Daily Positive Affect Regulation and Sleep and Psychiatric Risk in Adolescence

• In Event: Novel Associations between Positive Affect Regulation and Mental Health in Adolescence

Abstract

The adolescent years are a time of psychiatric risk (Lee et al., 2014), and the way that youth regulate and respond to positive experiences and emotions may underlie numerous psychological disorders (Carl et al., 2013). However, most research on positive affect (PA) regulation to date has focused on adult samples and how these positive emotional processes relate to depression. Studies examining how youth regulate their PA and associations with other aspects of psychopathology across adolescence is important for understanding mental health during this developmental period. Understanding the emotional skills that can buffer psychiatric risk may be particularly important for rural youth, who often live in medically underserved areas and have limited access to mental health care (Bureau of Health Workforce, 2020).

Participants included 71 youth living in a rural medically underserved area in the Northwestern United States. Participants were between the ages of 8-17 years (M = 12.07, SD = 2.50; 55% female; 93% white; 9.9% Hispanic) and completed an intake assessment with a parent, which included a diagnostic sleep interview (Taylor et al., 2019) and a structured psychiatric screener (Sheehan et al., 1998). Participants also completed at least 7 days of home monitoring, which included twice-daily diaries and objective sleep monitoring using actigraphy (n observations = 1,702). On the daily diaries, participants reported on a positive event that occurred that day and how much they savored (up-regulated) or dampened (down-regulated) their PA related to the event. They also reported on their daily sleep, stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms (Cohen, 1994; Quinn et al., 2014).

A series of hierarchical linear models (adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and parental education) indicated that on days when youth up-regulated their PA, they also experienced fewer anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and less stress (p’s < .001). On days when youth dampened their PA, they were more likely to report higher stress levels and more anxiety (p’s < .001). Between-subjects effects indicated that dampening was associated with greater anxiety and stress symptoms (p’s < .001), and greater difficulties falling asleep (p = .005). Associations between dampening (Effect = .43, SE = .09, p < .001, 95% CI: .24-.61; Figure 1A), savoring (Effect = .20, SE = .07, p = .009, 95% CI: -.05, .35; Figure 1B), and depression were moderated by age, with significant associations for mid-adolescents and late-adolescents, but not early adolescents. Similar findings also emerged between savoring and anxiety (Effect = -.28, SE = .10, p = .01, 95% CI: -.48, -.07; Figure 1C). In addition, a marginal interaction emerged (p = .07) that suggested that evening reports of up-regulating PA were associated with a longer sleep onset latency for early adolescents.

Overall, findings suggest that youth who have a tendency to dampen PA are also more likely to experience internalizing symptoms and more difficulties falling asleep, whereas savoring is linked with better mental health. However, associations between PA regulation and internalizing symptoms may not emerge until mid-adolescence. In addition, up-regulating PA can interfere with the onset of sleep for younger adolescents.

Authors

• Cara Alexis Palmer, Montana State University
  Presenting Author

• Giovanni Alvarado

• Julia Horst, Montana State University

• Ashleigh Hilton, Montana State University