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This study has two objectives: (1) to report the results of a large-scale, longitudinal evaluation of the WITS Programs that included a large sample of elementary school children (n = 1967) from 27 rural schools (including 16 program schools) and (2) to examine and discuss the effects of average developmental trajectories and of heterogeneity in children's development on intervention outcomes. Data comprise baseline (spring) and four follow-up assessments (5 Waves) from children (N = 1967) and their parents and teachers. WITS stands for Walk away Ignore, Talk it out, and Seek Help ( www.witsprograms.com ). The children in the intervention schools declined more slowly than those in the control schools in their reports of relational victimization. Children in the intervention schools also declined faster in aggression and emotional problems relative to children in control schools. Moderation analyses showed that intervention group children with higher baseline levels of emotional problems declined faster in emotional problems than those with lower problems at baseline. In addition, children in grades 3 and over completed school climate questionnaire and children in control schools who had more negative perceptions of school climate at baseline showed greater increases in these negative perceptions compared to children in the intervention schools. We discuss the potential impact of average trajectories of child development and the within-child heterogeneity in assessments for the interpretation of the findings. We also conclude by highlighting evaluation design modifications that may improve our future ability to examine the effects of preventive interventions for elementary school children.

People are typically less physically active when experiencing stress, an unavoidable aspect of life. Since physical activity has been associated with health benefits, it is important to understand what influences physical activity during stress. Research has demonstrated that individuals who are high in conscientiousness are more physically active; however, studies that have examined physical activity among people high in neuroticism have yielded mixed findings. Healthy neuroticism, a term used to describe individuals high in conscientiousness and neuroticism, may explain these mixed results. While individuals low in conscientiousness and high in neuroticism may become overwhelmed, stress may motivate people high in healthy neuroticism to be physically active as an investment in their future. We assessed older adults’ (N = 60; Mage = 70.72; 76.70% cisgender women) personality at baseline as well as daily physical activity and daily stress over 14 days. Regression analyses investigated whether daily stress predicted daily physical activity and whether healthy neuroticism moderated the physical activity-stress association. Ultimately, this study found that daily stress did not predict daily physical activity; as stress increased, individuals higher in conscientiousness were less physically active, while individuals lower in conscientiousness were more active. These findings were inconsistent with our predictions and previous research. Consequently, we propose future research directions and potential explanations for these unforeseen findings.

This study examined age-related patterns in exposure and affective reactivity to daily stressors across a 20-year time span among adults who were between 22 and 77 years old at their baseline interview. Longitudinal data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) consisted of three bursts of eight consecutive nightly interviews of stress and affect. Analyses made use of all available data from a U.S. National sample of respondents who participated in any of the three NSDE bursts (

The current study examined the associations of positive and negative experiences during the Great Recession (GR) with levels of daily well-being. In 2012, participants from the Midlife in the United States Refresher survey reported on their positive or negative GR experiences related to job, housing, or finances. A subsample, selected into the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=782), also reported on their daily levels of health and well-being across eight consecutive days and provided saliva samples, from which cortisol was assayed. The number of negative GR experiences reported related to poorer daily well-being (negative and positive affect, physical symptoms, stress severity, and cortisol daily peak-to-nadir ratio), whereas, the number of positive GR experiences was only related to lower severity of daily stressors (β=–0.03, p=.03). Examining specific GR experiences revealed that individuals who reported bad housing experience during the GR reported higher daily levels of negative affect (β=0.14, p

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that greater affective reactivity to daily stressors is associated with detrimental health outcomes (e.g. inflammation, mortality). However, most research has only considered linear effects, which precludes an examination of whether moderate levels of stress reactivity may be beneficial. Using daily diary data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=2,018) we fit multilevel SEMs to simultaneously model daily within-person associations between stress and negative affect (i.e., stress reactivity), and individual differences in the linear and quadratic associations between stress reactivity and life satisfaction, psychological distress, and chronic conditions. Significant quadratic effects were found for each of the three outcomes (estimates=-20.23; 11.49; 20.81, ps

An extensive body of research has investigated the association between cognition and blood pressure (BP). Limited research, however, has examined the association at the daily within-person level. No study has yet applied an intensive measurement design utilizing the convenience and objectivity of mobile devices for cognitive assessments and automated BP monitors. To address this gap in the literature, we recruited community-residing healthy adults (N=64; Mage=70.6, SD=3.5; 76.6% female), who recorded their BP and completed a battery of brief cognitive tasks twice daily for 14 days. Multi-level models estimated associations between systolic/diastolic BP (sBP/dBP) and cognitive functioning, adjusting for time-varying self-reported effort, stressors, and physical activity, as well as time-invariant variables (age, sex, education, and anti-hypertensive medication). At the interindividual level, results suggest that individuals with higher overall sBP and dBP relative to others performed worse on delayed-reproduction and visual short-term memory tasks. At the intraindividual level, on occasions when individuals had higher sBP compared to their personal average, they performed relatively worse on delayed-reproduction tasks. Mean sBP was also significant within these models, suggesting that this coupled relationship is stronger for individuals with higher sBP on average. Analyses did not indicate significant associations for working memory, reaction time, or cognitive interference assessments, which may have been due to relatively limited power for between-person analyses. Use of such digital health technology is critical for detecting the complex nature of and interplay between physiological and cognitive processes. Further, research based on intraindividual associations may contribute to strategies aiming to promote lifestyle modifications.

Background Given increasing incidence of cognitive impairment and dementia, further understanding of modifiable factors contributing to increased healthspan is crucial. Extensive literature provides evidence that physical activity (PA) delays the onset of cognitive impairment; however, it is unclear whether engaging in PA in older adulthood is sufficient to influence progression through cognitive status categories. Method Applying a coordinated analysis approach, this project independently analyzed 14 longitudinal studies (NTotal = 52 039; mean baseline age across studies = 69.9–81.73) from North America and Europe using multistate survival models to estimate the impact of engaging in PA on cognitive status transitions (nonimpaired, mildly impaired, severely impaired) and death. Multinomial regression models were fit to estimate life expectancy (LE) based on American PA recommendations. Meta-analyses provided the pooled effect sizes for the role of PA on each transition and estimated LEs. Results Controlling for baseline age, sex, education, and chronic conditions, analyses revealed that more PA is significantly associated with decreased risk of transitioning from nonimpaired to mildly impaired cognitive functioning and death, as well as substantially longer LE. Results also provided evidence for a protective effect of PA after onset of cognitive impairment (eg, decreased risk of transitioning from mild-to-severe cognitive impairment; increased likelihood of transitioning backward from severe-to-mild cognitive impairment), though between-study heterogeneity suggests a less robust association. Conclusions These results yield evidence for the importance of engaging in PA in older adulthood for cognitive health, and a rationale for motivating older adults to engage consistently in PA.

Although physical activity declined with social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, youth who engaged in more physical activity experienced fewer mental health problems. If and how physical activity maintained its protective role throughout the ongoing pandemic remains unclear. This study models associations between three types of physical activity (indoor, outdoor, with parents), affect regulation, and anxious and depressive symptoms in two adolescent samples (W1: Summer 2020; W2: Winter 2020/21).

Perceived control is an important psychosocial resource for healthy aging. Using data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=2,021, M=55.82 years, SD=10.35, 57.27% Female), we examined aging-related changes in stressor control across 10 years and compared these trajectories with measures of general control (mastery, constraints). Over 8 consecutive days in waves conducted in ~2008 and ~2017, people reported their perceived control over four types of stressors (arguments, avoided arguments, work, home). Longitudinal analyses revealed declines in stressor control across 10 years (p

Perceived control is an important psychosocial correlate of emotional well-being. Using data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=1,797, M=55.82 years, SD=10.35, 57.27% Female), we examined how self-reported control over different types of stressors (arguments, avoided arguments, work, home, network) was associated with negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). Over 8 consecutive days in waves conducted in ~2008 and ~2017, people reported their daily NA, PA, and control over stressors they had experienced. Within-person associations revealed lower NA on days when stressor control was higher than usual (p

Using a naturalistic quasi-experimental design and growth curve modeling techniques, a recently proposed climate change risk perception model was replicated and extended to investigate changes in climate change risk perception and climate policy support in relation to exposure to forest fires. At the start of the study, above-average indirect exposure to forest fires (e.g., through media and conversations) was associated with stronger climate change risk perception, but direct exposure to forest fires (e.g., seeing smoke) and other types of extreme weather events was not. Over time, changes in climate change risk perception were positively associated with changes in climate policy support. However, individual differences in growth trajectories occurred. For example, in this naturalistic setting without any intervention, the climate change risk perceptions of individuals with weaker perceptions of scientific agreement on climate change were less likely to be positively influenced by fire exposure than those of individuals with stronger perceptions of scientific agreement. These findings highlight the importance of tailoring climate change communication.

Background Sleep is a robust determinant of next-day emotions, but people vary in the extent that their emotions fluctuate on days following short sleep duration. These individual differences in day-to-day sleep and emotion dynamics may have long-term health implications. Purpose To evaluate emotional vulnerability to short sleep (within-person associations between sleep duration and next-day emotions) as a risk factor for future chronic conditions. Methods Adults aged 33–84 (N = 1,426; 57% female) in the Midlife in the United States Study reported sleep duration and emotions by telephone for eight consecutive days. Chronic conditions were assessed via checklist at baseline and at a median follow-up of eight years (range: 5–10 years). Short sleep was examined in three ways: person-centered continuous variable, ≤6 hr, and Results Multilevel structural equation models revealed that people with greater negative emotions following nights of sleep ≤6 hr (vs. their negative emotions after longer sleep) had increased chronic conditions at follow-up, compared to people who were less emotionally vulnerable to short sleep (Est. = 1.04, SE = .51, p < .028). Smaller declines in positive emotions following ≤6 hr of sleep were marginally predictive of lower risk for chronic conditions (Est. = –.77, SE = .44, p = .054). Emotional vulnerability to Conclusions Emotional vulnerability to short sleep is a unique risk factor for the development of chronic conditions, independent of mean-level sleep duration and emotions.

The current study examined levels of daily NA among people (N=413) who participated in three waves of the National Study of Daily Experiences (~1996; ~2008; ~2017). At each wave, participants reported how often they had experienced six negative emotional experiences every day for eight consecutive days. Cross-sectional analyses at each time-point show age-related decreases in NA. Trajectories over time, however, were moderated by age (Est = .006, SE = .002, p = .001), revealing a curvilinear pattern. Among people who were 25-50 years-old at the first wave, daily NA decreased over time, with decreases more pronounced among the younger adults. For people at least 50 years-old at the start of the study, daily NA increased over time, with the slopes steepest for older adults. Findings indicate that cross-sectional and longitudinal age-related patterns in NA differ when examining data collected from 1996 to 2017.

The current study examined the associations between daily financial thoughts, socioeconomic status (SES), and indices of emotional (positive and negative affect (PA/NA)) and physical health (physical symptoms and cortisol). Participants (N = 782) from the National Study of Daily Experiences, a subsample of the Midlife in the United States Refresher survey, completed daily diary interviews and provided saliva samples, from which cortisol was assayed. Participants who, on average, reported more daily financial thoughts also reported more NA, less PA, more physical symptoms, and had higher cortisol AUCg (all p’s < .05). These effects were more pronounced among people reporting lower SES. Daily fluctuations in financial thoughts also predicted daily fluctuations in NA, PA, and physical symptoms (all p’s

Background:There is a pressing need for assessment approaches that can be deployed remotely to measure cognitive outcomes in clinical trials and longitudinal aging cohorts. We evaluated the utility of a mobile phone-based intensive measurement study for this purpose. Method:A small cohort of healthy older adults (N = 17, mean age = 73) completed five assessment "bursts" over 12 months, with each measurement burst involving two assessments daily for five consecutive days. Each assessment included brief tests of visual short-term memory and information processing speed, as well as surveys measuring state factors that can affect cognition. Results:At study endpoint we had 94% retention, 97% compliance, and high participant satisfaction. Mobile cognitive test scores demonstrated good reliability, moderate correlations with in-person baseline neuropsychological testing, and significant associations with participant age and education level. Conclusions: Mobile phone-based intensive measurement designs represent a promising assessment approach for measuring cognition longitudinally in older adults.

Author(s): Brewster, Paul; Rush, Jonathan; Ozen, Lana; Jacobs, Diane M; Kaye, Jeffrey; Nygaard, Haakon B; Feldman, Howard H; Hofer, Scott M

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the physical activity (PA) landscape through the closures of gymnasiums, schools, and many outdoor spaces. Physical distancing guidelines have also reduced opportunity for PA. The popularity of free web-based home fitness videos on video hosting platforms (eg, YouTube and Instagram) has spiked during the pandemic. Many web-based fitness videos offer a convenient, accessible, and cost-effective means of engaging in PA through regularly posted videos or discrete programs. Notably, traditional PA programs often suffer from poor adherence and high dropout rates, despite many advantages over web-based workout programs (eg, equipment, feedback, and in-person engagement). Thus, notwithstanding clear advantages of these web-based fitness videos, their ability to maintain long-term engagement and adherence is unknown. Objective We explored patterns of engagement (ie, views, likes, and comments) for channels posting daily or program-based web-based fitness videos since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, over 4 months. Our secondary objective was to examine potential moderators of engagement metrics. Methods An environmental scan was used to identify eligible channels. Eligible channels were (1) freely available on YouTube or Instagram and (2) posted daily or weekday series workouts or offered quarantine-specific workout programs. Searches for eligible channels were conducted on June 1 and 4, 2020. Engagement metrics of views, likes, and comments were then collected from channels’ videos posted between March 11 and June 26 or 30, 2020, inclusive, on June 26 or July 8, 2020. A series of multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to examine longitudinal changes in each of the 3 outcome variables. Results Ten channels were deemed eligible and included in analyses; 6 posted regularly, while the other 4 posted discrete workout programs. Multilevel models revealed that both views and likes significantly decreased across days. Visually, channels display the sharpest drop in engagement within the first week. Linear change estimate indicates that the number of views initially declined by 24,700 per day (95% CI –44,400 to –11,300, P=.01) on average across all the channels. Channels with more subscribers declined in their views, likes, and comments at a significantly higher rate than those with fewer subscribers (P≤.04). The day of the week a video is posted, “virality,” and content of a video appear to influence engagement. Integrating behavior change techniques and posting new and varied videos often may help garner further engagement with these videos. Future research should examine common elements of videos, which drive engagement. Conclusions Despite raw engagement metrics, each channel demonstrated peak engagement with the initial video followed by decreased engagement with subsequent videos. As many countries maintain restrictions on traditional PA facilities owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, determining methods to improve engagement and adherence with web-based fitness videos becomes increasingly important.

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the physical activity (PA) landscape through the closures of gymnasiums, schools, and many outdoor spaces. Physical distancing guidelines have also reduced opportunity for PA. The popularity of free web-based home fitness videos on video hosting platforms (eg, YouTube and Instagram) has spiked during the pandemic. Many web-based fitness videos offer a convenient, accessible, and cost-effective means of engaging in PA through regularly posted videos or discrete programs. Notably, traditional PA programs often suffer from poor adherence and high dropout rates, despite many advantages over web-based workout programs (eg, equipment, feedback, and in-person engagement). Thus, notwithstanding clear advantages of these web-based fitness videos, their ability to maintain long-term engagement and adherence is unknown. OBJECTIVE We explored patterns of engagement (ie, views, likes, and comments) for channels posting daily or program-based web-based fitness videos since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, over 4 months. Our secondary objective was to examine potential moderators of engagement metrics. METHODS An environmental scan was used to identify eligible channels. Eligible channels were (1) freely available on YouTube or Instagram and (2) posted daily or weekday series workouts or offered quarantine-specific workout programs. Searches for eligible channels were conducted on June 1 and 4, 2020. Engagement metrics of views, likes, and comments were then collected from channels’ videos posted between March 11 and June 26 or 30, 2020, inclusive, on June 26 or July 8, 2020. A series of multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to examine longitudinal changes in each of the 3 outcome variables. RESULTS Ten channels were deemed eligible and included in analyses; 6 posted regularly, while the other 4 posted discrete workout programs. Multilevel models revealed that both views and likes significantly decreased across days. Visually, channels display the sharpest drop in engagement within the first week. Linear change estimate indicates that the number of views initially declined by 24,700 per day (95% CI –44,400 to –11,300, P=.01) on average across all the channels. Channels with more subscribers declined in their views, likes, and comments at a significantly higher rate than those with fewer subscribers (P≤.04). The day of the week a video is posted, “virality,” and content of a video appear to influence engagement. Integrating behavior change techniques and posting new and varied videos often may help garner further engagement with these videos. Future research should examine common elements of videos, which drive engagement. CONCLUSIONS Despite raw engagement metrics, each channel demonstrated peak engagement with the initial video followed by decreased engagement with subsequent videos. As many countries maintain restrictions on traditional PA facilities owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, determining methods to improve engagement and adherence with web-based fitness videos becomes increasingly important.

Intensive repeated measurement designs are frequently used to investigate within-person variation over relatively brief intervals of time. The majority of research utilizing these designs rely on unit-weighted scale scores, which assume that the constructs are measured without error. An alternative approach makes use of multilevel structural equation models (MSEM), which permit the specification of latent variables at both within-person and between-person levels. These models disaggregate measurement error from systematic variance, which should result in less biased within-person estimates and larger effect sizes. Differences in power, precision, and bias between multilevel unit-weighted and MSEM models were compared through a series of Monte Carlo simulations. Results based on simulated data revealed that precision was consistently poorer in the MSEM models than the unit-weighted models, particularly when reliability was low. However, the degree of bias was considerably greater in the unit-weighted model than the latent variable model. Although the unit-weighted model consistently underestimated the effect of a covariate, it generally had similar power relative to the MSEM model due to the greater precision. Considerations for scale development and the impact of within-person reliability are highlighted.

Affective reactivity to everyday stressful events has been shown to be an important predictor of poor mental and physical health. The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal changes in daily stress across 30 years of adulthood as a critical first step for understanding aging-related trends in daily stress. We used data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) to calculate exposure and reactivity to daily stressors collected during telephone interviews over the course of 8 consecutive days. These daily assessment bursts were conducted in 1997, 2007, and 2018. Data were comprised of 33,931 daily interviews from 2,880 adults ages 25-74 at the first burst. Results indicated decreased stressor reactivity over time but this decrease was greater for younger adults. Discussion will focus on how examining change in daily stress processes is critical for illuminating stress and health.

Perceived control is an important psychosocial correlate of healthy aging. Using data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=1,047, M=55.82 years, SD=10.35, 57.27% Female), we examined cross-sectional age-related differences and longitudinal aging-related change in perceived control over daily stress across 10 years and explored the influence of stressor control on negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). Stressor control, NA, and PA were obtained from telephone interviews over 8 consecutive days in measurement bursts conducted in ~2008 and ~2017. Longitudinal analyses revealed significant declines in stressor control across 10 years (p

Exposure to daily stress is an important risk factor for healthy aging. We examined cross-sectional age-related differences and longitudinal aging-related change in stressor exposure across three waves of the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=2,914, M=51.53 years, SD=13.55, 56.35% Female) spanning 20 years. Exposure to six types of stressors (arguments, avoided arguments, work overloads, home overloads, network stressors, other) were obtained from telephone interviews over 8 consecutive days in waves conducted in ~1996, ~2008, and ~2017. Longitudinal analyses revealed declines in stressor exposure across 20 years (p

The study of change and variation within individuals, and the relative comparison of changes across individuals, relies on the assumption that observed measurements reflect true change in the construct being measured. Measurement properties that change over time, contexts, or people pose a fundamental threat to validity and lead to ambiguous conclusions about change and variation. We highlight such measurement issues from a within-person perspective and discuss the merits of measurement-intensive research designs for improving precision of both within-person and between-person analysis. In general, intensive measurement designs, potentially embedded within long-term longitudinal studies, provide developmental researchers an opportunity to more optimally capture within-person change and variation as well as provide a basis to understand changes in dynamic processes and determinants of these changes over time.

Existing literature indicates a relatively consistent relationship between neuroticism and cognitive functioning (CF). Interindividually, high levels of neuroticism may predispose individuals to cognitive aging and dementia-related neuropathology. Intraindividually, increases in neuroticism may be intrinsic to the aging process or to dementia pathology. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive, though the relationships are rarely examined using the same individuals, which may contribute to publication bias and confusion regarding the hypotheses as mutually exclusive. Data were drawn from the Origins of Variance in the Oldest-Old (Sweden, Mage=83.6, 67% female), Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (Sweden, Mage=60.4, 59% female), and Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (Netherlands; Mage=68.1, 52% female). Controlling for age, sex, education, and depressive symptoms, parallel process latent growth models were fit independently in each sample (NT=3293) to simultaneously estimate growth parameters of neuroticism with three measures of CF (processing speed, learning/memory, and reasoning). Multilevel meta-analysis estimated the pooled covariation between neuroticism and CF at baseline and overtime, revealing a significantly negative intercept-intercept relationship across datasets (covariance= -0.46, 95% CIs [-0.90,-0.02], z=-2.02, p=0.04, τ2=0.06). The slope-slope covariances were consistently negative, but the meta-analytic pooled estimate was not significant despite some significant individual estimates across studies. Overall, results provide some evidence for intraindividual and interindividual relationships between neuroticism and CF, such that higher neuroticism is associated with lower CF, and neuroticism tends to increase as CF decreases. Identification of the early indicators and risk factors for cognitive decline may facilitate development of screening assessments and aid in treatment strategies for dementia care services.

Research has pointed to sense of purpose in life as an important individual difference that promotes successful aging, predicting greater psychological wellbeing, physical functioning, and cognitive health in older adulthood. Despite such benefits, it is unclear how major life challenges such as the onset of cognitive impairment may impact the sense of purpose of older adults. Building on this, the present study examined long-term change in sense of purpose in a longitudinal sample of older adults who would later develop dementia. Data were from 341 participants without dementia at study intake who were subsequently diagnosed with dementia during the follow-up period (Mage = 81.92 years at intake, Mage = 89.19 years at diagnosis, 72.72% female). Participants completed annual assessments of purpose in life up to 17 years prior to dementia diagnosis (M = 6.99 assessments prior to diagnosis). Piecewise growth modeling examined change in sense of purpose in life with time structured as years to diagnosis. Results suggested a period of accelerated decline distinct from normative age-related change beginning around 5.60 years prior to dementia onset. Discussion will focus on two potential explanations: that perceiving declines in cognition may lead to diminished sense of purpose in life or that underlying changes in the brain may impact both cognition and sense of purpose resulting in concurrent decline over time.

The study of change over time, contexts, cohorts, and people is influenced by the sampling of observations within longitudinal studies. Intensive measurement designs, embedded within long-term longitudinal studies, provide new opportunities to understand changes in dynamic processes, as well as determinants and consequences of these changes over time. The present investigation examined whether short-term dynamic associations accounted for individual differences in prospective health functioning. We used measurement burst data from the National Study of Daily Experiences subsample (N = 2485) embedded within the Midlife in the United States longitudinal study. Two measurement bursts were separated by ten years, with each containing daily measures of stress and affect across eight consecutive days. Functional health was measured by basic and instrumental activities of daily living at three measurement waves spanning 20 years. Three-level structural equation models were fit to simultaneously model short-term within-person associations between stress and affect (i.e., stress reactivity) and long-term changes in these associations over the ten year period. Individual differences in long-term changes of the short-term dynamic association predicted both basic and instrumental activities of daily living at 20 year follow-up (estimate = 5.26, SE = 2.54, p < .01; and estimate = 5.48, SE = 2.81, p < .01, respectively). These effects were present after adjusting for mean levels of both stress and affect. We highlight how characterizing individuals based on the strength of their within-person associations across multiple time scales can be informative in predicting distal health outcomes.

Individuals low in conscientiousness are typically characterized by higher rates of dropout in longitudinal studies compared to individuals high in conscientiousness. Given that low conscientiousness is associated with increased risk of mortality and several adverse health behaviours and outcomes, attrition of individuals low in conscientiousness may result in systematic bias particularly relevant to developmental research focused on morbidity and mortality in older adulthood. Further, methods commonly used to estimate missing data require monotone coding patterns and untestable assumptions (e.g., MAR), and do not typically account for death as a competing risk factor. This project analyzed data drawn from the Memory and Aging Project (N=1156; Mage=79.2 years; 76.1% female) using multistate survival models to estimate the impact of conscientiousness on transitions between study wave participation over time (i.e., response, non-response), and death. With conscientiousness measured at baseline and death status determined by death records, complete state data are available for each study wave, unlike methods commonly used to model and estimate missingness. Adjusting for age, sex, and education, analyses revealed that higher levels of conscientiousness are associated with decreased likelihood of transitioning to non-response (HR= 0.97, CI’s 0.95, 0.99) and death (HR=0.96, CI’s 0.93, 0.99). These results suggest that over-sampling individuals low in conscientiousness during study recruitment may be important to better represent the general population, particularly when data are collected over several years or decades. Discussion will focus on how systematic bias introduced by higher response rates of individuals high in conscientiousness may impact health-related research based on longitudinal data.

We examined daily affective vulnerability to short sleep (i.e., individual differences in the extent that sleeping ≤6h predicts next-day affect) as a risk factor for developing chronic conditions 10 years later. Participants (N=1945, ages 35-85, 57% women) from the National Study of Daily Experiences reported sleep duration and affect in daily diary telephone interviews. Chronic conditions were assessed with a 39-item checklist (e.g., arthritis, hypertension, diabetes). Multilevel structural equation models revealed that individuals with heightened negative affect following short sleep had an increased number of chronic conditions after 10 years (Est.=1.20, SE=.48, p

Short-term within-person associations are considered to reflect unique dynamic characteristics of an individual and are frequently used to predict distal outcomes. These effects are typically examined with a 2-step statistical process. The present research demonstrates how long-term changes in short-term within-person associations can be modeled simultaneously within a multilevel structural equation modeling framework. We demonstrate the utility of this model using measurement burst data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) embedded within the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) longitudinal study. Two measurement bursts were separated by 9 years, with each containing daily measures of stress and affect across 8 consecutive days. Measures of life satisfaction and psychological well-being were also assessed across the 9-year period. Three-level structural equation models were fit to simultaneously model short-term within-person associations between stress and negative affect and long-term changes in these associations over the 9-year period. Individual differences in long-term changes of the short-term dynamics between stress and affect predicted well-being levels. We highlight how characterizing individuals based on the strength of their within-person associations across multiple time scales can be informative in predicting distal outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Previous cross-sectional research suggests that age-related decreases in Rapid-Eye Movement (REM) sleep may contribute to poorer cognitive functioning (CF); however, few studies have examined the relationship at the intraindividual level by measuring habitual sleep over multiple days. Applying a 14-day daily diary design, the current study examines the dynamic relationship between REM sleep and CF in 69 healthy older adults (M age=70.8 years, SD=3.37; 73.9% female; 66.6% completed at least an undergraduate degree). A Fitbit device provided actigraphy indices of REM sleep (minutes and percentage of total sleep time), while CF was measured four times daily on a smartphone via ambulatory cognitive tests that captured processing speed and working memory. This research addressed the following questions: At the within-person level, are fluctuations in quantity of REM sleep associated with fluctuations in next day cognitive measures across days? Do individuals who spend more time in REM sleep on average, perform better on cognitive tests than adults who spend less time in REM sleep? A series of multilevel models were fit to examine the extent to which each index of sleep accounted for daily fluctuations in performance on next day cognitive tests. Results indicated that during nights when individuals had more REM sleep minutes than was typical, they performed better on the working memory task the next morning (estimate = -.003, SE = .002, p = .02). These results highlight the impact of REM sleep on CF, and further research may allow for targeted interventions for earlier treatment of sleep-related cognitive impairment.

Short-term within-person associations are considered to reflect unique dynamic characteristics of an individual and are frequently used to predict distal outcomes. These effects are typically examined with a two-step statistical process, where i) person-specific estimates are extracted from a multilevel model; then ii) these estimates are included as a time-invariant individual difference predictor variable in a subsequent statistical model (e.g., general linear regression, survival model) to predict some other distal outcome (e.g., mental health, mortality). The present research demonstrates how long-term changes in short-term within-person associations can be modeled simultaneously within a multilevel structural equation modeling framework. We demonstrate the utility of this model using measurement burst data from the Daily Stress Interview (DAISI) Study. Two measurement bursts were separated by six years, with each containing daily measures of stress and affect. Burst one consisted of thirty daily measurement occasions, whereas burst two consisted of seven. Measures of psychological well-being were also assessed across the six-year period. Three-level structural equation models were fit to simultaneously model short-term within-person associations between stress and negative affect and long-term changes in these associations over the six-year period. Individual differences in long-term changes of the short-term dynamics between stress and affect predicted psychological well-being levels. We highlight how characterizing an individual based on the strength of their within-person associations across multiple time scales can be important predictors of distal outcomes, as well as the utility of employing multilevel structural equation models in conjunction with measurement burst designs.

Short-term intraindividual variability in cognition can provide insights into the underlying processes that cannot be captured by only examining mean levels (MacDonald et al., 2003). This variability is often dependent on a number of individual or contextual characteristics. Thus, modeling the heterogeneity of the within-person variance and including meaningful covariates to account for why individuals are more variable on some occasions than others is an alternate way to understand process. The present study utilized a 14-day intensive measurement design to examine the effects of fluctuations in daily heart rate on variability in cognitive performance. Fifty-five older adults (Mage = 70.1 years) completed daily cognitive tasks and measures of well-being, while also wearing an accelerometer to capture physical activity, sleep, and continuous heart rate. Data were examined with a mixed effects location scale model (Hedeker et al., 2008; Rast et al., 2012), which incorporates both an individual’s measured level (location) and their variability around that level (scale). Both the location and the scale are permitted to be random such that on any given occasion an individual may deviate from their typical level and they may also deviate from their typical amount of variability. In this way, the location scale model allows for the heterogeneity of the variance in cognition to be modeled and accounted for with other covariates. Results revealed that there were significant amounts of variability in daily heart rate and cognition across 14 days. The impact of heart rate variability on cognitive performance will be discussed.

Despite the increasing use of metal prostheses in the treatment of severe rheumatoid arthritis of the elbow joint, soft-tissue arthroplasty still has a definite place. This paper reviews the indications, technique and results of skin arthroplasty of the elbow.