Time-Varying Associations Between Device-Based and Ecological Momentary Assessment-Reported Sedentary Behaviors and the Concurrent Affective States Among Adolescents: Proof-of-Concept Study

Jennifer Zink; Chih-Hsiang Yang; Jasmin M Alves; Kelsey L McAlister; Jimi Huh; Mary Ann Pentz; Kathleen A Page; Genevieve F Dunton; Britni R Belcher

doi:10.2196/37743

Time-Varying Associations Between Device-Based and Ecological Momentary Assessment-Reported Sedentary Behaviors and the Concurrent Affective States Among Adolescents: Proof-of-Concept Study

JMIR Form Res. 2022 Jun 10;6(6):e37743. doi: 10.2196/37743.

Authors

Jennifer Zink¹, Chih-Hsiang Yang², Jasmin M Alves³, Kelsey L McAlister¹, Jimi Huh¹, Mary Ann Pentz¹, Kathleen A Page³, Genevieve F Dunton^{1

4}, Britni R Belcher¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
² Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States.
³ Department of Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

PMID: 35687383
PMCID: PMC9233247
DOI: 10.2196/37743

Abstract

Background: Previous studies on affective state-sedentary behavior (SB) associations have not accounted for their potentially time-varying nature and have used inconsistent SB measurement modalities. We investigated whether the strength of the associations between affective states and SB varied as a function of the time of day and by SB measurement modality (device-measured SB vs ecological momentary assessment-reported screen-based SB) in youth.

Objective: This study aimed to establish a proof of concept that SB-affective state associations may not be static during the day. In addition, we aimed to inform the methodology of future work, which may need to model associations as functions of the time of day and carefully consider how SB is operationalized or measured.

Methods: A total of 15 adolescents (age: mean 13.07, SD 1.03 years; 10/15, 67% female; 6/15, 40% Hispanic; 10/15, 67% healthy weight) wore thigh-mounted activPAL accelerometers and simultaneously reported their screen-based SBs and concurrent positive and negative affective states via ecological momentary assessment for 7 to 14 days (N=636 occasions). Time-varying effect models (varying slopes) examined how each measure of SB was associated with concurrent affective states from 7 AM to 8 PM.

Results: Time-varying effect model plots revealed that these associations varied in strength throughout the day. Specifically, device-based SB was related to greater concurrent negative affect only after approximately 5 PM and was unrelated to concurrent positive affect. Screen-based SB was related to greater concurrent negative affect only from 7 AM to approximately 9 AM. This was also related to greater concurrent positive affect from 7 AM to approximately 9:30 AM and from approximately 3 PM to approximately 7 PM.

Conclusions: We provide preliminary evidence to suggest that future confirmatory studies investigating the SB-affective state relationship should consider the time-varying nature of these associations and SB measurement modality. There may be critical time windows when specific types of SBs co-occur with affect, suggesting that interventions may need tailoring to the time of day and type of SB if future studies using similar methodologies can replicate our findings.

Keywords: accelerometry; intensive longitudinal data; mobile phone; mood; youth.

©Jennifer Zink, Chih-Hsiang Yang, Jasmin M Alves, Kelsey L McAlister, Jimi Huh, Mary Ann Pentz, Kathleen A Page, Genevieve F Dunton, Britni R Belcher. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 10.06.2022.

Abstract

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