Comparative assessment of the feasibility and validity of daily activity space in urban and non-urban settings.

Activity space research explores the behavioral impact of the spaces people move through in daily life. This research has focused on urban settings, devoting little attention to non-urban settings. We examined the validity of the activity space method, comparing feasibility and data quality in urban and non-urban contexts. Overall, we found that the method is easily implemented in both settings. We also found location data quality was comparable across residential and activity space settings. The major differences in GPS (Global Positioning System) density and accuracy came from the operating system (iOS versus Android) of the device used. The GPS-derived locations showed high agreement with participants' self-reported locations. We further validated GPS data by comparing at-home time allocation with the American Time Use Survey. This study suggests that it is possible to collect daily activity space data in non-urban settings that are of comparable quality to data from urban settings.

Expectations and experiences of screen time, social interaction, and solitude.

The current research examined how people forecast and experience screen time, social interaction, and solitude. When participants could freely use their smartphone, they forecasted (Study 1) and experienced (Study 2) better mood for face-to-face conversation, but worse mood for sitting alone. When participants were instructed to engage in specific screen time activities, they forecasted (Study 3) and experienced (Study 4) the best mood after watching television; followed by conversation, texting, and browsing social media (no difference); then sitting alone. Although participants in Studies 1 and 2 ranked conversation as their most preferred activity, participants in Studies 3 and 4 ranked it below television and texting, even though conversation improved mood compared to baseline (Study 4). These findings suggest that people may use their smartphones because they enable them to escape the unpleasant experience of being alone, or because they do not recognize or prioritize the mood benefits of social interaction.

Digital location tracking: A preliminary investigation of parents' use of digital technology to monitor their adolescent's location.

The emergence of digital technologies has changed the dynamic of parent-adolescent relationships. Parents can now use digital technologies to monitor their adolescent's physical location. Yet, to date, no known research has examined the extent to which digital location tracking occurs in parent-adolescent dyads, and how tracking links to adolescent adjustment. The current research examined digital location tracking in a large sample of adolescents (N = 729; Mage = 15.03). Overall, about half of parents and adolescents reported digital location tracking. Girls and younger adolescents were more likely to be tracked, and tracking was associated with greater externalizing problems and alcohol consumption; however, these associations were not robust across multiple informants and sensitivity analyses. Positive linkages with externalizing problems and cannabis use were in part contingent on age and positive parenting, with associations emerging for older adolescents and adolescents who report lower positive parenting. Older adolescents are increasingly striving for independence and autonomy, and adolescents who perceive lower positive parenting may view digital tracking as controlling and intrusive. However, results were not robust after statistical correction. This brief report is intended to serve as a preliminary investigation into digital location tracking, and future research is needed to determine the directionality of associations. Possible consequences of parental digital tracking require careful consideration by researchers in order to provide guidance on the best practices for engaging in digital monitoring while nurturing and respecting the parent-adolescent relationship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Navigating Still Waters of Infertility: Role of Goal Features in Coping with a Thwarted Goal.

BACKGROUND: The infertility experience is often surrounded by frustration and discouragement associated with the thwarted goal to have a child. Though research has identified commonly used strategies to cope with infertility, this study is the first to examine how different goal attributes and processes associated with the experience of infertility relate to coping strategy use and psychological distress. METHOD: Women (N = 353) recruited from online support forums reported on the nature of their goal to have a child, their psychological distress, and their use of strategies to cope with the failure to achieve that goal. RESULTS: Women reported high striving toward a goal high in importance and commitment, coupled with high goal-related stress and feeling that achievement is blocked. Consistent with the notion that coping strategy use is specific to the features of the experience, no single goal attribute nor combination of attributes consistently accounted for coping strategy use, suggesting that the latter may be specific to the cognitions and processes of pursuit of the goal to have a child. With one exception, perceptions of impediment were better predictors of psychological distress than any level of perceived facilitators of goal pursuit, positing potential targets for future psychological interventions. CONCLUSION: Understanding how women cope with infertility may require a detailed conceptualization of their goal to have a child. In the present sample, dynamic processes and coping strategies that otherwise detract from success were generally beneficial by providing alternatives to the pursuit of a thwarted goal.

Are Exclusive e-Cigarette Users Unique? Comparing Predictors of Exclusive e-Cigarette Use with Traditional Tobacco Use and Dual Use among U.S. Adolescents.

Background: As e-cigarette use rises among U.S. adolescents, the need to understand its risk factors becomes increasingly urgent. If the risk profile of adolescents who exclusively use e-cigarettes differs from those who use traditional tobacco products and dual users, prevention and intervention efforts would need to target such differences. Methods: In a sample of 708 adolescents, this study compared individual, peer, and family risk factors that are classically associated with greater substance use between exclusive e-cigarette users and traditional tobacco product users. Results: Exclusive e-cigarette users and traditional tobacco product users share many risk factors when compared to non-users. Additional analyses compared exclusive e-cigarette users to exclusive traditional tobacco users and dual users, with some differences emerging. Lower friend (OR = 0.28, 99% CI [0.12, 0.67]) and peer e-cigarette use (OR = 0.26, 99% CI [0.13, 0.52]), and greater friend cigarette smoking (OR = 2.17, 99% CI [1.23, 3.83]) predicted higher odds of being an exclusive traditional tobacco user compared to an exclusive e-cigarette user. Lower SES (OR = 0.67, 99% CI [0.51, 0.90]), and greater friend (OR = 2.68, 99% CI [1.56, 4.59]) and peer cigarette smoking (OR = 1.91, 99% CI [1.17, 3.13]) predicted greater odds of being a dual user compared to an exclusive e-cigarette user. Conclusion: Although some differences exist between exclusive e-cigarette users and traditional tobacco users, their risk profiles are generally the same. Prevention and intervention efforts that target traditional tobacco product could guide efforts to target e-cigarette use and dual use. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2021.1899236.