Walk on the bright side: physical activity and affect in major depressive disorder

Although prescribed exercise has been found to improve affect and reduce levels of depression, we do not know how self-initiated everyday physical activity influences levels of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) in depressed persons. Fifty-three individuals diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and 53 never-depressed controls participated in a seven-day experience sampling study. Participants were prompted randomly eight times per day and answered questions about their physical activity and affective state. Over the week, the two groups of participants did not differ in average level of physical activity. As expected, participants with MDD reported lower average PA and higher average NA than did never-depressed controls. Both participants with MDD and controls reported higher levels of PA at prompts after physical activity than at prompts after inactive periods; moreover, for both groups of participants, PA increased from a prompt after an inactive period to a subsequent prompt at which activity was reported. Depressed participants in particular showed a dose-response effect of physical activity on affect: longer duration and/or higher intensity of physical activity increased their PA significantly more than did short duration and/or lower intensity physical activity. Physical activity did not influence NA in either group. In contrast to previous treatment studies that examined the effects of prescribed structured exercise, this investigation showed that self-initiated physical activity influences PA. These findings also underscore the importance of distinguishing between PA and NA to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of physical activity on affect in MDD.     

Positive Affect and Health

ABSTRACT— Negative affective styles such as anxiety, depression, and hostility have long been accepted as predictors of increased risk for illness and mortality. In contrast, positive affective styles have been relatively ignored in the health literature. Here we highlight consistent patterns of research associating trait positive affect (PA) and physical health. The evidence we review suggests an association of trait PA and lower morbidity and decreased symptoms and pain. PA is also associated with increased longevity among community-dwelling elderly. The association of PA and survival among those with serious illness is less clear and suggests the possibility that PA may be harmful in some situations. We conclude by raising conceptual and methodological reservations about this literature and suggesting directions for future research.     

Prospective and Concurrent Affective Dynamics in Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors: An Examination in Young Adult Women

Affective dynamics, assessed using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), provide a nuanced understanding of within-person fluctuations of negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) in daily life. NA and PA dynamics have been associated with psychopathology and response to psychological treatments. NA and PA dynamics have been rarely studied concurrently in association with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITB), transdiagnostic difficulties encountered regularly in clinical and community settings. Here we present EMA data from a large, diverse sample of young adult women with high rates of SITB to examine NA and PA dynamics (mean intensity, variability, and inertia). Specifically, we considered the prospective associations between past-year suicidal thoughts and past-year nonsuicidal self-injury and affective dynamics, as well as the concurrent associations between affective dynamics, EMA-reported suicidal thoughts, and EMA-reported urges for nonsuicidal self-injury. Results demonstrate that elevated mean NA and NA variability are robustly associated with all types of SITB assessed prospectively or concurrently. Interestingly, these associations were weakest for past-year nonsuicidal self-injurious behaviors, relative to past-year and concurrent suicidal or nonsuicidal self-injurious thoughts. Past-year suicidal thoughts further predicted increased NA inertia. Decreased PA inertia was associated with past-year nonsuicidal self-injury behavior, as well as concurrent EMA suicidal thoughts. We found no associations (prospective or concurrent) between SITB and mean PA intensity or PA variability. These results highlight the importance of understanding affective processes to develop real-world interventions to prevent nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal behavior in daily life.     

Disentangling the effects of choice and intensity on affective response to and preference for self-selected- versus imposed-intensity physical activity

ObjectiveTo examine the independent effects of physical activity (PA) intensity and choice of PA intensity when comparing affective response to and relative preference for self-selected-intensity versus imposed higher intensity PA.DesignWithin-subjects experiment.MethodsTwenty-nine healthy, low-active women completed four PA bouts over two sessions. The first session consisted of a one-third mile self-selected-intensity treadmill walk during which the speed was recorded, but was not visible to the participants. The second session consisted of three, counterbalanced, one-third mile treadmill conditions: (a) self-selected intensity, (b) same intensity as recorded for the first-session-self-selected-intensity walk, but with the intensity imposed by the experimenter (i.e., yoked-self-selected intensity), and (c) intensity set at 20% higher than the first-session-self-selected-intensity walk (imposed higher intensity). Acute affective valence (pleasure/displeasure) was recorded prior to, during, and following each walking bout. Preference for each walking intensity was assessed using a behavioral-choice paradigm.ResultsContrary to hypotheses, there was no effect of condition on acute affective valence. However, consistent with hypotheses, there was a linear trend, F(1, 22) = 11.00, p = .003, indicating preference in descending order from self-selected-intensity to yoked-self-selected-intensity to imposed higher intensity PA.ConclusionsBoth choice over the intensity and a lower intensity per se contributed to greater preference for self-selected-intensity over imposed higher intensity PA among healthy low-active women; however, there was no evidence to support the notion that affective response to PA mediated this relationship.     

Sharing Positive Experiences Boosts Resilient Thinking: Everyday Benefits of Social Connection and Positive Emotion in a Community Sample

The influence of shared enjoyment and positive affect (PA) on resilient thinking was examined in 191 middle‐aged adults (40–65 years), participating in a study of resilience. Participants completed diaries assessing positive events, shared enjoyment, PA, and resilient cognitions (RC). Multilevel structural equation modeling was utilized to examine when and who engages in RC. Participants reported more RC on days they experienced more positive experiences. This relationship was explained by shared enjoyment and PA. Level‐1 proportional reduction of variance (PRV) for shared enjoyment, PA, and RC was 9%, 10%, and 35%, respectively. Individuals reporting more positive experiences trended toward a more resilient mindset; PA accounted for this relationship. Shared enjoyment mediated the relationship between interpersonal events and PA. These findings suggest PA is integral to having a resilient mindset, and shared enjoyment is a potential mechanism that may influence PA. Level‐2 PRV for shared enjoyment, PA, and RC was 22%, 21%, and 55%, respectively. RC were associated with less depression and anxiety; and greater well‐being, vitality, and physical functioning at follow‐up.     

Understanding physical activity declines during COVID-19: The affective repercussions of disruption to exercise routines

Recent research has examined psychological factors that forestalled declines in physical activity (PA) during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surprisingly, there has been limited evidence of an association between intrinsic motivation (IM) and PA. We reasoned that IM may have not predicted PA because COVID-19 restrictions limited opportunities to engage in exercise in ways that produced positive affective experiences (i.e., inherent rewards). Using data from a cross-sectional survey (N = 373 participants), we tested a moderated mediation model that predicted perceived changes to affective experiences during exercise would mediate the association between disruption to one’s exercise routine and self-reported declines in PA, and that effects would be moderated by IM. Evidence of moderated mediation was found, suggesting that disruptions to exercise routines were associated with fewer positive affective experiences during exercise that predicted declines in PA engagement, especially for people who typically exercised for intrinsic reasons.     

Affective and Autonomic Reactivity During Parent–Child Interactions in Depressed and Non-Depressed Mothers and Their Adolescent Offspring

Depression presents risks that are profound and intergenerational, yet research on the association of depression with the physiological processes that might be associated with impaired mental and physical health has only recently been contextualized within the family environment. Participants in this multi-method case–control study were 180 mother-adolescent dyads (50% mothers with a history of depression treatment and current depressive symptoms). In order to examine the association between maternal depression and affective and autonomic reactivity amongst these mothers and their adolescent offspring we collected self-reported measures of positive and negative affect, as well as measures of cardiovascular and electrodermal autonomic activity, during mother-adolescent interaction tasks. Findings indicated that depressed mothers and their adolescent offspring exhibited greater self-reported negative affect reactivity during a problem-solving interaction and blunted (i.e., low) sympathetic activity as measured via skin conductance level across both interaction tasks. These effects remained significant after controlling for a range of potential covariates, including medication use, sex, age, adolescents own mental health symptoms, and behavior of the other interactant, along with correcting for multiple comparisons. Findings indicate that depressed mothers and their adolescent offspring both exhibit patterns of affect and physiology during interactions that are different from those of non-depressed mothers and their offspring, including increased negative affect reactivity during negative interactions and blunted sympathetic activity across both positive and negative interactions. These findings have potential implications for understanding the role of family processes in the intergenerational transmission of risk for depressive disorders.

     

Influence of caregiver burden on the association between daily fluctuations in pleasant activities and mood: A daily diary analysis

Much research has focused on behavioral activation and its effect on depression, but less is known about the effects of leisure activities on the two distinct affective domains of depression: positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Furthermore, individual factors (i.e., stress level) may moderate the impact of behavioral activation on affect. The present study utilized a daily diary approach to examine the moderating effect of stress on the relationship between leisure satisfaction and both PA and NA. Twenty-five dementia caregivers completed activity and affect measures four times daily for 14 days. Results were analyzed using multilevel modeling, an approach that considers intra-individual differences in activity and affect over time. Results supported the hypothesis that caregivers with higher burden display a stronger association between leisure satisfaction and affect than caregivers with lower burden. Specifically, caregivers with higher burden had a stronger positive relationship between leisure satisfaction and PA and a stronger negative relationship between leisure satisfaction and NA. These findings suggest that screening caregivers for level of burden may help identify those most likely to benefit from behavioral interventions.     

A daily diary study of goals and affective well‐being at work

We examine whether attainment of goals at work is associated with enhanced affective well‐being and whether attainment of personally more important goals has a stronger association with affective well‐being. Data were collected from call‐centre staff using a daily diary for 2 weeks. Results indicate that daily attainment of work goals is associated with more activated affect measured at the end of the working day. The relationship between attainment of goals and pleasurable affect is stronger where goals are personally more important.     

Low self-esteem in eating disordered patients in the absence of depression

Both low self-esteem and depression are well recognised as occurring in patients with eating disorders. 43 patients with eating disorders were studied to assess whether this low self-esteem occurred as part of an affective disorder or was independent of this. The patients, 23 with anorexia nervosa and 20 with bulimia nervosa, were assessed for low self-esteem, using the Rosenberg Self-esteem Questionnaire, and for depression, using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The patients had low self-esteem, despite only a minority (33%) being depressed. This study demonstrates that low self-esteem occurs in patients with eating disorders in the absence of depression.     

Attachment insecurities,life satisfaction,and relationship satisfaction from a dyadic perspective: The role of positive and negative affect

The purpose of this research is to examine the association between attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance) and both subjective well‐being (positive affect [PA] and negative affect [NA] and life satisfaction) and relationship satisfaction. There were 174 Spanish heterosexual couples with a mean length of relationship of 13.9 years who participated in the study. The hypotheses were tested according to the actor–partner interdependence model. We proposed a model in which PA and NA could mediate the association between attachment insecurities and life and relationship satisfaction. Results show that (1) actor effects are more frequent than partner effects; (2) anxious attachment tends to be related to NA and avoidant attachment to PA; (3) avoidance is more detrimental than anxiety for relationship satisfaction at individual and dyadic levels, and (4) there are some mediational effects of NA and PA in the association between attachment insecurities and life and relationship satisfaction.     

Differences in the Between‐Person and Within‐Person Structures of Affect Are a Matter of Degree

This study tested whether the structure of affect observed on the basis of between‐person (BP) differences is equivalent to the affect structures that organize the variability of affective states within persons (WP) over time. Further aims were to identify individual differences in the degree of divergence between the WP and BP structure and examine its association to dispositional and contextual variables (neuroticism, extraversion, well‐being and stress). In 100 daily sessions, 101 younger adults rated their mood on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Variability of five negative affect items across time was so low that they were excluded from the analyses. We thus worked with a modified negative affect subscale. WP affect structures diverged reliably from the BP structure, with individual differences in the degree of divergence. Differences in the WP structural characteristics and the degree of divergence could be predicted by well‐being and stress. We conclude that BP and WP structures of affect are not equivalent and that BP and WP variation should be considered as distinct phenomena. It would be wrong, for example, to conceive of positive and negative affect as independent at the WP level, as suggested by BP findings. Yet, individual differences in WP structural characteristics are related to stable BP differences, and the degree to which individuals' affect structures diverge from the BP structure can provide important insights into intraindividual functioning. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Suicidal ideation,affective lability,and religion in depressed adults

Suicidal ideation is a strong precursor to suicidal acts and like depression is complex with many risk and protective factors. The purpose of this study is to determine if affect lability, positive and negative religion/spirituality (RS) are related to suicidal ideation and if RS mediates the relationship between affect lability and suicidal ideation. RS are used synonymously to reflect a multidimensional construct. In this cross-sectional study of 183 depressed psychiatric patients, we confirm that depression and affective lability both contribute to suicidal ideation. Positive RS is associated with lower suicidal ideation. Negative RS is associated with higher suicidal ideation; however, this occurs through its association with affective lability. Affective lability and negative aspects of RS are two factors related to suicide ideation that could be addressed in the treatment of depressed patients.     

In What Sense Are Positive and Negative Affect Independent?

We agree with most of the claims made by Tellegen, Watson, and Clark: Pleasant and unpleasant affect (i.e., happiness and unhappiness) are strongly negatively correlated; random and nonrandom error need to be taken into account before interpreting correlations among affect scales; scales of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) embedded within the affective circumplex are orthogonal in theory, as are pleasure and arousal; and two-dimensional views of the affective space are more valid and useful than one- or three- dimensional models. Finally, and most important, we agree that PA and NA, as typically operationalized, are not independent, despite what may be the case theoretically. In this brief rejoinder, we offer some reasons why measurement problems likely prevent PA and NA from being measured orthogonally, why the factor analytic work reported in the target article is unlikely to shed new light on the perplexing problem of how best to characterize and measure affect, and why Pleasantness and Arousal tend to be operationally superior to their PA and NA counterparts.     

The Affective Temperaments: Differences between Adolescents in the Big Five Model and Cloninger’s Psychobiological Model of Personality

Positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) are indicators or markers of well-being that also reflect stable emotional- temperamental dispositions. In three different studies, self-reported affect was measured by the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The PANAS measures affect as two separate dimensions and was therefore used to generate four affective temperaments (AFTs): self-actualizing (high PA and Low NA), high affective (high PA and high NA), low affective (low PA and low NA), and self-destructive (low PA and high NA). The present set of studies investigated differences in personality between AFTs in an adolescent sample (N?=?398). Personality was measured by two different models: The Big Five and Cloninger’s psychobiological model. The interaction of PA and NA was expected to reveal differences and similarities in intrapersonal behavior measured by both models of personality. The results show that low NA adolescents reported lower levels of neurotic behavior than high NA adolescents. Nevertheless, despite the experience of high NA respectively, low PA, high and low affective reported higher Self-Directedness than self-destructive adolescents. Implications of the AFTs framework are discussed.     

Loss and the Organization of Affect

The present studies evaluated the association between positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) following romantic relationship loss experiences, as well as following less stressful romantic relationship situations, given theoretical evidence that the structure of affect may differ following a relationship loss. Across two studies, evidence suggested that the association between NA and PA was more strongly inverse following romantic relationship loss experiences when compared to less stressful relationship experiences. Such findings provide important implications for the study of romantic relationship loss, as well as the treatment of psychopathology following romantic relationship loss.     

Regulation of Negative Affect During Mother–Child Problem-Solving Interactions: Adolescent Depressive Status and Family Processes

Despite recent suggestions that depression can be conceptualized as a disorder of affect regulation, relatively little research has focused on affect regulation skills in depressed individuals. This paper investigated whether depressed adolescents (N = 25) differ from nondepressed adolescents (N 25) on two indices of affect regulation (i.e., duration of negative affective states and reciprocity of maternal negative affect) as well as whether these indices are related to microsocial family interactional processes. Analyses revealed that depressed teens differed from their nondepressed peers with regard to duration of negative affective states but not in their likelihood of reciprocating negative affect. Additionally, indices of adolescent affect regulation were related to family interactional processes. Duration of depressive affect was positively associated with maternal display of facilitative behavior contingent on adolescent depressive behavior. Duration of aggressive behavior was inversely related to maternal problem-solving responses to aggressive behavior. Finally, adolescent reciprocity of maternal depressive and aggressive behaviors was strongly associated with mothers' reciprocity of adolescents' negative affective behavior.     

Endorsement of proactively aggressive caregiving strategies moderates the relation between caregiver mental health and potentially harmful caregiving behavior

This research tested the proposition that the oft-reported relation between caregiver mental health outcomes (i.e., resentment, depression) and potentially harmful caregiver behavior (PHB) would be mediated or moderated by caregiver endorsement of proactively aggressive caregiving strategies (PA). Caregiver resentment was the strongest predictor of PHB in the sample of 417 informal caregivers who resided with their care recipients; in fact, resentment mediated the impact of caregiver depression, thus suggesting that depressed affect was associated with PHB only if depressed caregivers resented their caregiving burdens. As predicted, caregiver endorsement of PA moderated the relation between resentment and PHB, such that links between these two constructs were strongest when caregivers were high in both resentment and PA. Endorsement of PA also mediated the relations between demographic or contextual variables (i.e., income, care recipient dementia) and PHB. Implications of these results for research and intervention are discussed.     

Affective Well-Being in Retirement: The Influence of Values,Money, and Health Across Three Years

In this study, personal values, health, and financial status were investigated as determinants of affective well-being in a sample of 371 recent retirees across 3 years. Personal values, measured with the Portrait Value Questionnaire (Schwartz et al. in J Cross Cult Psychol 32:519–542, 2001), were hypothesized to show direct links to positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) as well as to moderate the association between financial and health status and affective well-being. Using structural equation modeling, higher PA was predicted by female gender, better finances, fewer illnesses, and higher self-transcendence (ST), openness to change (OC), and conservation values. Higher NA was predicted by female gender, lower finances, more illnesses, higher self-enhancement (SE) and lower OC values. SE and OC values also moderated the association between financial status and PA. Longitudinal analyses indicated a relatively stable pattern of associations across 3 years. While the impact of finances on affect was stable over time, the effects of health and values increased across 3 years.     

Social anxiety and the accuracy of predicted affect

Social anxiety is theorised to arise from sustained over-activation of a mammalian evolved system for detecting and responding to social threat with corresponding diminished opportunities for attaining the pleasure of safe attachments. Emotional forecasting data from two holidays were used to test the hypothesis that greater social anxiety would be associated with decreased expectations of positive affect (PA) and greater anticipated negative affect (NA) on a holiday marked by group celebration (St. Patrick's Day) while being associated with greater predicted PA for daters on a romantic holiday (Valentine's Day). Participants completed symptom reports, made affective forecasts and provided multiple affect reports throughout each holiday. Higher levels of social anxiety were associated with greater anticipated PA for Valentine's Day daters, but lower experienced PA on the holiday; this was not found for trait anxiety and depression. Alternatively, trait anxiety, depression and social anxiety were associated with less predicted PA for St. Patrick's Day, greater anticipated NA and diminished experienced PA/greater NA during the holiday. Results are discussed in light of perceived hope for rewarding safe emotional contact for those daters in contrast to the greater possibility for social threat associated with group celebration typical of St. Patrick's Day.