scholarly journals Smartphone-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment of Well-Being: A Systematic Review and Recommendations for Future Studies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lianne P. de Vries ◽  
Bart M. L. Baselmans ◽  
Meike Bartels
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Objective Data ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Flexible Designs ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Abstract Feelings of well-being and happiness fluctuate over time and contexts. Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) studies can capture fluctuations in momentary behavior, and experiences by assessing these multiple times per day. Traditionally, EMA was performed using pen and paper. Recently, due to technological advances EMA studies can be conducted more easily with smartphones, a device ubiquitous in our society. The goal of this review was to evaluate the literature on smartphone-based EMA in well-being research in healthy subjects. The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Searching PubMed and Web of Science, we identified 53 studies using smartphone-based EMA of well-being. Studies were heterogeneous in designs, context, and measures. The average study duration was 12.8 days, with well-being assessed 2–12 times per day. Half of the studies included objective data (e.g. location). Only 47.2% reported compliance, indicating a mean of 71.6%. Well-being fluctuated daily and weekly, with higher well-being in evenings and weekends. These fluctuations disappeared when location and activity were accounted for. On average, being in nature and physical activity relates to higher well-being. Working relates to lower well-being, but workplace and company do influence well-being. The important advantages of using smartphones instead of other devices to collect EMAs are the easier data collection and flexible designs. Smartphone-based EMA reach far larger maximum sample sizes and more easily add objective data to their designs than palm-top/PDA studies. Smartphone-based EMA research is feasible to gain insight in well-being fluctuations and its determinants and offers the opportunity for parallel objective data collection. Most studies currently focus on group comparisons, while studies on individual differences in well-being patterns and fluctuations are lacking. We provide recommendations for future smartphone-based EMA research regarding measures, objective data and analyses.

Using Personal Cell Phones for Ecological Momentary Assessment

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Kuntsche ◽  
Florian Labhart
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Cell Phones ◽  
Personal Digital Assistants ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Standard Data ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a way of collecting data in people’s natural environments in real time and has become very popular in social and health sciences. The emergence of personal digital assistants has led to more complex and sophisticated EMA protocols but has also highlighted some important drawbacks. Modern cell phones combine the functionalities of advanced communication systems with those of a handheld computer and offer various additional features to capture and record sound, pictures, locations, and movements. Moreover, most people own a cell phone, are familiar with the different functions, and always carry it with them. This paper describes ways in which cell phones have been used for data collection purposes in the field of social sciences. This includes automated data capture techniques, for example, geolocation for the study of mobility patterns and the use of external sensors for remote health-monitoring research. The paper also describes cell phones as efficient and user-friendly tools for prompt manual data collection, that is, by asking participants to produce or to provide data. This can either be done by means of dedicated applications or by simply using the web browser. We conclude that cell phones offer a variety of advantages and have a great deal of potential for innovative research designs, suggesting they will be among the standard data collection devices for EMA in the coming years.

824-P: Ecological Momentary Assessment of Diabetes Self-Management: A Systematic Review of Methods and Procedures

Diabetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 824-P
Author(s):  
SOOHYUN NAM ◽  
ROBIN WHITTEMORE ◽  
DAVID VLAHOV ◽  
GENEVIEVE DUNTON
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Investigating Affective Responding to Daily Positive Events Among Adolescents Using Ecological Momentary Assessment

2021 ◽  
pp. 027243162110580
Author(s):  
Sarah K. Chun ◽  
Katherine S. Benjamin ◽  
Amy H. Mezulis
Keyword(s):  
Positive Affect ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive And Negative Affect ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Independent Events ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

The experience of positive events is associated with increased positive affect, which can beneficially impact the physical and mental health outcomes of adolescents. Despite an increase in important life events during adolescence, little research has examined the influence of positive events on affect in this population. This study used Ecological Momentary Assessment to investigate individual differences in the effects of daily positive events on momentary positive and negative affect and event-specific positive affect among 136 adolescents ( M age = 13.03 years). Results indicated that interpersonal and independent events elicited greater event-specific positive affect than non-interpersonal and dependent events. Dependent interpersonal events were associated with the greatest positive affect compared to other combinations of event types. Gender did not moderate these effects. These findings may address the gap in the literature regarding the types of daily positive events that elicit the most positive affect in adolescents, and in turn, may enhance well-being.

Temporal Dynamics of PERMA Building Blocks and Well-being in Daily Life: An Ecological Momentary Assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeideh Heshmati ◽  
Zita Oravecz
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dynamical Features ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Most assessments of well-being have relied on retrospective accounts, measured by global evaluative well-being scales. Following the recent debates focused on the assessment of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being based on the elements of the PERMA theory, the current study aimed to shed further light onto the measurement of PERMA elements in daily life and their temporal dynamics. Through an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) design (N=160), we examined the dynamics of change (e.g., baselines and intra-individual variability) in the PERMA elements using the mPERMA measure, which is an EMA-adapted version of the PERMA Profiler. Findings revealed that momentary experiences of well-being, quantified via PERMA elements, map onto their corresponding hedonic or eudaimonic well-being components, and its dynamical features provide novel insights into predicting global well-being. This work offers avenues for future research to assess well-being in real-time and real-world contexts in ecologically valid ways, while eliminating recall bias.

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