sections and focus on sections dealing with specific topics or applications. I discuss MLM in terms of the types of multilevel data that are frequently collected in ambulatory assessment and diary research, although much of what I discuss can be applied to other types of data. Moreover, to illustrate certain points, I often refer to my own research. I have done this not because I am the only the person who has used MLM to analyze these types of data (quite the opposite; there are many experienced and knowledgeable scholars who have published MLM-based studies in this area); rather, I am more familiar with my own studies than I am with the work of others.
Ockendon, M. & Gilbert, R. E. (2012). Validation of a novel smartphone accelerometer-based knee goniometer. J Knee.Surg., 25, 341-345.
Loss of full knee extension following anterior cruciate ligament surgery has been shown to impair knee function. However, there can be significant difficulties in accurately and reproducibly measuring a fixed flexion of the knee. We studied the interobserver and the intraobserver reliabilities of a novel, smartphone accelerometer-based, knee goniometer and compared it with a long-armed conventional goniometer for the assessment of fixed flexion knee deformity. Five healthy male volunteers (age range 30 to 40 years) were studied. Measurements of knee flexion angle were made with a telescopic-armed goniometer (Lafayette Instrument, Lafayette, IN) and compared with measurements using the smartphone (iPhone 3GS, Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA) knee goniometer using a novel trigonometric technique based on tibial inclination. Bland-Altman analysis of validity and reliability including statistical analysis of correlation by Pearson’s method was undertaken. The iPhone goniometer had an interobserver correlation (r) of 0.994 compared with 0.952 for the Lafayette. The intraobserver correlation was r = 0.982 for the iPhone (compared with 0.927). The datasets from the two instruments correlate closely (r = 0.947) are proportional and have mean difference of only -0.4 degrees (SD 3.86 degrees). The Lafayette goniometer had an intraobserver reliability +/- 9.6 degrees. The interobserver reliability was +/- 8.4 degrees. By comparison the iPhone had an interobserver reliability +/- 2.7 degrees and an intraobserver reliability +/- 4.6 degrees. We found the iPhone goniometer to be a reliable tool for the measurement of subtle knee flexion in the clinic setting
Omigie, D., Müllensiefen, D., & Stewart, L. (2012). The experience of music in congenital amusia. Music Perception, 30, 1-18.
Individuals with congenital amusia have difficulty recognizing and discriminating melodies. While much research has focused on the perceptual deficits of congenital amusics, the extent to which these deficits have an impact on the ability to engage with and appreciate music remains unexplored. The current study used experience sampling methodology to identify distinct patterns of music-related behavior in individuals with amusia and matched controls. Cluster analysis was used to group individuals according to the similarity of their behavior, regardless of their status as amusic or control. This yielded a two-cluster solution: one cluster comprising 59% of the amusic sample and 6% of controls and the other comprising 41% of the amusic sample and 94% of controls. Comparisons of the two clusters in terms of specific aspects of music listening behavior revealed differences in levels of music engagement and appreciation. Further comparisons provided support for the existence of amusic subgroups showing distinct attitudes toward music. The findings are discussed in relation to social, contextual, and demographic factors.
Owen, N. (2012). Ambulatory monitoring and sedentary behaviour: a population-health perspective. Physiol Meas., 33, 1801-1810.
Opportunities for sedentary-behaviour research using device-based measures are proposed, addressing four main topics: first, there is an explanation of how sedentary behaviours can most usefully be understood, emphasizing how they are distinct from lack of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (the major focus of current national and international public-health guidelines), together with an account of the evidence on the relationships of sedentary behaviour with risk biomarkers and health outcomes; this highlights how device-based measurement is leading to rapid research advances. Second, the case is made for the utility of a behavioural epidemiology framework and an ecological model of sedentary behaviour to guide measurement-development initiatives. Third, the main elements of such a research agenda and the logic of their interrelationships are described. Fourth, and in conclusion, novel research opportunities arising within this perspective and likely future benefits are outlined
Page, A. S., Cooper, A. R., Griew, P., Davis, L., & Hillsdon, M. (2009). Independent mobility in relation to weekday and weekend physical activity in children aged 10-11 years: The PEACH Project. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 6.
Background: Children’s independent mobility has fallen in recent years and may in part explain reported declines in physical activity in young people. This cross-sectional study investigated whether independent mobility in boys and girls was related to objectively measured physical activity. Methods: Thirteen hundred and seven 10GÇô11 year old boys and girls from 23 schools in a large UK city took part. Measures included objectively recorded physical activity (accelerometer (Actigraph GT1M)), height (m) and weight (kg), a newly developed scale for local (Local-IM) and area independent mobility (Area-IM), minutes of daylight after school, level of neighborhood deprivation and pubertal status. Results: Boys had greater Local-IM, Area-IM and physical activity (average weekday and weekend counts per minute) compared to girls. In linear regression analyses (adjusting for minutes of daylight after school, neighborhood deprivation, pubertal status and body mass index) higher scores for Local-IM and Area-IM were significantly (p < 0.01) related to higher levels of physical activity on weekdays for boys and girls. For weekend physical activity, only Local-IM in girls remained significant (p < 0.05) in the model. Conclusion: Independent mobility appears to be an important independent correlate of weekday physical activity for both boys and girls.
Palmier-Claus, J. E., Ainsworth, J., Machin, M., Barrowclough, C., Dunn, G., Barkus, E. et al. (2012). The feasibility and validity of ambulatory self-report of psychotic symptoms using a smartphone software application. BMC Psychiatry, 12, 172.
BACKGROUND: Semi-structured interview scales for psychosis are the gold standard approach to assessing psychotic and other symptoms. However, such assessments have limitations such as recall bias, averaging, insensitivity to change and variable interrater reliability. Ambulant, real-time self-report assessment devices may hold advantages over interview measures, but it needs to be shown that the data thus collected are valid, and the collection method is acceptable, feasible and safe. We report on a monitoring system for the assessment of psychosis using smartphone technology. The primary aims were to: i) assess validity through correlations of item responses with those on widely accepted interview assessments of psychosis, and ii) examine compliance to the procedure in individuals with psychosis of varying severity. METHODS: A total of 44 participants (acute or remitted DSM-4 schizophrenia and related disorders, and prodromal) completed 14 branching self-report items concerning key psychotic symptoms on a touch-screen mobile phone when prompted by an alarm at six pseudo-random times, each day, for one week. Face to face PANSS and CDS interviews were conducted before and after the assessment period blind to the ambulant data. RESULTS: Compliance as defined by completion of at least 33% of all possible data-points over seven days was 82%. In the 36 compliant participants, 5 items (delusions, hallucinations, suspiciousness, anxiety, hopelessness) showed moderate to strong (rho 0.6-0.8) associations with corresponding items from interview rating scales. Four items showed no significant correlation with rating scales: each was an item based on observable behaviour. Ambulant ratings showed excellent test-retest reliability and sensitivity to change. CONCLUSIONS: Ambulatory monitoring of symptoms several times daily using smartphone software applications represents a feasible and valid way of assessing psychotic phenomena for research and clinical management purposes. Further evaluation required over longer assessment periods, in clinical trials and service settings
Peck, J. L., Stanton, M., & Reynolds, G. E. (2012). Smartphone Preventive Health Care: Parental Use of an Immunization Reminder System. J Pediatr.Health Care.
INTRODUCTION: This study examined the feasibility of using a smartphone application recall/reminder system for immunizations given in pediatric primary care. METHOD: The study used a typical descriptive study design. A convenience sample of parents and caregivers was recruited from a primary care pediatric office in a middle-class suburban area. Participants used an Android smartphone application (“Call the Shots”) that served as a reminder/recall system for vaccinations and offered an embedded tool kit to obtain reliable information about vaccines. RESULTS: A total of 262 persons accessed the application’s Web site. The application was downloaded and used by 45 of those persons during the study; six persons completed the survey. DISCUSSION: Data are insufficient to fully evaluate the usefulness of the “Call the Shots” smartphone application. However, initial results and feedback have been positive, and the application should be launched in Apple’s platform to reach a wider test audience
Pellegrini, C. A., Duncan, J. M., Moller, A. C., Buscemi, J., Sularz, A., Demott, A. et al. (2012). A smartphone-supported weight loss program: design of the ENGAGED randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 12, 1041.
BACKGROUND: Obesity remains a major public health challenge, demanding cost-effective and scalable weight management programs. Delivering key treatment components via mobile technology offers a potential way to reduce expensive in-person contact, thereby lowering the cost and burden of intensive weight loss programs. The ENGAGED study is a theory-guided, randomized controlled trial designed to examine the feasibility and efficacy of an abbreviated smartphone-supported weight loss program. METHODS/DESIGN: Ninety-six obese adults (BMI 30-39.9 kg/m2) will be randomized to one of three treatment conditions: (1) standard behavioral weight loss (STND), (2) technology-supported behavioral weight loss (TECH); or (3) self-guided behavioral weight loss (SELF). All groups will aim to achieve a 7% weight loss goal by reducing calorie and fat intake and progressively increasing moderate intensity physical activity to 175 minutes/week. STND and TECH will attend 8 group sessions and receive regular coaching calls during the first 6 months of the intervention; SELF will receive the Group Lifestyle Balance Program DVD’s and will not receive coaching calls. During months 1-6, TECH will use a specially designed smartphone application to monitor dietary intake, body weight, and objectively measured physical activity (obtained from a Blue-tooth enabled accelerometer). STND and SELF will self-monitor on paper diaries. Linear mixed modeling will be used to examine group differences on weight loss at months 3, 6, and 12. Self-monitoring adherence and diet and activity goal attainment will be tested as mediators. DISCUSSION: ENGAGED is an innovative weight loss intervention that integrates theory with emerging mobile technologies. We hypothesize that TECH, as compared to STND and SELF, will result in greater weight loss by virtue of improved behavioral adherence and goal achievement. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01051713
Piasecki, T. M., Alley, K. J., Slutske, W. S., Wood, P. K., Sher, K. J., Shiffman, S. et al. (2012). Low sensitivity to alcohol: relations with hangover occurrence and susceptibility in an ecological momentary assessment investigation. J Stud.Alcohol Drugs, 73, 925-932.
OBJECTIVE: The current investigation tested whether low sensitivity to alcohol, as measured by the Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) form, is associated with hangover occurrence or resistance, two potentially important predictors of later problematic drinking outcomes. METHOD: Drinkers who reported using alcohol at least four times in the past month (N = 402) completed the SRE at baseline and used ecological momentary assessment methods with an electronic diary to record drinking behaviors and related experiences over 21 days. Each morning, the diary assessed prior-night drinking behaviors and the presence of current hangover. RESULTS: After adjustments for sex, body weight, age, and smoking status, higher SRE scores (indicating lower alcohol sensitivity) predicted hangover occurrence on postdrinking mornings (odds ratio [OR] = 1.24 per interquartile range [IQR], p = .003). However, when the number of drinks consumed in the drinking episode was covaried, SRE scores were negatively associated with hangover (OR = 0.67 per IQR, p <.001). An interaction between SRE scores and the number of drinks consumed indicated that low-sensitivity drinkers tend to be differentially resistant to hangover at a given number of drinks. Higher SRE scores were associated with consuming more drinks on average (generalized estimating equations coefficient = 2.20 per IQR, p <.001). CONCLUSIONS: Individuals lower in alcohol sensitivity appear to be more resistant to hangovers per unit of alcohol. However, they are also more likely to engage in excessive drinking, and this may account for their increased odds of experiencing hangover during an arbitrary monitoring period. Heavy consumption, hangover resistance, and hangover frequency may each be manifestations of low sensitivity to alcohol, an established risk factor for alcohol use disorder
Piasecki, T. M., Wood, P. K., Shiffman, S., Sher, K. J., & Heath, A. C. (2012). Responses to alcohol and cigarette use during ecologically assessed drinking episodes. Psychopharmacology, 223, 331-344.
Rationale: Tobacco and alcohol are frequently used together, and this may be partly explained by a distinct profile of subjective effects associated with co-administration. Ecological momentary assessment studies have examined effects of naturally occurring co-use, but, to date, have not assessed differing effects as alcohol levels rise and fall. Objectives: The objective of the study was to describe subjective states and appraisals of cigarette and alcohol effects reported during the entirety of real-world drinking episodes. Methods: Currently-smoking frequent drinkers (N = 255) carried electronic diaries for 21 days. Analyses focused on reports made during 2,046 drinking episodes. Signaled prompts intensively oversampled moments in the hours following consumption of the first drink in an episode. Multilevel regression analyses were used to predict ratings of buzz, dizziness, excitement, and sluggishness as a function of person-level and contextual covariates, estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) level, ascending vs descending eBAC, smoking, and their interactions. Appraisals of cigarette and alcohol effects were also examined within this framework. Results: Buzz, excitement, and pleasure from alcohol and cigarettes were prominent features of real-world drinking episodes. Smoking was associated with enhanced buzz and excitement when eBAC was high and descending. Smoking slightly accentuated the relation between eBAC and ratings of drinking pleasure among women, but this relation was somewhat weakened by smoking among men. Conclusions: Smoking during drinking episodes may be partly explained by a persistence of stimulant alcohol effects beyond the blood alcohol concentration peak. Acute effects of nicotine and tobacco use on the descending limb deserve further scrutiny in experimental alcohol challenge research.
Pronk, N. P., Katz, A. S., Lowry, M., & Payfer, J. R. (2012). Reducing occupational sitting time and improving worker health: the Take-a-Stand Project, 2011. Prev.Chronic.Dis., 9, E154.
BACKGROUND: Prolonged sitting time is a health risk. We describe a practice-based study designed to reduce prolonged sitting time and improve selected health factors among workers with sedentary jobs. COMMUNITY CONTEXT: We conducted our study during March-May 2011 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, among employees with sedentary jobs. METHODS: Project implementation occurred over 7 weeks with a baseline period of 1 week (period 1), an intervention period of 4 weeks (period 2), and a postintervention period of 2 weeks (period 3). The intervention group (n = 24) received a sit-stand device during period 2 designed to fit their workstation, and the comparison group (n = 10) did not. We used experience-sampling methods to monitor sitting behavior at work during the 7 weeks of the project. We estimated change scores in sitting time, health risk factors, mood states, and several office behaviors on the basis of survey responses. OUTCOME: The Take-a-Stand Project reduced time spent sitting by 224% (66 minutes per day), reduced upper back and neck pain by 54%, and improved mood states. Furthermore, the removal of the device largely negated all observed improvements within 2 weeks. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest that using a sit-stand device at work can reduce sitting time and generate other health benefits for workers
Reis, H. T. (2012). Why researchers should think ‘real-world’: A conceptual rationale. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 3-21). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Methods for studying daily life experiences have arrived. Daily life protocols are intended to “capture life as it is lived” (Bolger, Davis, & Rafaeli, 2003)GÇöthat is, to describe behavior as it occurs within its typical, spontaneous setting. By documenting the “particulars of life” (Allport, 1942), these methods provide extensively detailed data that can be used to examine the operation of social, psychological, and physiological processes within their natural contexts. A key premise of the daily life approach is that the contexts in which these processes unfold matterGÇöin other words, that context influences behavior, and that proper understanding of behavior necessarily requires taking contextual factors into account. As the accessibility and popularity of daily life methods have increased, so too has researchers’ ability grown in both range and complexity to ask and answer important questions about behavior. My goal in this chapter is to present the conceptual case for why researchers should consider adding daily life methods to their methodological toolbox. I begin by discussing the kind of information that daily life methods provide, highlighting ways in which they complement more traditional methods. Following this, the chapter reviews in turn three conceptual bases for daily life research: ecological validity, the value of field research, and the need to take context seriously. Next, I describe the role of daily life data in description and taxonomies, a step of theory building that in my opinion has been underemphasized in the behavioral sciences. The chapter concludes with a review of the place of daily life methods in research programs. An overarching goal of this chapter is to provide a context for the remainder of this handbook. My hope is that greater appreciation of why these methods are valuable for substantive research will make the what and how of subsequent chapters more compelling.
Richmond, M. J., Mermelstein, R. J., & Wakschlag, L. S. (2012). Direct Observations of Parenting and Real-Time Negative Affect Among Adolescent Smokers and Nonsmokers. J Clin.Child Adolesc.Psychol..
This longitudinal study examined how observations of parental general communication style and control with their adolescents predicted changes in negative affect over time for adolescent smokers and nonsmokers. Participants were 9th- and 10th-grade adolescents (N = 111; 56.8% female) who had all experimented with cigarettes and were thus at risk for continued smoking and escalation; 36% of these adolescents (n = 40) had smoked in the past month at baseline and were considered smokers in the present analyses. Adolescents participated separately with mothers and fathers in observed parent-adolescent problem-solving discussions to assess parenting at baseline. Adolescent negative affect was assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 24 months via ecological momentary assessment. Among both smoking and nonsmoking adolescents, escalating negative affect significantly increased risk for future smoking. Higher quality maternal and paternal communication predicted a decline in negative affect over 1.5 years for adolescent smokers but was not related to negative affect for nonsmokers. Controlling maternal, but not paternal, parenting predicted escalation in negative affect for all adolescents. Findings suggest that reducing negative affect among experimenting youth can reduce risk for smoking escalation. Therefore, family-based prevention efforts for adolescent smoking escalation might consider parental general communication style and control as intervention targets. However, adolescent smoking status and parent gender may moderate these effects
Ridgers, N. D., Salmon, J., Ridley, K., O’Connel, E., Arundell, L., & Timperio, A. (2012). Agreement between activPAL and ActiGraph for assessing children’s sedentary time. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9.
Background: Accelerometers have been used to determine the amount of time that children spend sedentary. However, as time spent sitting may be detrimental to health, research is needed to examine whether accelerometer sedentary cut-points reflect the amount of time children spend sitting. The aim of this study was to: a) examine agreement between ActiGraph (AG) cut-points for sedentary time and objectively-assessed periods of free-living sitting and sitting plus standing time using the activPAL (aP); and b) identify cut-points to determine time spent sitting and sitting plus standing. Methods: Forty-eight children (54% boys) aged 8-12 years wore a waist-mounted AG and thigh-mounted aP for two consecutive school days (9-3:30 pm). AG data were analyzed using 17 cut-points between 50-850 counts-Àmin[sup]-1[/sup] in 50 counts-Àmin[sup]-1[/sup] increments to determine sedentary time during class-time, break time and school hours. Sitting and sitting plus standing time were obtained from the aP for these periods. Limits of agreement were computed to evaluate bias between AG50 to AG850 sedentary time and sitting and sitting plus standing time. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analyses identified AG cut-points that maximized sensitivity and specificity for sitting and sitting plus standing time. Results: The smallest mean bias between aP sitting time and AG sedentary time was AG150 for class time (3.8 minutes), AG50 for break time (-0.8 minutes), and AG100 for school hours (-5.2 minutes). For sitting plus standing time, the smallest bias was observed for AG850. ROC analyses revealed an optimal cut-point of 96 counts-Àmin[sup]-1[/sup] (AUC = 0.75) for sitting time, which had acceptable sensitivity (71.7%) and specificity (67.8%). No optimal cut-point was obtained for sitting plus standing (AUC = 0.51). Conclusions: Estimates of free-living sitting time in children during school hours can be obtained using an AG cut-point of 100 counts-Àmin[sup]-1[/sup]. Higher sedentary cut-points may capture both sitting and standing time.
Rovine, M. J. & Lo, L. L. (2012). Foundational issues in intraindividual longitudinal analysis. In B.Laursen, T. D. Little, & N. A. Card (Eds.), Handbook of developmental research methods (pp. 313-332). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Single-subject and person-specific approaches to the modeling of developmental processes are becoming more central in the description of complex and time-varying processes. The availability of time series data (intensive data collected on each individual) through diaries, personal data assistants, and “smartphone” devices through measures of physiological characteristics (EKG, fMRI, heart rate, blood pressure, etc.); and by other means have brought time series approaches into the domain of the developmental sciences (Molenaar, 1994). Time series approaches, including Box-Jenkins type autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models (Box & Jenkins, 1970), multivariate vector autoregressive models (Luktepohl, 2005), P-technique factor models and dynamic factor models (Molenaar, 1985; Wood & Brown, 1994), and state-space models (Molenaar, 1994), among others, have been appearing more often in the developmental literature. Both time domain (Box & Jenkins, 1970) and frequency domain (Jenkins & Watts, 1968) approaches developed for engineering, econometric, and medical applications are now becoming important tools in the social sciences. As with the switch to any new set of methods, a certain amount of reluctance and misunderstanding exists. In this chapter we wish to discuss issues involved in these important approaches.
Rusby, J. C., Westling, E., Crowley, R., & Light, J. M. (2012). Concurrent and Predictive Associations Between Early Adolescent Perceptions of Peer Affiliates and Mood States Collected in Real Time via Ecological Momentary Assessment Methodology. Psychol.Assess..
This study uses ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to simultaneously capture youths’ perceptions of peer affiliates and social contexts to determine their association with youths’ current and future mood states. A sample of 82 seventh grade students (36 at risk for developing or escalating rule breaking and substance use and 46 randomly selected) from 4 schools participated. Using EMA methodology, we had students report their peer affiliations, perceptions of peer affiliates, moods, activities, location, and behaviors during their free time. Data from 3 assessment waves were collected; each wave consisted of 27 randomly prompted assessments during a week. Youths spent a large portion of their free time watching television, on the computer, or playing video games. Being “out and about” increased over the school year, whereas adult supervision decreased, showing an increase in potentially risky situations. Happiness was associated with affiliating with peers who were perceived to be popular. Negative moods were associated with affiliating with peers by whom they were teased or treated meanly. Multilevel models found that both levels and lability of negative moods (i.e., sadness, anxiety) were predicted by risk status and affiliation with peers who tease them. Compared with boys, girls who affiliated more with peers who teased them and were classified as at risk had more extreme negative moods and negative mood lability. EMA methodology has demonstrated the ways in which salient intrapersonal and peer processes are associated over time, which can inform efforts to prevent the development and escalation of behavior problems, substance use, and mood disorders in adolescence.
Saladini, F., Benetti, E., Malipiero, G., Casiglia, E., & Palatini, P. (2012). Does home blood pressure allow for a better assessment of the white-coat effect than ambulatory blood pressure? J Hypertens., 30, 2118-2124.
BACKGROUND: The difference between clinic and ambulatory blood pressure (BP) is a poor estimate of the true white-coat effect (WCE) measured with beat-to-beat recording. METHOD: We investigated whether the difference between clinic and home BP (home WCE) was a better estimate of true WCE than ambulatory WCE. In 73 young hypertensives, ambulatory WCE was calculated as the difference between clinic BP and the mean of two 24-h BP recordings, and home WCE as the difference between clinic and home BP (HBP) measured over 6 months. All individuals underwent beat-to-beat BP monitoring with the Finometer. During the recording, a white-coat test (true WCE) and a public speaking test were performed. RESULTS: Ambulatory WCE correlated with home WCE (P < 0.001 for systolic and diastolic BPs). However, both surrogate WCEs were unrelated to true WCE (P = 0.93/0.36 and P = 0.11/0.36, respectively). True WCE correlated with the BP reaction to public speaking (P < 0.001/P < 0.001), whereas both surrogate WCEs were unrelated to the BP response to this test (all P > 0.21). Individuals were divided into two groups according to whether BP response to the doctor’s visit was above (WCH+) or below (WCH-) the median. WCH+ patients had similar clinic and ambulatory BPs to WCH- but showed a higher BP response to public speaking. CONCLUSION: As previously observed for ambulatory WCE, home WCE does not reflect the true BP reaction to doctor’s visit. BP response to psychosocial stressors is increased in individuals with hyperreactivity to doctor’s measurement but not in individuals with white-coat hypertension identified with either ambulatory or HBP measurement
Scheibe, S., English, T., Tsai, J. L., & Carstensen, L. L. (2012). Striving to Feel Good: Ideal Affect, Actual Affect, and Their Correspondence Across Adulthood. Psychol.Aging.
The experience of positive affect is essential for healthy functioning and quality of life. Although there is a great deal of research on ways in which people regulate negative states, little is known about the regulation of positive states. In the present study we examined age differences in the types of positive states people strive to experience and the correspondence between their desired and actual experiences. Adults aged 18-93 years of age described their ideal positive affect states. Then, using experience-sampling over a 7-day period, they reported their actual positive affect experiences. Two types of positive affect were assessed: low-arousal (calm, peaceful, relaxed) and high-arousal (excited, proud). Young participants valued both types of positive affect equally. Older participants, however, showed increasingly clear preferences for low-arousal over high-arousal positive affect. Older adults reached both types of positive affective goals more often than younger adults (indicated by a smaller discrepancy between actual and ideal affect). Moreover, meeting ideal levels of positive low-arousal affect (though not positive high-arousal affect) was associated with individuals’ physical health, over and above levels of actual affect. Findings underscore the importance of considering age differences in emotion-regulatory goals related to positive experience.
Selby, E. A. (2012). A real-time evaluation of emotional cascades in borderline personality disorder. ProQuest Information & Learning, US.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by intensity and sensitivity of negative emotion (emotion dysregulation) as well as various dysregulated behaviors, including self-injury, suicide attempts, binge eating, and substance use. The emotional cascade model of BPD (Selby & Joiner, 2009) suggests that the turbulent emotional experience of those with BPD is the result of emotional cascades, vicious cycles of increasing rumination and negative emotion. Dysregulated behaviors, then, may serve as potent methods of distraction from rumination due to the salient physical sensations these behaviors provide (e.g., pain from self-injury). Although this model has received correlational and experimental support (Selby et al., 2009), additional research on the real-time processes of rumination and emotion, and how they relate to dysregulated behaviors, is needed. The following study used experience sampling methodology wherein individuals endorsing recent behavioral dysregulation (some with diagnoses of BPD) were signaled randomly 5 times each day for two weeks using palm pilots, at which times they recorded their thought processes, emotional experience, recent interpersonal events and dysregulated behaviors. Participants completed a total of 3,118 scheduled random assessments over monitoring. Using various forms of hierarchical linear modeling, the results of the study supported the Emotional Cascade Model using real-world data. Importantly, the data indicated that high levels of rumination have an exponential effect on predicting future engagement in dysregulated behaviors, especially for those with BPD. The results of this study provide important support for the emotional cascade model and suggest that it is a theory with important clinical implications.
Shernoff, D. J. & Anderson, B. (2013). Flow: Flow and optimal learning environments. In J.J.Froh & A. C. Parks (Eds.), Activities for teaching positive psychology: A guide for instructors (pp. 109-115). Washington, DC US: American Psychological Association.
(from the chapter) Flow is a peak experiential state of focused concentration and elevated enjoyment during intrinsically interesting activities. The experience of flow is further characterized by deep absorption, the perception of being in control, loss of self-consciousness, and a distorted perception of time (usually time seems to fly). It is suggested that students first obtain instruction in the basic concept and theory of flow through readings, presentations, or discussions before initiating the activity described in this chapter (suggested readings are provided). In this activity, students participate in the leading methodology used to research flow (the experience sampling method) by tracking and graphing their subjective experiences when signaled in a variety of instructional activities throughout an instructional unit on flow and engagement in learning.
Simon, S. K. & Seldon, H. L. (2012). Personal health records: mobile biosensors and smartphones for developing countries. Stud.Health Technol.Inform., 182, 125-132.
A target of telehealth is to maintain or improve the health of people outside the normal healthcare infrastructure. A modern paradigm in healthcare, and one which fits perfectly with telehealth, is “person self-monitoring”, and this fits with the concept of “personal health record” (PHR). One factor in maintaining health is to monitor physiological parameters; this is of course especially important in people with chronic maladies such as diabetes or heart disease. Parameters to be monitored include blood pressure, pulse rate, temperature, weight, blood glucose, oxygen saturation, electrocardiogram (ECG), etc. So one task within telehealth would be to help monitor an individual’s physiological parameters outside of healthcare institutions and store the results in a PHR in a way which is available, comprehensible and beneficial to the individual concerned and to healthcare providers. To date many approaches to this problem have been fragmented - emphasizing only part of the problem - or proprietary and not freely verifiable. We describe a framework to approach this task; it emphasizes the implementation of standards for data acquisition, storage and transmission in order to maximize the compatibility among disparate components, e.g. various PHR systems. Data from mobile biosensors is collected on a smartphone using the IEEE 11073 standard where possible; the data can be stored in a PHR on the phone (using standard formats) or can be converted in real-time into more useful information in the PHR, which is based on the International Classification for Primary Care (ICPC2e). The phone PHR data or information can be uploaded to a central online PHR using either the Wi-Fi or GSM transmission protocol together with the Continuity of Care Record message format (CCR, ASTM E2369)
Slaman, J., Bussmann, J., van der Slot, W. M., Stam, H. J., Roebroeck, M. E., & van den Berg-Emons RJ (2012). Physical Strain of Walking Relates to Activity Level in Adults With Cerebral Palsy. Arch.Phys.Med.Rehabil..
OBJECTIVE: To gain insight into underlying mechanisms of inactive lifestyles among adults with spastic bilateral cerebral palsy (CP) with a focus on aerobic capacity, oxygen consumption, and physical strain during walking at preferred walking speed, as well as fatigue. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: University hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Adults (N=36), aged 25 to 45 years, with spastic bilateral CP, walking with (n=6) or without (n=30) walking aids. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Physical strain during walking was defined as oxygen uptake during walking, expressed as percentage of peak aerobic capacity. Participants with spastic bilateral CP walked their preferred walking speed while oxygen uptake was measured using a portable gas analyzer. Peak aerobic capacity was measured during maximal cycle ergometry. An accelerometry-based activity monitor measured total daily walking time. Regression analyses were performed to assess the relation between aerobic capacity, oxygen uptake, and physical strain of walking on the one hand and total daily walking time on the other hand. RESULTS: Neither aerobic capacity nor oxygen uptake during walking was related to total daily walking time (r(2)=.29, P=.10 and r(2)=.27, P=.16, respectively). Physical strain of walking at preferred walking speed was inversely related to total daily walking time (r(2)=.44, P<.01). CONCLUSIONS: Physical strain during walking is moderately related to total daily walking time, implying that people with high physical strain during walking at preferred walking speed likely walk less in daily life
Slootmaker, S. M., Schuit, A. J., Chinapaw, M. J. M., Seidell, J. C., & van Mechelen, W. (2009). Disagreement in physical activity assessed by accelerometer and self-report in subgroups of age, gender, education and weight status. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 6.
Background: The purpose of this study is to compare self-reported time (by questionnaire) and objectively measured time (by accelerometer) spent on physical activity at moderate (MPA) and vigorous intensity (VPA) in subgroups of age, gender, education and weight status. Methods: In total, 236 adolescents (aged 12-18) and 301 adults (aged 22-40), completed the questionnaire and wore an accelerometer for two weeks. Results: Adolescents reported exceptionally more time spent on MPA (mean difference 596 ± 704 min/wk) and VPA (mean difference 178 ± 315 min/wk) than was assessed objectively by the accelerometer. Based on the questionnaire, high educated adolescents spent more time on MPA (205 min/wk, p = 0.002) and VPA (120 min/wk, p = 0.01) than low educated adolescents, but according to the accelerometer they spent less time on MPA (149 min/wk, p = 0.001) and VPA (47 min/wk, p = 0.001). Among adults there was moderate agreement between self-reported time and objectively measured time spent on MPA, but in general the reported time spent on MPA (mean difference 107 ± 334 min/wk) and VPA (mean difference 169 ± 250 min/wk) exceeded the time measured with the accelerometer. Overweight adults reported significantly more VPA (57 min/wk, p = 0.04) than normal weight adults, but this was not confirmed by the accelerometer data. Conclusion: We observed large differences in time spent on MPA and VPA measured by questionnaire and accelerometer in adolescents but reasonably good agreement in adults. Differences between methods varied by gender, education and weight status. This finding raises serious questions about the use of questionnaires to quantify MPA and VPA in adolescents. There is a clear need in advanced valid assessments of PA in adolescents.
Smith, B., Harms, W. D., Burres, S., Korda, H., Rosen, H., & Davis, J. (2012). Enhancing behavioral health treatment and crisis management through mobile ecological momentary assessment and SMS messaging. Health Informatics.J, 18, 294-308.
Many veterans returning from service in Afghanistan or Iraq suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or mild traumatic brain injury. Treating these conditions can be challenging because of high rates of relapse and associated memory impairments. We report on a pilot study that assessed the utility of mobile health (mHealth) technologies, including personal digital assistant-based ecological momentary assessment and two-way interactive text (SMS) messaging, for providing treatment feedback to clinicians, encouraging and motivating veterans throughout treatment, and monitoring participants for relapse after treatment discharge. The results of the pilot suggest that mHealth technologies are feasible adjuncts to traditional mental treatment in the veteran population. Additional work is needed to establish the degree of clinical and economic value
Smyth, J. M. & Heron, K. E. (2012). Health psychology. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 569-584). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) There is a long history of the study and practice of mind-body medicine (see Harrington, 2009). Speaking broadly, this area of enquiry attempts to study the interplay of social, behavioral, psychological, and biological factors that influence health (Smyth & Stone, 2003). Such research is conducted at many “levels” and includes basic biological and physiological processes, as well as behavioral, social, psychological, cultural, and other factors. We use the term health psychology, although there are many other cognate disciplines and related nomenclatures (behavioral medicine, medical sociology, psychosomatic medicine, etc.). Our goal in this chapter is to provide an overview of how research methods for studying daily life can be applied within the field of health psychology. We begin with a discussion of the specific advantages and challenges researchers might experience when using these methods in the field. We then provide an overview of the various ways in which daily assessment methods, particularly ecological momentary assessment (EMA), can be and have been used to address research questions in health psychology. Finally we conclude with a discussion of the innovative uses of daily assessment and intervention methods, particularly as advances in technology continue, as well as some future directions of the field.
Song, X. & Wang, X. (2012). Mind wandering in Chinese daily lives-An experience sampling study. PLoS One, 7.
Mind wandering has recently received extensive research because it reveals an important characteristic of our consciousness: conscious experience can arise internally and involuntarily. As the first attempt to examine mind wandering in a non-western population, the present study used experience-sampling method to collect the daily momentary mind wandering episodes in a Chinese sample. The results showed that mind wandering was also a ubiquitous experience among the Chinese population, and, instead of emerging out of nowhere, it was often elicited by external or internal cues. Furthermore, most of the mind wandering episodes involved prospective thinking and were closely related to one’s personal life. Finally, the frequency of mind wandering was influenced by some contextual factors. These results taken together suggest that mind wandering plays an important role in helping people to maintain a continuous feeling of “self” and to prepare them to cope with the upcoming events.
Stephens, M. A., Franks, M. M., Rook, K. S., Iida, M., Hemphill, R. C., & Salem, J. K. (2012). Spouses’ Attempts to Regulate Day-to-Day Dietary Adherence Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. Health Psychol..
Objective: To investigate daily dietary adherence and diabetes-specific distress among older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) as a function of spouses’ diet-related support and diet-related control (persuasion and pressure) and whether these daily processes differ among couples who do and do not appraise responsibility for managing T2DM as shared. Methods: End-of-day diaries were completed by 126 couples in which one partner had T2DM (patient) and the other did not (spouse). Using electronic diary methods, each partner independently recorded data for 24 consecutive days (patients recorded their day’s dietary adherence and diabetes-specific distress; spouses recorded their day’s involvement in patients’ dietary management). To assess dietary adherence, patients reported the extent to which they followed dietary recommendations that day with items from the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Measure. To assess diabetes-specific distress, patients reported the extent to which they worried about diabetes that day using items from the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) scale. Results: Multilevel modeling revealed that, relative to the prior day, spouses’ diet-related support was associated with increases in patients’ adherence whereas diet-related persuasion and pressure were associated with decreases in adherence; spouses’ pressure was associated with increases in patients’ diabetes-specific distress. When partners appraised responsibility for managing T2DM as shared, support was associated with decreases in diabetes-specific distress; pressure was associated with decreases in adherence. Conclusions: Our findings offer insight into partners’ day-to-day disease-related interactions and identify those that are likely to be beneficial versus detrimental for patients’ physical and psychological health.
Stevens, C. J. & Bryan, A. D. (2012). Rebranding exercise: there’s an app for that. Am J Health Promot., 27, 69-70.
Historically, the approach of promoting exercise by emphasizing its effects on long-term health has predominated. Despite this tradition, there is no strong empirical support for such an approach. Recent work has argued that exercise suffers from a “branding problem” and efforts to promote exercise may be better served by switching the focus from the long-term benefits of exercise that improve health, to the immediate benefits of exercise that enhance quality of life. One way to disseminate and reinforce this message could be through a smartphone application designed to monitor daily improvements on quality of life constructs correlated with exercise participation
Tabak, M., Vollenbroek-Hutten, M. M., van der Valk, P. D., van der Palen, J., Tonis, T. M., & Hermens, H. J. (2012). Telemonitoring of Daily Activity and Symptom Behavior in Patients with COPD. Int.J Telemed.Appl., 2012, 438736.
Objectives. This study investigated the activity behavior of patients with COPD in detail compared to asymptomatic controls, and the relationship between subjective and objective activities (awareness), and readiness to change activity behavior. Methods. Thirty-nine patients with COPD (66.0 years; FEV(1)% predicted: 44.9%) and 21 healthy controls (57.0 years) participated. Objective daily activity was assessed by accelerometry and expressed as amount of activity in counts per minute (cpm). Patients’ baseline subjective activity and stage of change were assessed prior to measurements. Results. Mean daily activity in COPD patients was significantly lower compared to the healthy controls (864 +/- 277 cpm versus 1162 +/- 282 cpm, P < 0.001). COPD patients showed a temporary decrease in objective activities in the early afternoon. Objective and subjective activities were significantly moderately related and most patients (55.3%) were in the maintenance phase of the stages of change. Conclusions. COPD patients show a distinctive activity decrease in the early afternoon. COPD patients are moderately aware of their daily activity but regard themselves as physically active. Therefore, future telemedicine interventions might consider creating awareness of an active lifestyle and provide feedback that aims to increase and balance activity levels
Thomassin, K., Morelen, D., & Suveg, C. (2012). Emotion reporting using electronic diaries reduces anxiety symptoms in girls with emotion dysregulation. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 42, 207-213.
Theory and empirical research suggest that electronic diaries, which require children to report on their emotional experiences, might encourage emotional processing and facilitate a reduction in symptoms of anxiety, particularly for children exhibiting emotion-related deficits. Electronic diaries were given to 52 children (aged 7GÇô12) to track their emotions and associated intensity for 7 days; anxiety was assessed prior to and after the use of the electronic diary by both parent- and child-report. It was hypothesized that the use of an electronic diary to track emotional experiences would lead to a reduction in anxiety symptoms for those children high in poor awareness, high in expressive reluctance, and low in emotion coping. The use of electronic diaries was effective at reducing child self-reported anxiety symptoms in girls who reported low emotion coping and reducing parent-reported anxiety for girls who reported a high reluctance to express emotions. Current findings suggest that having children identify their emotions using electronic diaries may be particularly beneficial for girls who are reluctant to express emotions and who report poor coping abilities.
Tortella-Feliu, M., Aguayo, B., Sese, A., Morillas-Romero, A., Balle, M., Gelabert, J. M. et al. (2012). Effects of temperament and emotion regulation styles in determining negative emotional states. Actas Esp.Psiquiatr., 40, 315-322.
INTRODUCTION: The interplay of reactive and regulatory temperamental processes appears to be essential for a better understanding of emotional states and disorders. In this study we explored the prospective relationship between reactive temperament (negative affect), regulatory temperament (effortful control), negative emotion regulation styles (rumination and suppression) and self-recorded anxiety, worry, and avoidance in naturalistic conditions. METHOD: Thirty-two young adults were first assessed through questionnaires on negative affectivity, effortful control, and two forms of negative emotion regulation (rumination and suppression). After this they recorded anxiety, worry, and avoidance three times a day over 50 consecutive days through an on-line access electronic diary. RESULTS: High levels of negative affect and low levels of effortful control were associated with higher levels of anxiety, worry, and avoidance (p<.01). The prospective association between negative affectivity and avoidance was moderated by effortful control (Total R(2)=.49). Moreover, the brooding facet of rumination totally mediated the association between negative affect and anxiety with a significant indirect effect (Effect=.30, Boot CI95%=.09 to .69). CONCLUSIONS: Avoidance patterns are significantly determined by negative affect-effortful control interaction and rumination, especially brooding, totally mediates the relationship between negative affect and anxiety
Tov, W. & Scollon, C. N. (2012). Cross-cultural research. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 539-552). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) This chapter discusses the contribution of experience sampling methodology (ESM) to cross-cultural research. We divide our review of cross-cultural applications of ESM into five main areas. First, we review studies that compare online (via ESM) and retrospective responses (via single-session surveys) and show that the two measures lead to different conclusions about cultural differences. Second, we review studies that highlight the distinction between quantity (i.e., how often certain events occur) and subjective quality (i.e., how events are experienced), and demonstrate that cultural differences may exist in either or both of these aspects. Third, we review studies that examine cultural differences in intrapsychic phenomena or within-person correlations (i.e., how psychological states covary with situational factors across cultures). These studies capture processes that may shift rapidly across contexts-such as the activation of different cultural identities and subsequent emotions. Fourth, we discuss the potential of ESM data to quantify the amount of intraindividual variation across cultures, that is, how much people’s feelings and behaviors vary overall from situation to situation-an issue that is distinct from mean-level and correlational studies. With each of the major applications, we discuss the unique advantages of using ESM. Fifth and last, we review the challenges associated with using ESM in different cultures and discuss directions for future research.
Trull, T. J. & Ebner-Priemer, U. (2012). Ambulatory Assessment. Annu.Rev.Clin.Psychol..
Ambulatory assessment (AA) covers a wide range of assessment methods to study people in their natural environment, including self-report, observational, and biological/physiological/behavioral. AA methods minimize retrospective biases while gathering ecologically valid data from patients’ everyday life in real time or near real time. Here, we report on the major characteristics of AA, and we provide examples of applications of AA in clinical psychology (a) to investigate mechanisms and dynamics of symptoms, (b) to predict the future recurrence or onset of symptoms, (c) to monitor treatment effects, (d) to predict treatment success, (e) to prevent relapse, and (f) as interventions. In addition, we present and discuss the most pressing and compelling future AA applications: technological developments (the smartphone), improved ecological validity of laboratory results by combined lab-field studies, and investigating gene-environment interactions. We conclude with a discussion of acceptability, compliance, privacy, and ethical issues. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology Volume 9 is March 26, 2013. Please see www.annualreviews.org/catalog/pubdates.aspx for revised estimates
Trull, T. J., Ebner-Priemer, U. W., Brown, W. C., Tomko, R. L., & Scheiderer, E. M. (2012). Clinical psychology. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 620-635). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Contemporary clinical psychology emphasizes empirically supported approaches to the assessment, prevention, and treatment of conditions that lead to human suffering (Trull, 2007). This wide-ranging definition reflects the broad array of activities that characterize clinical psychologists; they may serve as assessment specialists, consultants, researchers, or clinicians, to name just a few of the possibilities. In this chapter, we highlight the application of experience sampling methods (ESM; Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1987) and ecological momentary assessment methods (EMA; Stone & Shiffman, 1994) to the field of clinical psychology. Specifically, we discuss how these methods can shed light on the nature of mental illness and its symptoms, monitor treatment progress and outcome, and assist in the delivery of treatment in daily life. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of future applications and challenges in using these methods.
Tuan Nguyen, D. M., Lecoultre, V., Sunami, Y., & Schutz, Y. (2012). Assessment of Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure by GPS Combined with Accelerometry in Real-Life Conditions. J Phys.Act.Health.
BACKGROUND. Physical activity (PA) and related energy expenditure (EE) is often assessed by means of a single technique. Because of inherent limitations, single techniques may not allow for an accurate assessment both PA and related EE. The aim of this study was to develop a model to accurately assess common PA types and durations and thus EE in free-living conditions, combining data from global positioning system (GPS) and two accelerometers. METHODS. Forty-one volunteers participated in the study. First, a model was developed and adjusted to measured EE with a first group of subjects (Protocol I, n=12) who performed six structured and supervised PA. Then, the model was validated over 2 experimental phases with two groups (n=12 and n=17) performing scheduled (Protocol I) and spontaneous common activities in real-life condition (Protocol II). Predicted EE was compared to actual EE as measured by portable indirect calorimetry. RESULTS. In protocol I, performed PA types could be recognized with little error. The duration of each PA type could be predicted with an accuracy below 1 minute. Measured and predicted EE were strongly associated (r=0.97, P<0.001). CONCLUSION. Combining GPS and two accelerometers allows for an accurate assessment of PA and EE in free-living situations
Tudor-Locke, C., Brashear, M. M., Johnson, W. D., & Katzmarzyk, P. T. (2010). Accelerometer profiles of physical activity and inactivity in normal weight, overweight, and obese U.S. men and women. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7.
Background: The 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is used to describe an accelerometer-derived physical activity/inactivity profile in normal weight (BMI < 25 kg/m²), overweight (25 ? BMI < 30 kg/m²), and obese (BMI ? 30 kg/m²) U.S. adults. Methods: We computed physical activity volume indicators (activity counts/day, uncensored and censored steps/ day), rate indicators (e.g., steps/minute), time indicators (employing NHANES activity counts/minute cut points to infer time in non-wear, sedentary, low, light, moderate, and vigorous intensities), the number of breaks in sedentary time (occasions when activity counts rose from < 100 activity/counts in one minute to ? 100 activity counts in the subsequent minute), achievement of public health guidelines, and classification by step-defined physical activity levels. Data were examined for evidence of consistent and significant gradients across BMI-defined categories. Results: In 2005-2006, U.S adults averaged 6,564 ± SE 107 censored steps/day, and after considering non-wear time, they spent approximately 56.8% of the rest of the waking day in sedentary time, 23.7% in low intensity, 16.7% in light intensity, 2.6% in moderate intensity, and 0.2% in vigorous intensity. Overall, approximately 3.2% of U.S. adults achieved public health guidelines. The normal weight category took 7,190 ± SE 157 steps/day, and spent 25.7 ± 0.9 minutes/day in moderate intensity and 7.3 ± 0.4 minutes/day in vigorous intensity physical activity. The corresponding numbers for the overweight category were 6,879 ± 140 steps/day, 25.3 ± 0.9 minutes/ day, and 5.3 ± 0.5 minutes/day and for the obese category 5,784 ± 124 steps/day, 17.3 ± 0.7 minutes/day and 3.2 ± 0.4 minutes/day. Across BMI categories, increasing gradients and significant trends were apparent in males for sedentary time and decreasing gradients and significant trends were evident in time spent in light intensity, moderate intensity, and vigorous intensity. For females, there were only consistent gradients and significant trends apparent for decreasing amounts of time spent in moderate and vigorous intensity. Conclusions: Simple indicators of physical activity volume (i.e., steps/day) and time in light, moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity differ across BMI categories for both sexes, suggesting that these should continue to be targets for surveillance.
Vakil, N., Bjorck, K., Denison, H., Halling, K., Karlsson, M., Paty, J. et al. (2012). Validation of the reflux symptom questionnaire electronic diary in partial responders to proton pump inhibitor therapy. Clin.Transl.Gastroenterol., 3, e7.
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to develop and validate the Reflux Symptom Questionnaire electronic Diary (RESQ-eD) for use in clinical trials in patients with a partial response to proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy, using methods that meet US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory standards. METHODS: Patient interviews were performed to elicit new items and evaluate existing items from the Reflux Disease Questionnaire. The instrument’s measurement properties were evaluated, based on data from two clinical trials of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with a partial response to PPIs who received lesogaberan or placebo as an add-on to PPI therapy. RESULTS: The content validity phase resulted in 13 RESQ-eD items. Principal component analysis supported a four-domain structure. All domains had a high inter-item correlation (Cronbach’s alpha lower 95% confidence limit: 0.87-0.95). Test-retest reliability was good to excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.65-0.85). Convergent and discriminant validity was confirmed by correlation assessments referencing the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale. The RESQ-eD demonstrated a good ability to capture change in mean intensity and proportion of symptom-free days. Confirmatory psychometric evaluation verified internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, and ability to capture change. CONCLUSIONS: The RESQ-eD demonstrated good content validity and psychometric properties in the clinical trial setting in patients with GERD who have a partial response to PPI therapy. To our knowledge, the RESQ-eD is the first electronic symptom diary for use in partial responders to PPI that has been developed in line with the FDA guidance on patient-reported outcomes
Van Cauwenberghe, E., Gubbels, J., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Cardon, G. (2011). Feasibility and validity of accelerometer measurements to assess physical activity in toddlers. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8.
Background: Accelerometers are considered to be the most promising tool for measuring physical activity (PA) in free-living young children. So far, no studies have examined the feasibility and validity of accelerometer measurements in children under 3 years of age. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine the feasibility and validity of accelerometer measurements in toddlers (1- to 3-year olds). Methods: Forty-seven toddlers (25 boys; 20 -¦ 4 months) wore a GT1M ActiGraph accelerometer for 6 consecutive days and parental perceptions of the acceptability of wearing the monitor were assessed to examine feasibility. To investigate the validity of the ActiGraph and the predictive validity of three ActiGraph cut points, accelerometer measurements of 31 toddlers (17 boys; 20 -¦ 4 months) during free play at child care were compared to directly observed PA, using the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children-Preschool (OSRAC-P). Validity was assessed using Pearson and Spearman correlations and predictive validity using area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (ROC-AUC). Results: The feasibility examination indicated that accelerometer measurements of 30 toddlers (63.8%) could be included with a mean registration time of 564 -¦ 62 min during weekdays and 595 -¦ 83 min during weekend days. According to the parental reports, 83% perceived wearing the accelerometer as GÇÿnot unpleasant and not pleasantGÇÖ and none as GÇÿunpleasantGÇÖ. The validity evaluation showed that mean ActiGraph activity counts were significantly and positively associated with mean OSRAC-P activity intensity (r = 0.66; p < 0.001; n = 31). Further, the correlation among the ActiGraph activity counts and the OSRAC-P activity intensity level during each observation interval was significantly positive (r = 0.52; p < 0.001; n = 4218). Finally, the three sedentary cut points exhibited poor to fair classification accuracy (ROC-AUC: 0.56 to 0.71) while the three light PA (ROC-AUC: 0.51 to 0.62) and the three moderate-to-vigorous PA cut points (ROC-AUC: 0.53 to 0.57) demonstrated poor classification accuracy with respect to detecting sedentary behavior, light PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA, respectively. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that ActiGraph accelerometer measurements are feasible and valid for quantifying PA in toddlers. However, further research is needed to accurately identify PA intensities in toddlers using accelerometry.
Van, C. E., Jones, R. A., Hinkley, T., Crawford, D., & Okely, A. D. (2012). Patterns of physical activity and sedentary behavior in preschool children. Int.J Behav.Nutr.Phys.Act., 9, 138.
BACKGROUND: Little is known about patterns of sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity among preschoolers. Therefore, in this observational study patterns of SB and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were examined in detail throughout the week in preschool-aged boys and girls. METHODS: A sample of 703 Melbourne preschool children (387 boys; 4.6 +/- 0.7 y) were included in data analysis. SB and MVPA data were collected using accelerometry over an eight-day period. Percentage of time per hour in SB and in MVPA between 08:00h and 20:00h was calculated. Multi-level logistic regression models were created to examine the hour-by-hour variability in SB and MVPA for boys and girls across weekdays and weekend days. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated to interpret differences in hour-by-hour SB and MVPA levels between boys and girls, and between weekdays and weekend days. RESULTS: The highest SB levels co-occurred with the lowest MVPA levels from the morning till the early afternoon on weekdays, and during the morning and around midday on weekends. Besides, participation in SB was the lowest and participation in MVPA was the highest from the mid afternoon till the evening on weekdays and weekend days. The variability across the hours in SB and, especially, in MVPA was rather small throughout weekdays and weekends. These patterns were found in both boys and girls. During some hours, girls were found to be more likely than boys to demonstrate higher SB levels (OR from 1.08 to 1.16; all p<0.05) and lower MVPA levels (OR from 0.75 to 0.88; all p<0.05), but differences were small. During weekends, hour-by-hour SB levels were more likely to be lower (OR from 0.74 to 0.98; all p<0.05) and hour-by-hour MVPA levels were more likely to be higher (OR from 1.15 to 1.50; all p<0.05), than during weekdays, in boys and girls. CONCLUSION: Entire weekdays, especially from the morning till the early afternoon, and entire weekend days are opportunities to reduce SB and to promote MVPA in preschool-aged boys and girls. Particularly weekdays hold the greatest promise for improving SB and MVPA. No particular time of the week was found where one sex should be targeted
Vansteelandt, K., Claes, L., Muehlenkamp, J., De, C. K., Lemmens, J., Probst, M. et al. (2012). Variability in Affective Activation Predicts Non-suicidal Self-injury in Eating Disorders. Eur.Eat.Disord.Rev..
We examined whether affective variability can predict non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in eating disorders. Affect was represented by valence (positive versus negative) and activation (high versus low). Twenty-one patients with anorexia nervosa-restricting type, 18 patients with anorexia nervosa-binge-purging type and 20 patients with bulimia nervosa reported their momentary affect at nine random times a day during a one week period using a hand-held computer. Affective variability was calculated as the within-person standard deviation of valence and activation over time. Results indicate that patients displaying greater variability in activation and using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have a higher probability to engage in lifetime NSSI after adjustment for depression and borderline personality disorder. Neither variability of valence nor mean level of valence and activation had any predictive association with engaging in NSSI. It is suggested that the treatment of NSSI should focus on affect stabilization rather than reducing negative affect. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association
Walsh, M. A., Royal, A., Brown, L. H., Barrantes-Vidal, N., & Kwapil, T. R. (2012). Looking for bipolar spectrum psychopathology: Identification and expression in daily life. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 53, 409-421.
Objectives: Current clinical and epidemiological research provides support for a continuum of bipolar psychopathology: a bipolar spectrum that ranges from subclinical manifestations to full-blown bipolar disorders. Examining subthreshold bipolar symptoms may identify individuals at risk for clinical disorders, promote early interventions and monitoring, and increase the likelihood of appropriate treatment. The present studies examined the construct validity of bipolar spectrum psychopathology using the Hypomanic Personality Scale. Methods: Study 1 used interview and questionnaire measures of bipolar spectrum psychopathology in a sample of 145 nonclinically ascertained young adults. Study 2 assessed the expression of the bipolar spectrum in daily life using experience sampling methodology in the same sample. Results: In study 1, Hypomanic Personality Scale scores were positively associated with clinical bipolar disorders, bipolar spectrum disorders, the presence of hypomania or hyperthymia, depressive symptoms, poor psychosocial functioning, cyclothymia, irritability, and symptoms of borderline personality disorder. In study 2, bipolar spectrum psychopathology was associated with negative affect, thought disturbance, risky behavior, and measures of grandiosity. These findings remained independent of clinical bipolar disorders. Conclusions: In the present studies, bipolar-like disruptions in cognition, affect, and behavior were not limited to clinical diagnoses or mood episodes, providing further validation of the bipolar spectrum construct. The bipolar spectrum model appears to provide a conceptually richer basis for understanding and ultimately treating bipolar psychopathology than current diagnostic formulations.
Wang, J., Fan, X., Liu, D., Yi, Z., Freudenreich, O., Goff, D. et al. (2012). Both physical activity and food intake are associated with metabolic risks in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 140, 260-261.
This study assessed the relationship between physical activity, food intake and metabolic risks in a sample of schizophrenia patients. The study was approved by the institutional review board of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Subjects were recruited from the Freedom Trial Clinic at the Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center and were studied at the Clinical Research Center (CRC) at MGH. They were instructed to record 4-day physical activity and dietary food intake. Data of day-to-day physical activity were collected using a uniaxial accelerometer, which measures and records the amount and intensity of activity over a given period of time. Accelerometer data were recorded in 1-min epochs. Specific food intake variables, including total energy, percent of calories from saturated fat acids, percent of calories from monounsaturated fat acids and percent of calories from polyunsaturated fat acids were derived. Relationships between physical activity, food intake and metabolic parameters were examined using Pearson correlation analysis controlling for age, gender, race and antipsychotic agent. Our data suggested that both physical activity and dietary food intake were associated with metabolic abnormalities in schizophrenia patients. A lack of physical activity and low monounsaturated fat intake may place patients at a high risk for metabolic abnormalities. Anti-inflammatory effects of both physical activity and monounsaturated fatty acid intake have been associated with decreased levels of CRP in the general population. Similar effects presumably could be extended to patients with schizophrenia.
Wilhelm, F. H., Grossman, P., & Müller, M. I. (2012). Bridging the gap between the laboratory and the real world: Integrative ambulatory psychophysiology. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 210-234). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) In this chapter, shortly we introduce the scientific discipline of psychophysiology before we give an overview of psychophysiological assessment in real life. We then contrast the paradigms of ambulatory assessment and field experimentation with the very common laboratory experimentation. We consider the differential benefits of these approaches, as well as their unique pitfalls and difficulties, and argue for use of laboratory and field approaches in conjunction, as they are fundamentally complementary research approaches (Patry, 1982). We point out the necessity of (1) more frequent use of ambulatory approaches and (2) development of new, combined research strategies in order to gain data and insight from different angles-strategies that are validated in the laboratory and close to daily life conditions at the same time (Fahrenberg, Myrtek, Pawlik, & Perrez, 2007). Finally, methods and instruments of ambulatory physiological measurement are presented. Difficulties of data collection and interpretation that are unique to each method are discussed, and possibilities to obviate them are presented.
Wilhelm, P., Perrez, M., & Pawlik, K. (2012). Conducting research in daily life: A historical review. In M.R.Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 62-86). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
(from the chapter) Our aim in this chapter is to highlight the origins and important developments of major approaches for conducting research in daily life. Our focus is on different methods that have often been combined under the umbrella terms ecological momentary assessment (EMA; Stone & Shiffman, 1994; Stone, Shiffman, Atienza, & Nebeling, 2007) or ambulatory assessment (Fahrenberg, 1996a; Fahrenberg et al., 2007). Characteristic of these methods is that people’s current experiences and behaviors are assessed repeatedly, in their natural environments, without or only with minimal latency. It would hardly be possible to give a comprehensive historical overview. Therefore, we have narrowed our focus on the development of three major approaches used to conduct research in daily life: (1) diaries and related methods to record everyday experiences and behaviors, (2) (psycho)physiological monitoring of heart activity, and (3) monitoring of physical activity and body movements. For these approaches, we have tried to capture technological beginnings, the circumstances under which they were first used, and factors that led to their further refinement. For more recent stages of research, we give selected examples or refer to literature reviews.
Wrzus, C., Brandmaier, A. M., von, O. T., Muller, V., Wagner, G. G., & Riediger, M. (2012). A new approach for assessing sleep duration and postures from ambulatory accelerometry. PLoS One, 7, e48089.
Interest in the effects of sleeping behavior on health and performance is continuously increasing-both in research and with the general public. Ecologically valid investigations of this research topic necessitate the measurement of sleep within people’s natural living contexts. We present evidence that a new approach for ambulatory accelerometry data offers a convenient, reliable, and valid measurement of both people’s sleeping duration and quality in their natural environment. Ninety-two participants (14-83 years) wore acceleration sensors on the sternum and right thigh while spending the night in their natural environment and following their normal routine. Physical activity, body posture, and change in body posture during the night were classified using a newly developed classification algorithm based on angular changes of body axes. The duration of supine posture and objective indicators of sleep quality showed convergent validity with self-reports of sleep duration and quality as well as external validity regarding expected age differences. The algorithms for classifying sleep postures and posture changes very reliably distinguished postures with 99.7% accuracy. We conclude that the new algorithm based on body posture classification using ambulatory accelerometry data offers a feasible and ecologically valid approach to monitor sleeping behavior in sizable and heterogeneous samples at home
Wu, W., Dasgupta, S., Ramirez, E. E., Peterson, C., & Norman, G. J. (2012). Classification accuracies of physical activities using smartphone motion sensors. J Med.Internet Res, 14, e130.
BACKGROUND: Over the past few years, the world has witnessed an unprecedented growth in smartphone use. With sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes on board, smartphones have the potential to enhance our understanding of health behavior, in particular physical activity or the lack thereof. However, reliable and valid activity measurement using only a smartphone in situ has not been realized. OBJECTIVE: To examine the validity of the iPod Touch (Apple, Inc.) and particularly to understand the value of using gyroscopes for classifying types of physical activity, with the goal of creating a measurement and feedback system that easily integrates into individuals’ daily living. METHODS: We collected accelerometer and gyroscope data for 16 participants on 13 activities with an iPod Touch, a device that has essentially the same sensors and computing platform as an iPhone. The 13 activities were sitting, walking, jogging, and going upstairs and downstairs at different paces. We extracted time and frequency features, including mean and variance of acceleration and gyroscope on each axis, vector magnitude of acceleration, and fast Fourier transform magnitude for each axis of acceleration. Different classifiers were compared using the Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) toolkit, including C4.5 (J48) decision tree, multilayer perception, naive Bayes, logistic, k-nearest neighbor (kNN), and meta-algorithms such as boosting and bagging. The 10-fold cross-validation protocol was used. RESULTS: Overall, the kNN classifier achieved the best accuracies: 52.3%-79.4% for up and down stair walking, 91.7% for jogging, 90.1%-94.1% for walking on a level ground, and 100% for sitting. A 2-second sliding window size with a 1-second overlap worked the best. Adding gyroscope measurements proved to be more beneficial than relying solely on accelerometer readings for all activities (with improvement ranging from 3.1% to 13.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Common categories of physical activity and sedentary behavior (walking, jogging, and sitting) can be recognized with high accuracies using both the accelerometer and gyroscope onboard the iPod touch or iPhone. This suggests the potential of developing just-in-time classification and feedback tools on smartphones
Yeung, D. Y. & Fung, H. H. (2012). Impacts of suppression on emotional responses and performance outcomes: An experience-sampling study in younger and older workers. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 67B, 666-676.
Objectives: Past studies have demonstrated that older adults used less emotional suppression to regulate their emotions than did younger adults, but the effectiveness of using this emotion regulatory strategy on psychosocial well-being across age remains largely unexplored. The present study adopted an experience-sampling method to examine whether the impacts of momentary employment of emotional suppression on momentary positive and negative emotions and job performance would be different by age. Method: Eighty-seven Chinese insurance workers, aged between 18 and 61 years, participated in a 5-day sampling study. Their affective responses at work, momentary task performance, and sales productivity were recorded. Results: Results showed that older workers’ greater use of suppression at work was associated with lower intensity of negative emotions, whereas such association was not found among younger workers. Moreover, greater use of suppression over the sampling period was significantly predictive of sales productivity of older workers, but such a positive association was not shown in younger workers. Discussion: These findings reveal that the use of suppression at work may be more effective for older workers than for younger workers.
Zakeri, I. F., Adolph, A. L., Puyau, M. R., Vohra, F. A., & Butte, N. F. (2013). Cross-sectional time series and multivariate adaptive regression splines models using accelerometry and heart rate predict energy expenditure of preschoolers. J Nutr., 143, 114-122.
Prediction equations of energy expenditure (EE) using accelerometers and miniaturized heart rate (HR) monitors have been developed in older children and adults but not in preschool-aged children. Because the relationships between accelerometer counts (ACs), HR, and EE are confounded by growth and maturation, age-specific EE prediction equations are required. We used advanced technology (fast-response room calorimetry, Actiheart and Actigraph accelerometers, and miniaturized HR monitors) and sophisticated mathematical modeling [cross-sectional time series (CSTS) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS)] to develop models for the prediction of minute-by-minute EE in 69 preschool-aged children. CSTS and MARS models were developed by using participant characteristics (gender, age, weight, height), Actiheart (HR+AC_x) or ActiGraph parameters (AC_x, AC_y, AC_z, steps, posture) [x, y, and z represent the directional axes of the accelerometers], and their significant 1- and 2-min lag and lead values, and significant interactions. Relative to EE measured by calorimetry, mean percentage errors predicting awake EE (-1.1 +/- 8.7%, 0.3 +/- 6.9%, and -0.2 +/- 6.9%) with CSTS models were slightly higher than with MARS models (-0.7 +/- 6.0%, 0.3 +/- 4.8%, and -0.6 +/- 4.6%) for Actiheart, ActiGraph, and ActiGraph+HR devices, respectively. Predicted awake EE values were within +/-10% for 81-87% of individuals for CSTS models and for 91-98% of individuals for MARS models. Concordance correlation coefficients were 0.936, 0.931, and 0.943 for CSTS EE models and 0.946, 0.948, and 0.940 for MARS EE models for Actiheart, ActiGraph, and ActiGraph+HR devices, respectively. CSTS and MARS models should prove useful in capturing the complex dynamics of EE and movement that are characteristic of preschool-aged children.