Combining Life History Calendars and Ecological Momentary Assessment in the Evaluation of Stress in Everyday Life (Preprint)

• DOI: 10.2196/preprints.58710
• Publication Date: 2024-03-27T19:42:38Z
• Authors: Pamela Chavarría-...; Miquel Tortella-F...; Lydia Fortea; Víctor De la Peña...; Asier Juaneda-Seguí; Ignacio Martínez-...; Enric Vilajosana; Joaquim Radua; Alexander J. Shac...; Carles Soriano-Mas; Miquel A. Fullana
• Keywords: Preprint; Everyday Life

<sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Stress is widely acknowledged as a risk factor for various negative health outcomes. Therefore, assessing everyday stress through longitudinal research has gained interest, with focus on capturing and its components using intra-individual approaches ecological momentary assessment (EMA). </sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> Building the proposal of Smyth et al. [1], our study aims to investigate relationship between different operationalizations two relevant constructs: declining mental trait anxiety. <title>METHODS</title> Over 6-month period, we conducted involving 165 adults (84 females; mean age = 24.91, SD 4.61 years) varying anxiety levels. We assessed retrospective stressor evaluations life history calendar (LHC) prospective responses via EMA. Our LHC surveyed forty events representing significant changes in participant´s environment across thirteen domains. EMA scores were derived from weekly averages four items measuring symptoms. After defining three baselines, computed indices pileup, average reactivity, recovery each participant, employing operationalizations. Subsequently, examined these symptom hierarchical multiple regression analyses. <title>RESULTS</title> data cleaning 89100 potential notifications (165 retained participants × 180 days per day), responded 68554 (77%) them. Every participant reported experiencing at least one event list during study. Interestingly, reactivity baselines influenced both total count episodes whole sample (239 local baseline 1, 176 2, 228 cumulative baseline) number person (local M=1.45, SD=.74; M=1.07, SD=.25; baseline, M=1.41, SD=.78). Only few showed expected associations increased internalizing symptoms or When an operationalizing pileup either (one week) there was correlation observed scores. Additionally, correlated Moreover, operationalization 2 significantly predicted follow-up. Finally, only operationalization, which used weeks stressors, supported association (r=.17, P=.03). <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> results underscore importance selecting appropriate dynamics life. To knowledge, this first combine Future can benefit insights by utilizing most effective identified here investigating alternative methodologies.