University of Twente Student Theses
The association between positive social relations and state negative affect : an experience sampling study
Ludwigt, F. (2022) The association between positive social relations and state negative affect : an experience sampling study.
|
PDF
391kB |
| Abstract: | Background: A history of research has shown that social contacts are relevant in different areas of life. Especially when it comes to psychopathology, there are several mental disorders integrating impairments in social interaction as well as negative mood as diagnostic criteria. Negative affect is used in this study indicating negative mood and a tendency to psychopathology. Some research suggests that positive social relationships have a positive influence on mood in general. These findings are extended in this study with the experience sampling method (ESM) on the association between momentary positive social contact and state negative affect. Aim: The goal is to get insights into this association not only generally but on a daily basis to understand patterns and fluctuations in the correlation between positive social contact and state negative affect. Additionally, this study distinguished between different types of contact. Method: A post-hoc analysis of a convenience sample including 37 participants who filled in three questionnaires per day for two weeks and one baseline questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed with Linear mixed models (LMM) and graphs are presented about the association between the investigated constructs. Results: The LMMs show negative associations between perceived positive social contact and state negative affect in the same moment (β = -.144, p < .001). Regarding to the type of contact, contact to friends (β =-.09, p<.001) and romantic partners (β=-.116, p<.001) showed the strongest association with state negative affect. Discussion: These findings support previous research about the negative association between negative affect and positive social relationships, respectively implicitly about the positive correlation between positive affect and positive social contact. As implication for clinical practice one should take into account positive social relationships as one key element in therapy and daily life in general. Future studies should ask for more information about the social contact and classifying them more precise (e.g. duration of relationship). Furthermore, an event-based ESM could identify actual contacts in the real moment directly and a lagged design could benefit deriving more precise implications. Conclusion: This study gives an insight into the negative association between negative affect and positive social relationships and its fluctuations. It confirms the relevance of these constructs for daily life. Further research is needed to foster the understanding of the investigated constructs. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/92425 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page