Open AccessNetwork dynamics of momentary affect states and future course of psychopathology in adolescents
Author(s) -
Anna Kuranova,
Johanna T. W. Wigman,
Claudia Menne-Lothmann,
Jeroen Decoster,
Ruud van Winkel,
Philippe Delespaul,
Marjan Drukker,
Marc De Hert,
Cathérine Derom,
Evert Thiery,
Bart P. F. Rutten,
Nele Jacobs,
Jim van Os,
Albertine J. Oldehinkel,
Sanne H. Booij,
Marieke Wichers
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0247458
Subject(s) - psychopathology , affect (linguistics) , experience sampling method , psychology , clinical psychology , checklist , developmental psychology , social psychology , communication , cognitive psychology
Background Recent theories argue that an interplay between (i.e., network of) experiences, thoughts and affect in daily life may underlie the development of psychopathology. Objective To prospectively examine whether network dynamics of everyday affect states are associated with a future course of psychopathology in adolescents at an increased risk of mental disorders. Methods 159 adolescents from the East-Flanders Prospective Twin Study cohort participated in the study. At baseline, their momentary affect states were assessed using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). The course of psychopathology was operationalized as the change in the Symptom Checklist-90 sum score after 1 year. Two groups were defined: one with a stable level (n = 81) and one with an increasing level (n = 78) of SCL-symptom severity. Group-level network dynamics of momentary positive and negative affect states were compared between groups. Results The group with increasing symptoms showed a stronger connections between negative affect states and their higher influence on positive states, as well as higher proneness to form ‘vicious cycles’, compared to the stable group. Based on permutation tests, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion Although not statistically significant, some qualitative differences were observed between the networks of the two groups. More studies are needed to determine the value of momentary affect networks for predicting the course of psychopathology.