Decomposing variance in co-rumination using dyadic daily diary data

Co-rumination is the process of perseverating on problems, negative thoughts, or feelings with another person. Still unknown is how co-rumination unfolds within the daily lives of romantic couples. Using a variance decomposition procedure on data from a 14-day dyadic daily diary, we assess how much co-rumination varies over time and whether it is a couple- or individual-level process. Results revealed that within-person fluctuations in co-rumination contributed most (~33%) to the total variance and that these fluctuations could be reliably assessed using multi-item summary scores. Although time-invariant between-couple differences account significantly for the total variance (~14%) and can be reliably assessed, there is little within-couple agreement on the extent to which co-rumination fluctuates on a daily level. More research is needed to understand when and why perceptions of daily co-rumination diverge within couples, and how this informs theory on co-rumination and similar ostensibly dyadic constructs.

Condomless Anal Sex Associated With Heterogeneous Profiles Of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use and Sexual Activities Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Latent Class Analysis Using Sex Diary Data on a Mobile App

Background New innovative technologies, such as mobile apps, have been developed to increase pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence and the use of log sex diaries. The contiguity of mobile apps reduces the recall bias that generally affects reported condom and PrEP use. However, none of the currently used mobile apps were designed for event-driven PrEP users, and few studies have demonstrated the potential usage of sex diary data to facilitate the understanding of the different HIV risks among heterogeneous profiles of sex diaries and PrEP use. Objective We aim to discriminate the heterogeneous profiles of sex events and PrEP use and examine the risk of condomless anal sex among different types of sex events. Methods We recruited 35 adult men who have sex with men from two medical centers in Taiwan since May 2020 and followed up for four months. Participants were on PrEP or willing to take PrEP. They were asked to log their sex events, PrEP use, and dosing regimens on a mobile app to improve their PrEP adherence. Latent class analysis was used to distinguish profiles of sex events and PrEP use. Indicators included correct intake of PrEP for each sex event, participants’ sexual positioning, partner’s HIV status, and age. Results A total of 551 sex events were classified into three classes by latent class analysis: PrEP nonadherent flip-flopping (234/551, 42%), PrEP imperfect-adherent power bottoming (284/551, 52%), and PrEP adherent serodiscordant topping (33/551, 6%). “PrEP nonadherent flip-flopping” sex events were more likely to involve condomless anal sex than “PrEP imperfect-adherent power bottoming” (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.03-3.25) after considering random intercepts for individuals, and this class needed to increase their PrEP adherence and use of condoms. “PrEP imperfect-adherent power bottoming” realized their own risk and packaged PrEP with condoms to protect themselves. Up to 99% (32/33) of sex events in “PrEP adherent serodiscordant topping” were protected by PrEP, but all of the sex events in this group were condomless. Conclusions Using the sex diary data could advance the capacity to identify high-risk groups. HIV prevention strategy should be more flexible and combine PrEP with condom use for future HIV prevention.

Walking It Off: More Stressors and Perceived Stressor Control Predict More Physical Activity in Daily Life

Research shows that, while the experience of stress relates to lower levels of physical activity (PA), people who perceive a greater sense of control engage in higher levels of PA. This study explores whether a sense of control specifically over stressful situations moderates the negative association between stressor exposure and PA in daily life. We used 8-day diary data from up to 1,236 participants (Age: Range = 43-91, M = 62.47, SD = 10.20) in the National Study of Daily Experiences. Somewhat contrary to hypotheses, people reported spending more time on light PA (but not moderate-to-vigorous PA) on days when they also experienced more stressors than usual. Perceived stressor control appears to magnify this effect, with people reporting even more light PA on days when they feel greater control. Initial findings suggest that a physically active lifestyle may help middle-aged and older adults cope with daily stressors.

Pileup of Insufficient Sleep and Day-to-Day Trajectories of Affective and Physical Well-Being

This study examined whether and how pileup of insufficient sleep is associated with day-to-day trajectories of affective and physical well-being. Participants from the Midlife in the United States Study (N=1,795) provided diary data for eight days. Pileup of insufficient sleep was operationalized as the number of consecutive nights with <6 hours of sleep. Multilevel models evaluated the linear, quadratic, and cubic effects of pileup of insufficient sleep on daily well-being, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Daily negative affect increased and positive affect decreased in curvilinear fashion as the pileup of insufficient sleep increased. For example, daily negative affect increased, but the rate of increase decelerated as the pileup of insufficient sleep increased. In the days most distal to baseline, the rate of increase in negative affect accelerated again. Results were consistent for physical symptoms. Findings suggest that making efforts to break the vicious cycle of insufficient sleep may protect daily well-being.

Emotional Linkage as a Moderator of Emotional Reactivity Effect on Partners' Depressive Symptoms

Introduction: Romantic partners’ emotions show a degree of interdependence, a process that is often described as emotional linkage. The current study sought to test the effects of emotional linkage in emotionally reactive individuals (i.e., those who easily become emotionally aroused and find it hard to regulate their emotions) and their partners. Specifically, we examined the interplay between emotional linkage and reactivity in predicting partners’ depressive symptoms over time. Method: To assess emotional linkage and reactivity, we collected daily diary data from two samples of cohabiting couples (Ncouples=76 and 84 in samples 1 and 2, respectively). Partners’ depressive symptoms were assessed before and after the diary. Results: In dyads with low emotional linkage men's emotional reactivity predicted their greater depressive symptoms in Sample 1, and women's greater depressive symptoms in Sample 2. Discussion: The study's results suggest that dyads’ emotional linkage can moderate the negative effects of men's emotional reactivity on their and their partners’ psychological distress.

Social Relationships in Older Adulthood and Links With Psychological and Physical Well-Being

Positive social relationships are fundamental to psychological and physical well-being across the lifespan. This symposium showcases rigorous daily-diary and longitudinal investigations that (a) examine change in social relationships and loneliness in older adulthood, and (b) investigate links between social relationships and psychological and physical well-being outcomes in older adulthood. First, we present results from a coordinated analysis of three longitudinal studies demonstrating that loneliness tends to increase across the second half of life (Talk 1). Second, we share converging evidence that suggests positive social relationships tend to decline with age. In turn, these longitudinal changes in loneliness and social relationships predict later physical health outcomes (Talk 2). Together, these findings suggest that positive social relationships tend to decrease and loneliness tends to increase with age, resulting in physical health costs. In the second half of the symposium, we turn to research on how positive social relationships may promote psychological well-being, and in turn, better physical health in older adulthood. Using daily diary data, we demonstrate that on days when older adults report more positive social interactions, they also report feeling more sense of purpose (Talk 3). Finally, we show that higher sense of purpose and more positive change in sense of purpose in midlife prospectively predicts better physical health in older adulthood (Talk 4). Together, the research presented in this symposium reveals normative declines in social relationships in late life, while also highlighting the potential health benefits of increasing positive social relationships in older adulthood.

What Counts as Commute Travel? Identification and Resolution of Key Issues around Measuring Complex Commutes in the National Household Travel Survey

We use travel diary data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) Georgia subsample to address critical issues associated with analyzing complex work journeys. To define the work journey, we discuss the importance of defining commute anchors by both purpose and location. We then compare two alternate measures for determining what portion of each journey should be counted as commute distance: the last leg of the journey (the NHTS default), and a modeled counterfactual simple commute to estimate the distance that would have been traveled had no stops been made. The average complex commute distance obtained using the counterfactual method was 63% higher than the estimate based on using the last leg alone. Using the last-leg method may understate Georgia’s annual commute distance by 2.6 billion miles (10% of the total, including both simple and complex commutes). We argue that the last-leg method is not an accurate gauge of work travel, particularly among populations such as women, who are more likely to trip chain on their commutes.

Changes in the quantity and quality of time use during the COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK: Who is the most affected?

We investigated changes in the quantity and quality of time spent on various activities in response to the COVID-19-induced national lockdowns in the UK. We examined effects both in the first national lockdown (May 2020) and the third national lockdown (March 2021). Using retrospective longitudinal time-use diary data collected from a demographically diverse sample of over 760 UK adults in both lockdowns, we found significant changes in both the quantity and quality of time spent on broad activity categories (employment, housework, leisure). Individuals spent less time on employment-related activities (in addition to a reduction in time spent commuting) and more time on housework. These effects were concentrated on individuals with young children. Individuals also spent more time doing leisure activities (e.g. hobbies) alone and conducting employment-related activities outside normal working hours, changes that were significantly correlated with decreases in overall enjoyment. Changes in quality exacerbated existing inequalities in quantity of time use, with parents of young children being disproportionately affected. These findings indicate that quality of time use is another important consideration for policy design and evaluation.

Condomless Anal Sex Associated With Heterogeneous Profiles Of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use and Sexual Activities Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Latent Class Analysis Using Sex Diary Data on a Mobile App (Preprint)

BACKGROUND New innovative technologies, such as mobile apps, have been developed to increase pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence and the use of log sex diaries. The contiguity of mobile apps reduces the recall bias that generally affects reported condom and PrEP use. However, none of the currently used mobile apps were designed for event-driven PrEP users, and few studies have demonstrated the potential usage of sex diary data to facilitate the understanding of the different HIV risks among heterogeneous profiles of sex diaries and PrEP use. OBJECTIVE We aim to discriminate the heterogeneous profiles of sex events and PrEP use and examine the risk of condomless anal sex among different types of sex events. METHODS We recruited 35 adult men who have sex with men from two medical centers in Taiwan since May 2020 and followed up for four months. Participants were on PrEP or willing to take PrEP. They were asked to log their sex events, PrEP use, and dosing regimens on a mobile app to improve their PrEP adherence. Latent class analysis was used to distinguish profiles of sex events and PrEP use. Indicators included correct intake of PrEP for each sex event, participants’ sexual positioning, partner’s HIV status, and age. RESULTS A total of 551 sex events were classified into three classes by latent class analysis: PrEP nonadherent flip-flopping (234/551, 42%), PrEP imperfect-adherent power bottoming (284/551, 52%), and PrEP adherent serodiscordant topping (33/551, 6%). “PrEP nonadherent flip-flopping” sex events were more likely to involve condomless anal sex than “PrEP imperfect-adherent power bottoming” (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.03-3.25) after considering random intercepts for individuals, and this class needed to increase their PrEP adherence and use of condoms. “PrEP imperfect-adherent power bottoming” realized their own risk and packaged PrEP with condoms to protect themselves. Up to 99% (32/33) of sex events in “PrEP adherent serodiscordant topping” were protected by PrEP, but all of the sex events in this group were condomless. CONCLUSIONS Using the sex diary data could advance the capacity to identify high-risk groups. HIV prevention strategy should be more flexible and combine PrEP with condom use for future HIV prevention.