The relationship between individual symptom connectivity and global eating disorder symptom severity.

Background: The network approach has emerged as a useful framework for conceptualizing and investigating psychopathology, including eating disorders. Network connectivity, that is, the density of the connections among network nodes, has been somewhat neglected despite its theoretical relevance. As predicted by network theory, symptom connectivity would be distinct but related to symptom severity and may be a useful clinical indicator of psychopathology as stronger and/or more diffuse connections among symptoms offer more avenues for symptom activation.

Examining the Effects of Fathers' Residency Status on Childhood Obesity.

Objective: To examine whether fathers' residency status is associated with increased BMI z-scores among young and pre-adolescent children.

Methods: Propensity score matching was used to examine the effects of fathers' residency status on child BMI z-scores for children between the ages of 2-5 and 9-11 years old. Fathers self-reported their residency status as either being residential or nonresidential, based on the amount of time they lived in the same household as the child enrolled in the study.

Risk Behavioral Contexts in Adolescence of Obese Adults.

Purpose: Previous research suggests that poor nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and social/emotional climate are associated with weight gain. However, few empirical studies have examined how these factors relate to each other in adolescents who are later obese. Are these factors uniformly present, or do some co-occur or occur independently? This study seeks to identify subgroups of obese individuals at ages 24-32 years who exhibited unique, co-occurring behavioral and emotional contexts for obesity at ages 14-17 years.

Scalar-on-function regression for predicting distal outcomes from intensively gathered longitudinal data: Interpretability for applied scientists.

Researchers are sometimes interested in predicting a distal or external outcome (such as smoking cessation at follow-up) from the trajectory of an intensively recorded longitudinal variable (such as urge to smoke). This can be done in a semiparametric way via scalar-on-function regression. However, the resulting fitted coefficient regression function requires special care for correct interpretation, as it represents the joint relationship of time points to the outcome, rather than a marginal or cross-sectional relationship.

Reliability and Validity of the Vicarious Trauma Organizational Readiness Guide (VT-ORG).

The Vicarious Trauma Organizational Readiness Guide (VT-ORG) is an assessment of an organization's readiness to address vicarious trauma (VT), which is exposure to the traumatic experiences of people served. This study reports on the psychometric properties of the VT-ORG. Employees of first responder agencies (e.

Intra-individual study of mindfulness: ecological momentary perspective in post-surgical lung cancer patients.

The period of recovery following a lung-cancer surgery presents unique challenges and psychological demands. The study utilized ecological momentary assessments (EMA) to repeatedly sample mindfulness states in a sample of mindfulness-untrained individuals following hospital discharge. Intra- and inter- individual variability was assessed to examine cancer patients' natural capacity to exhibit mindfulness states during two weeks of recovery.

Musculoskeletal pain associated with recreational yoga participation: A prospective cohort study with 1-year follow-up.

Background: Yoga is a popular complementary therapy for musculoskeletal pain. There are few studies however, that have examined the risks of recreational participation for causing musculoskeletal pain.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between musculoskeletal pain and recreational yoga participation.

Bayesian Latent Class Analysis Tutorial.

This article is a how-to guide on Bayesian computation using Gibbs sampling, demonstrated in the context of Latent Class Analysis (LCA). It is written for students in quantitative psychology or related fields who have a working knowledge of Bayes Theorem and conditional probability and have experience in writing computer programs in the statistical language R . The overall goals are to provide an accessible and self-contained tutorial, along with a practical computation tool.

Feasibility and adherence paradigm to ecological momentary assessments in urban minority youth.

All adolescents in general, including ethnic and racial minorities, report high levels of cell phone use, making mobile technology a useful tool for assessment and intervention. Known health and education disparities based on minority status motivated us to conduct an in-depth investigation regarding feasibility of and adherence to the ecological momentary assessment (EMA) research protocol, studying daily life of urban minority youth. In addition, this paper presents a methodological approach to conceptualizing and reporting adherence in EMA studies.

Effects of Playing a Serious Computer Game on Body Mass Index and Nutrition Knowledge in Women.

Background: Obesity and weight gain is a critical public health concern. Serious digital games are gaining popularity in the context of health interventions. They use persuasive and fun design features to engage users in health-related behaviors in a non-game context.

Capitalizing on mobile technology to support healthy eating in ethnic minority college students.

Objective: To evaluate the capacity of a mobile technology-based intervention to support healthy eating among ethnic minority female students.

Participants: Forty-three African American and Hispanic female students participated in a 3-week intervention between January and May 2013.

Methods: Participants photographed their meals using their smart phone camera and received motivational text messages 3 times a day.

Modeling intensive longitudinal data with mixtures of nonparametric trajectories and time-varying effects.

Behavioral scientists increasingly collect intensive longitudinal data (ILD), in which phenomena are measured at high frequency and in real time. In many such studies, it is of interest to describe the pattern of change over time in important variables as well as the changing nature of the relationship between variables. Individuals' trajectories on variables of interest may be far from linear, and the predictive relationship between variables of interest and related covariates may also change over time in a nonlinear way.

Biomechanical Deficit Profiles Associated with ACL Injury Risk in Female Athletes.

Purpose: This study aimed to quantify the prevalence of biomechanical deficit patterns associated with anterior cruciate ligament injury risk and their interconnections in a large cohort of female athletes during an unanticipated cutting task.

Methods: High school female athletes (n = 721) performed an unanticipated cutting task in the biomechanics laboratory. Trunk and lower extremity three-dimensional kinetics and kinematics were measured and entered into a latent profile analysis model.

The time-varying association between perceived stress and hunger within and between days.

Objective: Examine the association between perceived stress and hunger continuously over a week in free-living individuals.

Methods: Forty five young adults (70% women, 30% overweight/obese) ages 18 to 24 years (Mean = 20.7, SD = 1.

Exploring healthy eating among ethnic minority students using mobile technology: Feasibility and adherence.

Interventions aiming to help ethnically diverse emerging adults engage in healthy eating have had limited success. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of and adherence to an intervention capitalizing on mobile technology to improve healthy eating. Participants created an online photo food journal and received motivational text messages three times a day.

Effects of a safe patient handling and mobility program on patient self-care outcomes.

OBJECTIVE. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a safe patient handling and mobility (SPHM) program on patient self-care outcomes. METHOD.

Modeling nonlinear time-dependent treatment effects: an application of the generalized time-varying effect model (TVEM).

Objective: The goal of this article is to introduce to social and behavioral scientists the generalized time-varying effect model (TVEM), a semiparametric approach for investigating time-varying effects of a treatment. The method is best suited for data collected intensively over time (e.g.

Modeling complexity of EMA data: time-varying lagged effects of negative affect on smoking urges for subgroups of nicotine addiction.

Introduction: Ecological momentary assessments (EMA) are increasingly used in studies of smoking behavior. Through EMA, examination of lagged relationships is particularly useful for establishing a temporal order of events and for identifying types and timing of risk factors. The time-varying effect model (TVEM) handles EMA data challenges and addresses unique questions about the time-varying effects.

Randomized trial of a presurgical scheduled reduced smoking intervention for patients newly diagnosed with cancer.

Objective: Cancer patients who smoke are advised to quit smoking to reduce treatment complications and future cancer risk. This study's main objective was to evaluate the efficacy of a novel, presurgical cessation intervention in newly diagnosed cancer patients scheduled for surgical hospitalization.

Method: We conducted a parallel-arm, randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of our hospital-based, tobacco cessation "best practices" treatment model (BP; cessation counseling and nicotine replacement therapy) with BP enhanced by a behavioral tapering regimen (scheduled reduced smoking; BP + SRS) administered by a handheld computer before hospitalization for surgery.

Effect of a safe patient handling program on rehabilitation outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a safe patient handling (SPH) program on rehabilitation mobility outcomes.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A rehabilitation unit in a hospital system.

Poisson Growth Mixture Modeling of Intensive Longitudinal Data: An Application to Smoking Cessation Behavior.

Intensive longitudinal data (ILD) have become increasingly common in the social and behavioral sciences; count variables, such as the number of daily smoked cigarettes, are frequently-used outcomes in many ILD studies. We demonstrate a generalized extension of growth mixture modeling (GMM) to Poisson-distributed ILD for identifying qualitatively distinct trajectories in the context of developmental heterogeneity in count data. Accounting for the Poisson outcome distribution is essential for correct model identification and estimation.

Using the time-varying effect model (TVEM) to examine dynamic associations between negative affect and self confidence on smoking urges: differences between successful quitters and relapsers.

With technological advances, collection of intensive longitudinal data (ILD), such as ecological momentary assessments, becomes more widespread in prevention science. In ILD studies, researchers are often interested in the effects of time-varying covariates (TVCs) on a time-varying outcome to discover correlates and triggers of target behaviors (e.g.

A time-varying effect model for intensive longitudinal data.

Understanding temporal change in human behavior and psychological processes is a central issue in the behavioral sciences. With technological advances, intensive longitudinal data (ILD) are increasingly generated by studies of human behavior that repeatedly administer assessments over time. ILD offer unique opportunities to describe temporal behavioral changes in detail and identify related environmental and psychosocial antecedents and consequences.

Associations between menarcheal timing and behavioral developmental trajectories for girls from age 6 to age 15.

Substantial evidence from cross-sectional and short time-span longitudinal studies exists about negative associations between early pubertal maturation on a number of psychological outcomes. The objective of the present study was to assess the association between early maturation and developmental trajectories of social skills and internalizing and externalizing problems in girls from grades 1 through 9, including pre- and post-pubertal periods. The sample came from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and included 398 Caucasian and 60 African American girls.

Conceptualizing and Estimating Process Speed in Studies Employing Ecological Momentary Assessment Designs: A Multilevel Variance Decomposition Approach.

Researchers have been making use of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and other study designs that sample feelings and behaviors in real time and in naturalistic settings to study temporal dynamics and contextual factors of a wide variety of psychological, physiological, and behavioral processes. As EMA designs become more widespread, questions are arising about the frequency of data sampling, with direct implications for participants' burden and researchers' ability to capture and study dynamic processes. Traditionally, spectral analytic techniques are used for time series data to identify process speed.