Valence and Motivation as Predictors of Student Time Use in Everyday Life: An Experience Sampling Study

Koudela-Hamila S, Grund A, Santangelo P, Ebner-Priemer UW. Valence and Motivation as Predictors of Student Time Use in Everyday Life: An Experience Sampling Study. FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY. 2019;10: 1430.Popular descriptions of studying frequency show remarkable discrepancies: students complain about their workload, and alumni describe freedom and pleasure. Unfortunately, empirical evidence on student time use is sparse. To investigate time use and reveal contributing psychological factors, we conducted an e-diary study. One hundred fifty-four students reported their time use and valence hourly over 7 days, both at the start of the semester and during their examination period. Motivational problems, social support and self-control were assessed once via questionnaires. Whereas the mean academic time use was in the expected range, the between-subject differences were substantial. We used multilevel modeling to separately analyze the within- and between-subject associations of valence as within factor and time use and social support, self-control, and motivation as between factors and time use. The analyses revealed the importance of affective factors on a within-subject level. Before studying, valence was already low, and it deteriorated further during studying. As expected at the between-subject level, motivational problems were related to less time studying, whereas surprisingly, self-control had no effect. The findings at the start of the semester were replicated in the examination period

Within- and Between-Persons Effects of Self-Esteem and Affective State as Antecedents and Consequences of Dysfunctional Behaviors in the Everyday Lives of Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder

Dysfunctional behaviors are conceptualized as maladaptive affective coping attempts in borderline personality disorder (BPD). The recent benefits-and-barriers model extended the affective function assumption by adding self-esteem as a barrier to engaging in dysfunctional behaviors. Patients with BPD (N = 119) carried e-diaries to report their current selfesteem, emotional valence, tense arousal, and whether they engaged in dysfunctional behaviors 12 times a day for 4 days. Dynamic structural equation modeling revealed that on the within-person level, high momentary negative affect predicted dysfunctional behaviors, and on the between-person level, low trait self-esteem predicted dysfunctional behaviors. We also found an association between engaging in dysfunctional behaviors and momentary self-esteem and trait levels of valence and tense arousal. Moreover, our results indicate a deterioration of, rather than relief from, negative affective state after dysfunctional behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of emotion-regulation skills and reestablishing a positive self-view as important treatment targets to reduce dysfunctional behaviors in BPD

START adolescents: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of a low-threshold group treatment programme in traumatised adolescent refugees

Introduction No evaluated therapeutic approaches, that can efficiently be established in routine mental healthcare, are currently available for traumatised adolescent refugees in Germany. This study evaluates the efficacy of the Stress-Traumasymptoms-Arousal-Regulation-Treatment (START) programme to reduce trauma-related symptoms and psychological distress in traumatised adolescent refugees based in Germany. Methods and analysis This randomised, waiting-list-controlled, multicentre trial with a 12-week follow-up will include 174 refugee minors with partial or full post-traumatic stress disorder who are fluent in either Arabic, Dari, English, German or Somali. Eligible refugee minors will be randomised to the START or waiting-list control groups. The manualised 8-week START programme is based on techniques of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), fosters adaptive coping with emotional distress and traumatic symptoms and comprises eight therapy modules and a booster session. Study assessments are planned at baseline, post-treatment (ie, after programme participation or waiting time), booster session at week 12 or 12-week waiting time, and at the 12-week follow-up. Primary and coprimary outcomes are changes in psychological distress and traumatic symptoms at post-treatment and will be analysed as response variables in linear mixed regression models. Secondary outcomes are changes in further trauma-related and other psychopathological symptoms, emotion regulation and intermediate effects of the programme at follow-up. We will also assess effects of the programme with ecological momentary assessments and on neuroendocrine stress parameters using hair cortisol. Ethics and dissemination This study has been approved by the lead ethics committee of Rhineland-Palatinate and the ethics committees of participating sites. The study results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and scientific conferences

Induced ruminative and mindful attention in everyday life: An experimental ambulatory assessment study

AbstractBackground and objectivesRumination has been proposed as a risk factor for depression, while mindful attention might be protective. Differential effects of these attention foci have so far only been examined in the laboratory. Therefore, we conducted an experimental ambulatory assessment study using ruminative and mindful attention inductions in everyday life to examine their effects in a natural context.MethodsFifty young adults carried palmtops over three weekdays (rumination induction day, mindful attention induction day, noninduction day; randomized cross-over design). Ten times a day, participants rated ruminative self-focus and mood. On the induction days, they were additionally subjected to 3-min inductions of ruminative or mindful attention at each assessment.ResultsThe two induction modes exhibited differential immediate effects on ruminative self-focus and mood. While induced rumination immediately deteriorated valence and calmness, induced mindful attention specifically enhanced calmness. Depressive symptoms did not moderate these effects. While overall longer term effects of the inductions were missing, the mindful attention day was associated with slightly increasing positive valence over the day.LimitationsThe results need to be replicated in high-risk and patient samples to demonstrate the clinical significance of identified effects.ConclusionsResults confirm the emotional relevance of rumination and mindful attention in real world settings. Future work may test whether adaptive attention-focusing instructions delivered in daily life can support clinical interventions