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      A Smartphone Ecological Momentary Assessment/Intervention “App” for Collecting Real-Time Data and Promoting Self-Awareness

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          Abstract

          We have designed a flexible ecological momentary assessment/intervention smartphone (EMA/EMI) “app”. We examine the utility of this app for collecting real-time data, and assessing intra-subject variability, by using it to assess how freshman undergraduates spend their time. We also explore whether its use can promote greater self-awareness. Participants were randomly divided into an experimental group, who used the app, and a control group, who did not. We used the app to collect both randomized in-the-moment data as well as end-of-day data to assess time use. Using a posttest survey we asked participants questions about how they spent time throughout the school semester. We also asked the experimental group about their experience with the app. Among other findings, 80.49% participants indicated that they became more aware of how they spent their time using the app. Corroborating this report, among the experimental group, end-of-semester self-assessment of time spent wasted, and time spent using electronics recreationally, predicted semester GPA at a strength comparable to high school GPA and ACT score (two of the best single predictors for first semester college GPA), but had no correlation among controls. We discuss the advantages and limitations of using apps, such as ours, for EMA and/or EMI.

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          Most cited references17

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          Diary methods: capturing life as it is lived.

          In diary studies, people provide frequent reports on the events and experiences of their daily lives. These reports capture the particulars of experience in a way that is not possible using traditional designs. We review the types of research questions that diary methods are best equipped to answer, the main designs that can be used, current technology for obtaining diary reports, and appropriate data analysis strategies. Major recent developments include the use of electronic forms of data collection and multilevel models in data analysis. We identify several areas of research opportunities: 1. in technology, combining electronic diary reports with collateral measures such as ambulatory heart rate; 2. in measurement, switching from measures based on between-person differences to those based on within-person changes; and 3. in research questions, using diaries to (a) explain why people differ in variability rather than mean level, (b) study change processes during major events and transitions, and (c) study interpersonal processes using dyadic and group diary methods.
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            Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in studies of substance use.

            Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is particularly suitable for studying substance use, because use is episodic and thought to be related to mood and context. This article reviews EMA methods in substance use research, focusing on tobacco and alcohol use and relapse, where EMA has been most applied. Common EMA designs combine event-based reports of substance use with time-based assessments. Approaches to data organization and analysis have been very diverse, particularly regarding their treatment of time. Compliance with signaled assessments is often high. Compliance with recording of substance use appears good but is harder to validate. Treatment applications of EMA are emerging. EMA captures substance use patterns not measured by questionnaires or retrospective data and holds promise for substance use research.
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              Revealing the form and function of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: A real-time ecological assessment study among adolescents and young adults.

              Self-injurious behaviors are among the leading causes of death worldwide. However, the basic nature of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) is not well understood because prior studies have relied on long-term, retrospective, aggregate, self-report assessment methods. The authors used ecological momentary assessment methods to measure suicidal and nonsuicidal SITBs as they naturally occur in real time. Participants were 30 adolescents and young adults with a recent history of self-injury who completed signal- and event-contingent assessments on handheld computers over a 14-day period, resulting in the collection of data on 1,262 thought and behavior episodes. Participants reported an average of 5.0 thoughts of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) per week, most often of moderate intensity and short duration (1-30 min), and 1.6 episodes of NSSI per week. Suicidal thoughts occurred less frequently (1.1 per week), were of longer duration, and led to self-injurious behavior (i.e., suicide attempts) less often. Details are reported about the contexts in which SITBs most often occur (e.g., what participants were doing, who they were with, and what they were feeling before and after each episode). This study provides a first glimpse of how SITBs are experienced in everyday life and has significant implications for scientific and clinical work on self-injurious behaviors. PsycINFO Database Record 2009 APA, all rights reserved.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Editor
                Journal
                PLoS One
                PLoS ONE
                plos
                plosone
                PLoS ONE
                Public Library of Science (San Francisco, USA )
                1932-6203
                2013
                14 August 2013
                : 8
                : 8
                : e71325
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Behavioral Science Division, Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, Indiana, United States of America
                [2 ]The Center for Learning and Innovation, Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, Indiana, United States of America
                University of California, San Francisco, United States of America
                Author notes

                Competing Interests: The authors have copyrighted the iHabit app and are using it in a research consulting capacity. This does not alter their adherence to all the PLOS ONE polices on, or to the standards in psychology for, sharing data.

                Conceived and designed the experiments: JR TS DD. Performed the experiments: JR TS CB DD. Analyzed the data: JR TS CB. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: JR TS DD LO BF. Wrote the paper: JR TS DD. Responsible for editing: LO BF.

                Article
                PONE-D-13-14297
                10.1371/journal.pone.0071325
                3743745
                23977016
                a41fa9a4-1fe1-40f2-8d2d-0ef38b27427e
                Copyright @ 2013

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                : 2 April 2013
                : 27 June 2013
                Page count
                Pages: 9
                Funding
                The development of this app was supported by an institutional grant from the Eli Lilly Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
                Categories
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                Computer Science
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