Affect variability and physical health: The moderating role of mean affect.

Research has only begun to explore how affect variability relates to physical health and has typically not assessed long-term associations nor considered the moderating role of mean affect. Therefore, we used data from the Midlife in the United States Study waves 2 (N = 1512) and 3 (N = 1499) to test how affect variability predicted concurrent and long-term physical health while also testing the moderating role of mean affect. Results indicated that greater negative affect variability was associated concurrently with a greater number of chronic conditions (p = .03) and longitudinally with worse self-rated physical health (p < .01). Greater positive affect variability was associated concurrently with more chronic conditions (p < .01) and medications (p < .01) and longitudinally with worse self-rated physical health (p = .04). Further, mean negative affect played a moderating role such that at lower levels of mean negative affect, as affect variability increased, so did the number of concurrent chronic conditions (p < .01) and medications (p = .03) and the likelihood of reporting worse long-term self-rated physical health (p < .01). Thus, the role of mean affect should be considered when testing short- and long-term associations between affect variability and physical health.

Considerations for Advancing the Conceptualization of Well-being.

In this commentary, we raise several points regarding Park and colleagues' emotional well-being framework. First, we question whether the term emotional well-being is appropriate and whether a new framework is necessary, and we argue that the field may be better served through other efforts, such as clarifying the distinctions between different well-being constructs and providing guidance on best practices for measurement and intervention. In addition, we note that by placing well-being on the opposite end of the spectrum from despair and depression, Park and colleagues have overlooked the influences of stress, distress, and life challenges on shaping positive aspects of well-being, and vice versa. Furthermore, we challenge the conceptualization of well-being as encompassing how positive an individual feels generally and about life overall. In its current form, this definition of well-being is overly static and trait-like, whereas a process-oriented conceptualization would more closely align with how well-being unfolds in real-life contexts and would be more suitable for identifying mechanistic targets for intervention. Finally, we raise the concern that the process for developing this definition of well-being did not actively involve input from diverse communities that have historically been disserved and underrepresented in research, practice, and policy. The cultural differences in constituents of well-being as well as evidence demonstrating that key positive psychological constructs (e.g., positive affect, sense of control) are less health-protective in racial/ethnic minorities than in whites necessitate greater integration of perspectives from underrepresented communities to build a more inclusive and accurate understanding of well-being.

Everyday discrimination, daily affect, and physical symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Abundant evidence has linked everyday discrimination with health risks. Because the COVID-19 pandemic has increased exposure to discrimination (e.g., based on age and race), it is important to understand the day-to-day implications of discrimination experiences for well-being. Furthermore, daily positive events were examined as a moderator due to their potential for mitigating the associations between everyday discrimination and well-being. METHOD: From March to August 2020, 1,212 participants aged 18-91 in the United States and Canada (84% women, 75% White) completed surveys for seven consecutive evenings about everyday discrimination, positive events, physical health symptoms, and positive and negative affect. Data were analyzed using multilevel models and controlled for sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: Everyday discrimination was reported on 9.3% of days when in-person or remote social interactions occurred. Within-persons, positive affect was lower and negative affect and physical symptoms were higher on days when discrimination occurred versus on days without discrimination. Positive events mitigated the within-person association between everyday discrimination and same-day negative affect, but not for positive affect or physical symptoms. Discrimination perceived to be due to age was associated with higher negative affect and lower positive affect within-persons. Positive events did not moderate the associations between age-based discrimination and same-day outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Everyday discrimination was related to lower daily positive affect and higher negative affect and physical symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study provides initial evidence that daily positive events partially offset the increased negative affect associated with same-day discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Racial identity differences in pathways from sociocultural and objectification constructs to body satisfaction: The U.S. Body Project I.

Racial minority men and women face a wide variety of appearance-related pressures, including ones connected to their cultural backgrounds and phenotypic features associated with their identity. These body image concerns exist within a larger context, wherein racial minorities face pressures from multiple cultures or subcultures simultaneously to achieve unrealistic appearance ideals. However, limited research has investigated racial differences in the relationships between theorized sociocultural risk factors and body image in large samples. This study tests pathways from an integrated sociocultural model drawing on objectification theory and the tripartite influence model to three key body image outcomes: appearance evaluation, body image quality of life, and face image satisfaction. These pathways were tested using multigroup structural equation modeling in a national sample of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian men and women (ns = 205-4797 per group). Although many hypothesized associations were similar in strength across groups, race moderated some of the pathways between sociocultural pressures (media, peer, family), internalization of appearance ideals (thin-ideal, muscular/athletic), appearance surveillance, and body image outcomes. Findings support the likely role of both shared and specific risk factors for body image outcomes, suggesting avenues for tailoring adapted interventions in order to target culturally-salient risk factors.

The Role of Ethnicity and Nativity in the Correspondence between Subjective and Objective Measures of In-Home Smoking.

Studies are needed to understand the association between self-reported home smoking bans and objective measures of in-home smoking according to smokers' ethnicity/nativity. Data came from a trial that used air particle monitors to reduce children's secondhand smoke exposure in smokers' households (N = 251). Linear regressions modeled (a) full home smoking bans by ethnicity/nativity, and (b) objectively measured in-home smoking events, predicted by main and interaction effects of self-reported home smoking bans and ethnicity/nativity. Among smokers reporting < a full ban, US-born and Foreign-born Latinos had fewer in-home smoking events than US-born Whites (p < 0.001). Participants who reported a full smoking ban had a similar frequency of smoking events regardless of ethnicity/nativity. Results indicate that self-reported home smoking bans can be used as a proxy for in-home smoking. Establishing smoking bans in the households of US-born White smokers has the largest impact on potential exposure compared to other ethnicity/nativity groups.

Cannabis use, sedentary behavior, and physical activity in a nationally representative sample of US adults.

BACKGROUND: Prior research examining the relationship between cannabis use, sedentary behavior, and physical activity has generated conflicting findings, potentially due to biases in the self-reported measures used to assess physical activity. This study aimed to more precisely explore the relationship between cannabis use and sedentary behavior/physical activity using objective measures. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 2,092 participants (ages 20-59; 48.8% female) had accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior, light physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Participants were classified as light, moderate, frequent, or non-current cannabis users depending on how often they used cannabis in the previous 30 days. Multivariable linear regression estimated minutes in sedentary behavior/physical activity by cannabis use status. Logistic regression modeled self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in relation to current cannabis use. RESULTS: Fully adjusted regression models indicated that current cannabis users' accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior did not significantly differ from non-current users. Frequent cannabis users engaged in more physical activity than non-current users. Light cannabis users had greater odds of self-reporting physical activity compared to non-current users. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to evaluate the relationship between cannabis use and accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior and physical activity. Such objective measures should be used in other cohorts to replicate our findings that cannabis use is associated with greater physical activity and not associated with sedentary behavior in order to fully assess the potential public health impact of increases in cannabis use.