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Villanueva J, Meyer AH, Block VJ, Benoy C, Bader K, Brogli S, Karekla M, Walter M, Haller E, Lang UE, Gloster AT. How mood is affected by environment and upsetting events: The moderating role of psychological flexibility. Psychother Res 2024; 34:490-502. [PMID: 37257198 DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2023.2215392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Patients suffering from psychological disorders report decreased quality of life and low mood. The relationship of these symptoms to daily upsetting events or environments, and in the context of active coping mechanisms is poorly understood. The present study thus investigates the association between mood, psychological flexibility, upsetting events, and environment in the daily life of outpatients. METHOD We investigated 80 outpatients at the beginning of treatment, using event sampling methodology (ESM). Patients' mood, occurrence of upsetting events, current environment, and psychological flexibility were sampled six times per day during a one-week intensive longitudinal examination. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models (LMMs). RESULTS Participants reported worse mood the more upsetting events they experienced. Further, participants reported better mood when in private environments (e.g., with friends), and worse mood when at the hospital, compared to being at home. Higher levels of psychological flexibility, however, were associated with better mood, irrespective of the occurrence of upsetting events or current environment. CONCLUSION Results suggest that mood is positively associated with psychological flexibility, not despite, but especially during the dynamic and context-specific challenges of daily life. Psychological flexibility may thus potentially act as a buffer against distress-provoking situations as patients go about their daily lives. TRIAL REGISTRATION ISRCTN.org identifier: ISRCTN11209732.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanette Villanueva
- University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Andrea H Meyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Victoria J Block
- Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Charles Benoy
- Rehabilitation Clinic, Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Center, Ettelbrück, Luxemburg
| | - Klaus Bader
- University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sandra Brogli
- University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Maria Karekla
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Marc Walter
- University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Elisa Haller
- Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Undine E Lang
- University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Andrew T Gloster
- Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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2
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Elmer T, Ram N, Gloster AT, Bringmann LF. Studying Daily Social Interaction Quantity and Quality in Relation to Depression Change: A Multi-Phase Experience Sampling Study. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2023:1461672231211469. [PMID: 38098172 DOI: 10.1177/01461672231211469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Day-to-day social life and mental health are intertwined. Yet, no study to date has assessed how the quantity and quality of social interactions in daily life are associated with changes in depressive symptoms. This study examines these links using multiple-timescale data (iSHAIB data set; N = 133), where the level of depressive symptoms was measured before and after three 21-day periods of event-contingent experience sampling of individuals' interpersonal interactions (T = 64,112). We find weak between-person effects for interaction quantity and perceiving interpersonal warmth of others on changes in depressive symptoms over the 21-day period, but strong and robust evidence for overwarming-a novel construct representing the self-perceived difference between one's own and interaction partner's level of interpersonal warmth. The findings highlight the important role qualitative aspects of social interactions may play in the progression of individuals' depressive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timon Elmer
- University of Zurich, Switzerland
- University of Groningen, the Netherlands
- ETH Zürich, Switzerland
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3
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Nicolaisen-Sobesky E, Paz V, Cervantes-Constantino F, Fernández-Theoduloz G, Pérez A, Martínez-Montes E, Kessel D, Cabana Á, Gradin VB. Event-related potentials during the ultimatum game in people with symptoms of depression and/or social anxiety. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14319. [PMID: 37118970 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Depression and social anxiety are common disorders that have a profound impact on social functioning. The need for studying the neural substrates of social interactions in mental disorders using interactive tasks has been emphasized. The field of neuroeconomics, which combines neuroscience techniques and behavioral economics multiplayer tasks such as the Ultimatum Game (UG), can contribute in this direction. We assessed emotions, behavior, and Event-Related Potentials in participants with depression and/or social anxiety symptoms (MD/SA, n = 63, 57 females) and healthy controls (n = 72, 67 females), while they played the UG. In this task, participants received fair, mid-value, and unfair offers from other players. Mixed linear models were implemented to assess trial level changes in neural activity. The MD/SA group reported higher levels of sadness in response to mid-value and unfair offers compared to controls. In controls, the Medial Frontal Negativity associated with fair offers increased over time, while this dynamic was not observed in the MD/SA group. The MD/SA group showed a decreased P3/LPP in all offers, compared to controls. These results indicate an enhanced negative emotional response to unfairness in the MD/SA group. Neural results reveal a blunted response over time to positive social stimuli in the MD/SA group. Moreover, between-group differences in P3/LPP may relate to a reduced saliency of offers and/or to a reduced availability of resources for processing incoming stimuli in the MD/SA group. Findings may shed light into the neural substrates of social difficulties in these disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eliana Nicolaisen-Sobesky
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behaviour), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Valentina Paz
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Fundamentos y Métodos en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Psicología Clínica, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | | | - Gabriela Fernández-Theoduloz
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Psicología Clínica, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Alfonso Pérez
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | | | - Dominique Kessel
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Álvaro Cabana
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Fundamentos y Métodos en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Victoria B Gradin
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Instituto de Fundamentos y Métodos en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
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Gloster AT, Rinner MTB, Haller E, Hoyer J, Mikoteit T, Imboden C, Hatzinger M, Bader K, Miché M, Lieb R, Meyer AH. Is helping you helping me? The assessment of helping others using event sampling methodology in a clinical and a non‐clinical sample. BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 62:768-781. [PMID: 36329569 DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) and social phobia (SP) have difficulties in social interactions. It is unknown, however, whether such difficulties prevent them from helping others, thereby depriving them of the natural benefits of helping, such as receiving gratitude. Using event sampling methodology (ESM), individuals (MDD, n = 118; SP, n = 47; and control group, n = 119) responded to questions about the frequency of helping, in total at 5333 time points, and their well-being. Contrary to our hypothesis, individuals in the MDD, SP and control group did not differ in their helping frequency. Results did show an association between helping and well-being, such that helping is related to well-being and well-being to helping. Understanding the complex relation of helping others and well-being and how this might be used during therapy and prevention programmes are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew T. Gloster
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Intervention Science, Department of Psychology University of Basel Basel Switzerland
| | - Marcia T. B. Rinner
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Intervention Science, Department of Psychology University of Basel Basel Switzerland
| | - Elisa Haller
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Intervention Science, Department of Psychology University of Basel Basel Switzerland
| | - Jürgen Hoyer
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Technische Universität Dresden Dresden Germany
| | - Thorsten Mikoteit
- Centre for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders University of Basel, Psychiatric Hospital Basel Switzerland
- Psychiatric Services Solothurn and University of Basel Basel Switzerland
| | - Christian Imboden
- Switzerland and Private Clinic Wyss Psychiatric Services Solothurn and University of Basel Muenchenbuchsee Switzerland
| | - Martin Hatzinger
- Psychiatric Services Solothurn and University of Basel Basel Switzerland
| | - Klaus Bader
- Psychiatric University Clinics UPK Basel Switzerland
| | - Marcel Miché
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology University of Basel Basel Switzerland
| | - Roselind Lieb
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology University of Basel Basel Switzerland
| | - Andrea H. Meyer
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology University of Basel Basel Switzerland
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Haller E, Lubenko J, Presti G, Squatrito V, Constantinou M, Nicolaou C, Papacostas S, Aydın G, Chong YY, Chien WT, Cheng HY, Ruiz FJ, García-Martín MB, Obando-Posada DP, Segura-Vargas MA, Vasiliou VS, McHugh L, Höfer S, Baban A, Dias Neto D, da Silva AN, Monestès JL, Alvarez-Galvez J, Paez-Blarrina M, Montesinos F, Valdivia-Salas S, Ori D, Kleszcz B, Lappalainen R, Ivanović I, Gosar D, Dionne F, Merwin RM, Karekla M, Kassianos AP, Gloster AT. To Help or Not to Help? Prosocial Behavior, Its Association With Well-Being, and Predictors of Prosocial Behavior During the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic. Front Psychol 2022; 12:775032. [PMID: 35222147 PMCID: PMC8877810 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.775032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally disrupted humans’ social life and behavior. Public health measures may have inadvertently impacted how people care for each other. This study investigated prosocial behavior, its association well-being, and predictors of prosocial behavior during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and sought to understand whether region-specific differences exist. Participants (N = 9,496) from eight regions clustering multiple countries around the world responded to a cross-sectional online-survey investigating the psychological consequences of the first upsurge of lockdowns in spring 2020. Prosocial behavior was reported to occur frequently. Multiple regression analyses showed that prosocial behavior was associated with better well-being consistently across regions. With regard to predictors of prosocial behavior, high levels of perceived social support were most strongly associated with prosocial behavior, followed by high levels of perceived stress, positive affect and psychological flexibility. Sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors of prosocial behavior were similar across regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Haller
- Clinical Psychology and Intervention Science, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Elisa Haller,
| | - Jelena Lubenko
- Department of Health Psychology and Pedagogy, Riga Stradiņš University, Riga, Latvia
| | - Giovambattista Presti
- Kore University Behavioral Lab, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy
| | - Valeria Squatrito
- Kore University Behavioral Lab, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy
| | - Marios Constantinou
- Department of Social Sciences, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | | | | | - Gökçen Aydın
- Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance, Faculty of Education, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Yuen Yu Chong
- The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Wai Tong Chien
- The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ho Yu Cheng
- The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Francisco J. Ruiz
- Department of Psychology, Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz, Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | | | | | - Vasilis S. Vasiliou
- Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Louise McHugh
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Stefan Höfer
- Department of Medical Psychology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Adriana Baban
- Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University (UBB), Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - David Dias Neto
- ISPA—Instituto Universitário, APPsyCI—Applied Psychology Research Center Capabilities and Inclusion, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana Nunes da Silva
- Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Javier Alvarez-Galvez
- Department of Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Public Health, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Dorottya Ori
- Department of Mental Health, Heim Pal National Pediatric Institute, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Bartosz Kleszcz
- Bartosz Kleszcz Psychotherapy and Training, Sosnowiec, Poland
| | - Raimo Lappalainen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Iva Ivanović
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Institute for Children’s Diseases, Clinical Centre of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro
| | - David Gosar
- Department of Child, Adolescent and Developmental Neurology, University Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Frederick Dionne
- Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada
| | - Rhonda M. Merwin
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke University, Durham, CA, United States
| | - Maria Karekla
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | | | - Andrew T. Gloster
- Clinical Psychology and Intervention Science, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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6
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Covariation of psychobiological stress regulation with valence and quantity of social interactions in everyday life: disentangling intra- and interindividual sources of variation. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2021; 128:1381-1395. [PMID: 34181094 PMCID: PMC8423684 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-021-02359-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
While the overall effects of social relationships on stress and health have extensively been described, it remains unclear how the experience of social interactions covaries with the activity of psychobiological stress in everyday life. We hypothesized that the valence as well as quantitative characteristics of social interactions in everyday life would attenuate psychobiological stress. Sixty healthy participants provided data for the analyses. Using an ecological momentary assessment design, participants received 6 prompts on their smartphone for 4 days. At each prompt, they reported on social interactions since the last prompt (any occurrence, frequency, duration, quality, and perceived social support), current subjective stress, and provided one saliva sample for the analyses of cortisol (sCort) and alpha-amylase (sAA). Experiencing any contact within days as well as higher daily levels of contact quality and perceived social support were associated with reduced levels of sCort. Furthermore, on a daily level, experiencing at least one contact in-between prompts more often as well as having more contacts on average attenuated the sAA output. Perceived social support and contact quality as well as higher daily contact durations were associated with lower subjective stress. For sCort, daily levels of stress moderated the effects of experiencing any contact within days while daily perceived social support moderated the effects of subjective stress. For sAA, experiencing at least one contact in-between prompts more often on a daily level moderated the effects of subjective stress. There were no between-person effects throughout all analyses. The results show ecologically valid evidence for direct attenuating effects of social interactions on psychobiological stress as well as for the stress-buffering hypothesis in everyday life. Increasing the quantity and improving the valence of social interactions on an intrapersonal level can possibly reduce psychobiological stress and prevent its consequences.
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