Ecological Momentary Assessment and Mood Disorders in Children and Adolescents: a Systematic Review

Abstract

EMA is increasingly used to collect participant's information in their real environment and in real time. There are multiple studies focused on the evaluation of mood disorders in children and adolescents, but only a few of them used EMA protocols. Results found in this review showed a wide variability of works with different fields of study, methodological approaches, and EMA protocols. More than 60% of EMA studies in children and adolescents with mood disorders were conducted via phone call, showing high completion rates with data missing in 5 to 11.5% of the calls. Length of studies varied from a 4-day EMA protocol to a maximum of 8 weeks. Positive and negative affect, daily activities, and social context were the main EMA measures. Despite the limited number of studies using EMA in children and adolescents with mood disorders, EMA was useful in assessing mood symptoms in the moment and in patients' real-life environment. Studies also showed high completion and satisfaction rates. Although web pages and apps use have been increasing over the past years, the evidence base is still scarce. Future studies can facilitate understanding of EMA methodology among youth with mood disorders.

Content validity and methodological considerations in ecological momentary assessment studies on physical activity and sedentary behaviour: a systematic review

“…Similar to the use of EMA in other research domains (e.g. pain, mood disorders), it can only be assumed that EMA methodologies are uniquely suited to examine temporal relationships between physical activity /sedentary behaviour and affective, cognitive and other behavioural factors [83,84]. On the other hand, this review reveals that the heterogeneity of several methodological aspects of the included EMA studies indicates that EMA methodologies are complex and various design decisions are required for their implementation.…”

Annual Research Review: Ecological momentary assessment studies in child psychology and psychiatry

“…Next, we review the international body of literature reporting on the use of EMA to examine mental and behavioral health in the day‐to‐day lives of children and adolescents. Articles for the current review were selected from the references of previously published reviews (Baltasar‐Tello, Miguélez‐Fernández, Peñuelas‐Calvo, & Carballo, ; Heron et al, ; Wen et al, ) and an updated literature search (from December 2017 to January 31, 2019) using PubMed and Google Scholar. Our review is not exhaustive; it is a narrative review in which we provide examples of how EMA may enhance discovery and individualized treatment of mental and behavioral health problems in youth.…”

Advancing clinical neuroscience through enhanced tools: Pediatric social anxiety as an example

“…EMA addresses children's difficulties in retrospectively reporting aspects of mood (Baltasar-Tello, Miguélez-Fernández, Peñuelas-Calvo, & Carballo, 2018) and anxiety problems (Silk et al, 2018, Tan et al, 2012for review, see Smyth & Stone, 2003). EMA addresses children's difficulties in retrospectively reporting aspects of mood (Baltasar-Tello, Miguélez-Fernández, Peñuelas-Calvo, & Carballo, 2018) and anxiety problems (Silk et al, 2018, Tan et al, 2012for review, see Smyth & Stone, 2003).…”

“…Here we report data from a smartphone-based EMA protocol that collects real-time data on social interactions. EMA addresses children's difficulties in retrospectively reporting aspects of mood (Baltasar-Tello, Miguélez-Fernández, Peñuelas-Calvo, & Carballo, 2018) and anxiety problems (Silk et al, 2018, Tan et al, 2012 for review, see Smyth & Stone, 2003). It capitalizes on the fact that children more accurately rate their current state, compared to average levels of distress over extended periods (McCathie & Spence, 1991).…”