This item is only available electronically.Background. Monitoring mental-health symptoms in young people informs early
interventions and promotes positive long-term health outcomes. One promising e-health
methodology that enables such monitoring is Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA),
which captures everyday mood fluctuations and other mental-health symptoms in natural
settings. However, low adherence rates threaten the efficacy of EMA. This study aimed to
explore practically relevant factors that reveal who adheres to EMA protocols and possible
reasons why.
Methods. Young people (N=130, 16-27 years) were previously recruited from the ReachOut
mental-health support website. Of the 65 who commenced a recommended 14-day EMA
protocol, 49 (75.4%) responded to this follow-up study. Individual differences of personality
and demographics, and two theoretically proposed predictors of adherence – motivational
orientation and habit-formation – were examined using a mixed methods approach.
Results. Participants in the EMA protocol were younger and reported lower stress and
anxiety. The most efficient model (F(9, 36)=2.93, p=.01) explained 42.3% of the variance in
adherence to EMA. Identifying with the integrated form of extrinsic motivation and an
agreeable personality significantly predicted adherence (B=3.01, p=.009 and B=1.28, p=.029
respectively). Participants indicated that they valued and were interested in the EMA,
however, repetitiveness of EMA items and forgetfulness inhibited adherence.
Conclusions. The results distinguish who might adhere to and benefit from EMA, although
additional research is required to characterise non-adherence. To realise the potential of EMA
in managing young people’s mental-health, this study informs e-health design strategies that
might improve adherence by bringing attention to aspects of motivational theory.Thesis (B.PsychSc(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 201
