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A growing number of studies on psychological phenomena employ the Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) method for obtaining intensive longitudinal data in daily life. Whereas cyclic processes may underlie different psychological and physiological outcomes, the cyclic model that describes such processes is rarely used for fitting EMA data. The aim of this paper is to introduce the cyclic model to researchers, and to demonstrate its use in an empirical data set. It is shown how the cyclic terms can be incorporated in multilevel models. Based on secondary analyses on an existing EMA data set, it can be concluded that adding cyclic terms in EMA analyses may improve model fit and may help understanding the dynamic processes.

IntroductionDigital behavioural weight loss interventions have the potential to improve public health; however, these interventions are often not adequately tailored to the needs of the participants. This is the protocol for a trial that aims to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Choosing Health programme as a means to promote weight loss and weight loss maintenance among overweight/obese adults.Methods and analysisThe proposed study is a two-group randomised controlled trial with a nested interrupted time series (ITS) within-person design. Participants (n=285) will be randomly assigned to either the Choosing Health digital intervention or a control group. For intervention participants, ecological momentary assessment will be used to identify behavioural determinants for each individual in order to tailor evidence-based behaviour change techniques and intervention content.Control group participants will receive non-tailored weight loss advice via e-book and generic emails. The primary outcome is the mean difference in weight loss between groups at 6 months controlled for baseline. Secondary outcomes include blood pressure and percentage of body fat; self-reported measures of physical activity, sitting time, quality of life, cost and theory-derived correlates of weight loss. Secondary outcomes will be measured at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome for ITS will be daily weight loss plan adherence. Data will be analysed using regression and time series analyses.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval was granted by Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wroclaw, Poland, approval number 03/P/12/2019. The project results will be disseminated through structured strategy implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.Trial registration detailsThis trial was registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov; registration number NCT04291482.

Few weight loss and weight loss maintenance interventions are tailored to include factors demonstrated to predict the user's behavior. Establishing the feasibility and acceptability of such interventions is crucial. The aim of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of a theory-based, tailored, online-delivered weight loss and weight loss maintenance intervention (Choosing Health). We conducted a mixed methods process evaluation of the Choosing Health tailored intervention, nested in a randomized controlled trial (N = 288) with an embedded N -of-1 study, investigating participants' and implementers' experiences related to intervention context, implementation, and mechanisms of impact. Measures included: (i) surveys, (ii) data-prompted interviews (DPIs) with study participants, (iii) semi-structured interviews with implementers, and (iv) intervention access and engagement data. Five themes described the acceptability of the intervention to participants: (i) monitoring behavior change and personal progress to better understand the weight management process, (ii) working collaboratively with the intervention implementers to achieve participants' goals, (iii) perceived benefits of non-judgmental and problem-solving tone of the intervention, (iv) changes in personal perception of the weight management process due to intervention tailoring, and (v) insufficient intervention content tailoring. The intervention delivery was feasible, however, emails and text messages differed in terms of accessibility and resources required to deliver the content. The use of Ecological Momentary Assessment as a technique to gather personal data for further tailoring was acceptable, and facilitated behavior change monitoring. Personalization of the intervention content above and beyond domain-specific issues, for example, by addressing participants' social roles may better match their needs. Support from the implementers and feedback on body composition changes may increase participants' engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study a multi-dimensional scale that measures teacher autonomous behaviour is presented. The scale is applicable across the following educational sectors: primary education, secondary education and vocational education. Based on an elaborate literature study, four theoretically relevant dimensions of teacher autonomous behaviour were derived. Psychometric characteristics of the instrument (note that the terms "scale" and "instrument" are used interchangeably in this article) were tested among a sample of Dutch teachers working in primary, secondary and vocational education (N = 1111). The validity of our instrument was tested in several ways. First, by performing confirmatory factor analysis, we tested the factorial structure, which confirmed the hypothesised four dimensions: (1) primary work processes in the class; (2) curriculum implementation; (3) participation in decision making at school; (4) professional development. Thereafter, we calculated the scale's reliability, which appeared to be excellent. In addition, we tested for measurement invariance by cross-validating the study in the educational sectors mentioned above. Also, the convergent, divergent and predictive validity was investigated. Teacher autonomy appeared to predict workplace learning, more specifically experimenting, reflecting and school development. Finally, we investigated whether transformational leadership can facilitate teacher autonomy, which appeared to be the case. The results empirically confirm the four dimensions of teacher autonomous behaviour, which we derived from theory, and offer solid proof of the psychometric properties of our instrument. The instrument can be used by school leaders and policy makers to monitor autonomous behaviour. More generally, the development and use of this instrument helps us understand teacher autonomous behaviour and teacher professionalism.

Employee withdrawal is a critical issue for organisations and has been the topic of extensive research. Although much turnover research used between‐person designs, this study focused on the impact of within‐person changes in job characteristics on job attitudes and withdrawal behaviour, using the challenge‐hindrance stressor as our main theoretical framework. The focus was on the job characteristics workload (a challenge stressor), emotional demands (a hindrance stressor) and autonomy (a job resource) and on positive (dedication) and negative (organisational cynicism) job attitudes as process variables. Latent change score modelling based on data of 1530 Dutch employees collected in three waves across 2 years showed that changes in workload, emotional demands and autonomy resulted in changes in organisational cynicism, which, in turn, related to changes in turnover intentions, but not absenteeism. Changes in autonomy were related to changes in dedication, which, in turn, were associated with changes in turnover intentions, but not absenteeism. This study highlights the importance of investigating within‐person changes in job characteristics in explaining changes in job attitudes and employee withdrawal behaviour. From a practical perspective, this study shows how job design affects dedication and organisational cynicism and hence can contribute to combat employee withdrawal behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify and structure potential informal antidepressant strategies that can be used in daily practice for nursing home residents alongside formal treatments. In a first Group Concept Mapping study, residents, relatives, and professional caregivers (N = 124) brainstormed on strategies residents could use to prevent or alleviate depression. In a second study, the same participants (N = 110) reported strategies for use by others. Furthermore, participants rated the expected effectiveness and feasibility of the suggested strategies. Simultaneously, all strategies were sorted by experts and clustered using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. Six clusters emerged for strategies by residents themselves and five clusters for strategies by others. For residents' strategies, the clusters Being socially connected and Participating in activities were perceived as most effective, as was the cluster Offering personal attention for strategies by others. Participants perceived Creating a healthy living environment as the most feasible cluster executed by residents. Within strategies by others, the clusters Offering personal attention, Using positive treatment/approach, and Using or adapting the physical environment were perceived as the most feasible. The results indicated the importance of social connectedness, a personalized and positive approach by significant others, and tailored activity programs. The results also suggest that adaptations to the physical environment within nursing homes may be an easy applicable strategy to prevent or alleviate depression in residents. Although more research is needed, these findings may guide daily practice and the development of interventions that include informal strategies. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2022.2057427. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]