Symposia
Transdiagnostic
Abigail L. Barthel, M.A.
Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate
Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Allston, Massachusetts
Stefan G. Hofmann, Ph.D.
Professor
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
Psychological flexibility (PF) is the pursuit of valued activities, across contexts, despite distress or conflict. PF is a transdiagnostic mechanism of change in cognitive behavioral interventions and is related to psychosocial wellbeing. However, past research often measures PF as a static construct and primarily studies inflexibility instead of the full spectrum of flexible and inflexible responses to situations. The current study investigates temporal changes in PF, positive (PA) and negative affect (NA), and stress in relation to conflicts or valued-actions in a transdiagnostic clinical sample.
Currently, 14 adult subjects have been enrolled (9 completed; anticipated N=40), and were recruited from an urban mental health clinic and the community. Subjects were assessed for current DSM-5 diagnoses using the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS-5; Brown & Barlow, 2014). Subjects completed questionnaires on processes of emotional disorders and two attentional tasks. Once enrolled, they were prompted 5 times/day for 2 weeks about their affect, stress, and PF in relation to conflicts or valued-actions, in addition to a retrospective rating of day quality. PF was measured using items from the Process-Based Assessment Tool (PBAT; Ciarrochi et al., 2021). Passive data (e.g., screen time, step count, physical activity, GPS) were collected via smartphone sensors, and physiological data (e.g., sleep, heart-rate, breathing) were collected via a wearable ring.
Average daily data (313-540 observations) revealed low PA (M=2.1, SD=1.2), NA (M=1.9, SD=1.0) and mild stress (M=3.3, SD=2.5). Subjects generally sought social connection (M=58.3, SD=29.7), engaged in flexible thinking (M=54.7, SD=25.6), or changed their environments (M=39.6, SD= 26.8) to respond adaptively to situations. They also reported mild difficulty connecting with life (M=37.9, SD=27.7) and moderate emotional inflexibility (e.g., “feeling stuck”, M=42.1, SD=28.7; “no outlet for emotions”, M=35.6, SD=27.8). Days were rated as generally positive (M=65, SD=23.8).
Multi-level modeling will be used to analyze the dynamic relationship between PF, affect, and stress over time and in association with conflict or goal-directed actions. We will also examine emotional processes and psychophysiological data as moderators. Temporal auto-correlations, stability, and variability of PF will be examined in relation to physiological, attentional, and diagnostic data. Results will reveal how PF in different contexts relate to wellbeing in emotional disorders.