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There is a need to quantify daily emotional affect and demonstrate the range of emotions associated with occupational performance. We describe the development and psychometric testing of the Emotional Experiences in Activities of Daily Living Scale (EEADLs). A total of 343 individuals reported the frequency of positive and negative emotions in the context of activities of daily living. Factor analysis of emotional ratings and occupational areas was undertaken. Internal consistency was evaluated for each of the factors and the relationship between emotional ratings and task complexity was established. Internal consistency of emotional subscales was good (Cronbach’s α = .81–.82). Emotional ratings of daily activities varied by task complexity with more complex tasks rated as higher in both positive and negative valence. The findings of this study support the internal consistency of the EEADLs scale and suggest that assessment of emotional valence can occur within daily occupations.

One of the goals of neuroscience research on the reward system is to fractionate its functions into meaningful subcomponents. To this end, the present study examined emotional modulation of the eyeblink and postauricular components of startle in 60 young adults during anticipation and viewing of food images. Appetitive and disgusting photos served as rewards and punishments in a guessing game. Reflexes evoked during anticipation were not influenced by valence, consistent with the prevailing view that startle modulation indexes hedonic impact (liking) rather than incentive salience (wanting). During the slide-viewing period, postauricular reflexes were larger for correct than incorrect feedback, whereas the reverse was true for blink reflexes. Probes were delivered in brief trains, but only the first response exhibited this pattern. The specificity of affective startle modification makes it a valuable tool for studying the reward system.

Peer relationships undergo dramatic shifts in form and function during adolescence, at the same time the incidence of socially evaluative fears sharply rises. Despite well-established links between social anxiety and broader interpersonal functioning, there is a dearth of research evaluating the impact of social anxiety on functioning in close relationships during this developmental stage. The present study examines the impact of social anxiety on functioning in close friendships and romantic relationships during adolescence. From a developmental psychopathology perspective, it was expected that social anxiety would influence functioning (quality, length, satisfaction) in romantic relationships through its influence on functioning in same- and other-sex friendships. Participants included 314 adolescents (60.5 % female, 14–19 years of age) with a prior or current history of romantic relationship involvement. Structural equation modeling was used to test a mediation model positing an indirect pathway from social anxiety to romantic relationship functioning through functioning in close same- and other-sex friendships. Given known gender differences in social anxiety and relationship functioning, gender also was explored as a potential moderator. Results supported the hypothesized indirect pathway whereby social anxiety was associated with impairment in same-sex friendships; functioning in same-sex friendships was associated with functioning in other-sex friendships, which was associated, in turn, with functioning in romantic relationships. While the hypothesized indirect pathway was significant among both boys and girls, there was greater continuity of functioning between same- and other-sex friendships for girls. These findings highlight the importance of examining the multiple downstream effects of social anxiety on perceived social functioning in adolescence, and suggest that continuity may exist for maladaptive patterns of socialization, particularly across developmentally salient close relationships.