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12 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 12
Self-compassion in the moment: Dynamic changes of compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding in daily life.

Abstract

Not specified

Authors: Nan Zhao, David L. Vogel, Thomas Kubiak, Lara Kristin Mey, Karolina Morello, Oliver Tüscher

Date Published: 1st Jul 2025

Publication Type: Journal

Neuroticism is Associated With Greater Affective Variability at High Levels of Momentary Affective Well‐Being, but With Lower Affective Variability at Low Levels of Momentary Affective Well‐Being

Abstract (Expand)

ABSTRACT Objective Research challenged the notion that neuroticism correlates with affective variability, suggesting that it may result from statistical artifacts due to the non‐normal distribution of …istical artifacts due to the non‐normal distribution of negative affect. We aim to advance this line of research by (a) introducing affect balance as a normally distributed measure of affective well‐being and (b) examining current affect balance as a moderator of the relationship between neuroticism and affect balance variability. Method We meta‐analyzed the results of 14 ambulatory assessment datasets ( N  = 2389 participants, N  = 174,423 observations). Result s We found that while the associations between the mean and affective variability were large for negative affect, they were much smaller for affect balance. Moreover, the association between neuroticism and variability in negative affect was very small, yet medium‐sized for affect balance. Importantly, the latter association depended on current affect levels: Participants high relative to low in neuroticism showed stronger subsequent fluctuations in affect balance when currently feeling better than usual, but weaker subsequent fluctuations in (and thus more persistent) affect balance when currently feeling worse than usual. Conclusion Increased variability should not be seen as a bad sign but may be a sign that an affective system is changing, which may be adaptive or maladaptive for an individual, depending on the initial state of the system.

Authors: Mario Wenzel, Whitney R. Ringwald, Aleksandra Kaurin, Oliver Tüscher, Thomas Kubiak, Aidan G. C. Wright

Date Published: 1st Jun 2025

Publication Type: Journal

The role of self-care and self-compassion in networks of resilience and stress among healthcare professionals

Abstract (Expand)

Abstract Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are essential for maintaining our healthcare system but are at risk for developing mental health issues due to chronic occupational stress. This can lead to a …stress. This can lead to a vicious cycle with extended sick leave, increased workloads for colleagues, and strain on the healthcare system. Therefore, preventive interventions aiming at enhancing resilience - the maintenance of mental health despite stress - are essential. Yet, identifying the most impactful resilience factors has been challenging. To explore the relationships between resilience factors, stress, mental health, and work-related outcomes, we conducted regularized partial correlation network analyses focusing on self-care and self-compassion. Cross-sectional data from HCPs in Germany were collected from June-July 2023. Analyses of 212 HCPs (age 41.63 [21–68] years; 81.60% women) revealed self-compassion as the most important factor across all networks, while the importance of self-care showed through individual connections to crucial factors like mental health problems and work-life balance. Work engagement, contrary to burnout, was closely interrelated with resilience factors. In conclusion, despite accounting for established evidence-based resilience factors, self-compassion and self-care seem crucial in the context of stress and mental health in HCPs. More research is needed to validate the causal importance of self-care and self-compassion.

Authors: Carolina Pank, Lisa von Boros, Klaus Lieb, Nina Dalkner, Sebastian Egger-Lampl, Dirk Lehr, Sarah K. Schäfer, Oliver Tüscher, Michèle Wessa

Date Published: 27th May 2025

Publication Type: Journal

Perceived Control as a Resilience Factor: Influences on neural, physiological and affective stress responses and mental health

Abstract (Expand)

Perceived control is a key mechanism implicated in stress resilience. A tendency to perceive control over stressors may protect individuals against negative outcomes across various situations by …tuations by increasing active coping and preventing exacerbated stress reactions. Assuming that individual differences in perceived control during an uncontrollable stress task may represent an underlying resilience factor, we investigated associations of perceived control with neural, endocrine, and affective responses to a different, psychosocial stressor, and with overall mental health. 116 male participants aged 18-30 completed a psychosocial stress task, and we assessed stress responses via functional magnetic resonance imaging, cortisol levels, and affective state questionnaires. General mental health was assessed via self-report. Perceived control was measured during a second, uncontrollable stress task and growth mixture modeling revealed a high- and a low-control class. Comparison of these classes showed that the high-control class experienced less helplessness during the uncontrollability task and demonstrated more flexible responses to psychosocial stress as reflected in cortisol secretion and activation of the bilateral posterior insula. Further, the high-control class reported fewer psychosomatic symptoms and a less external locus of control. These findings suggest that perceived control acts as a resilience factor, influencing stress processing across multiple domains. The study highlights the potential for perceived control to be harnessed in resilience-building interventions and underscores the need for further experimental and longitudinal research to confirm its role in modulating stress responses.

Authors: Bianca Kollmann, Jana Meier, Laura Elisabeth Meine, Benjamin Meyer, Kenneth S.L. Yuen, Magdalena Storck, Oliver Tüscher, Michele Wessa

Date Published: 1st Oct 2024

Publication Type: Unpublished

Investigating two mobile just-in-time adaptive interventions to foster psychological resilience: research protocol of the DynaM-INT study

Abstract (Expand)

Abstract Background Stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression are highly prevalent and cause a tremendous burden for affected individuals and society. In order to improve prevention …individuals and society. In order to improve prevention strategies, knowledge regarding resilience mechanisms and ways to boost them is highly needed. In the Dynamic Modelling of Resilience – interventional multicenter study (DynaM-INT), we will conduct a large-scale feasibility and preliminary efficacy test for two mobile- and wearable-based just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs), designed to target putative resilience mechanisms. Deep participant phenotyping at baseline serves to identify individual predictors for intervention success in terms of target engagement and stress resilience. Methods DynaM-INT aims to recruit N  = 250 healthy but vulnerable young adults in the transition phase between adolescence and adulthood (18–27 years) across five research sites (Berlin, Mainz, Nijmegen, Tel Aviv, and Warsaw). Participants are included if they report at least three negative burdensome past life events and show increased levels of internalizing symptoms while not being affected by any major mental disorder. Participants are characterized in a multimodal baseline phase, which includes neuropsychological tests, neuroimaging, bio-samples, sociodemographic and psychological questionnaires, a video-recorded interview, as well as ecological momentary assessments (EMA) and ecological physiological assessments (EPA). Subsequently, participants are randomly assigned to one of two ecological momentary interventions (EMIs), targeting either positive cognitive reappraisal or reward sensitivity. During the following intervention phase, participants' stress responses are tracked using EMA and EPA, and JITAIs are triggered if an individually calibrated stress threshold is crossed. In a three-month-long follow-up phase, parts of the baseline characterization phase are repeated. Throughout the entire study, stressor exposure and mental health are regularly monitored to calculate stressor reactivity as a proxy for outcome resilience. The online monitoring questionnaires and the repetition of the baseline questionnaires also serve to assess target engagement. Discussion The DynaM-INT study intends to advance the field of resilience research by feasibility-testing two new mechanistically targeted JITAIs that aim at increasing individual stress resilience and identifying predictors for successful intervention response. Determining these predictors is an important step toward future randomized controlled trials to establish the efficacy of these interventions.

Authors: S. A. Bögemann, A. Riepenhausen, L. M. C. Puhlmann, S. Bar, E. J. C. Hermsen, J. Mituniewicz, Z. C. Reppmann, A. Uściƚko, J. M. C. van Leeuwen, C. Wackerhagen, K. S. L. Yuen, M. Zerban, J. Weermeijer, M. A. Marciniak, N. Mor, A. van Kraaij, G. Köber, S. Pooseh, P. Koval, A. Arias-Vásquez, H. Binder, W. De Raedt, B. Kleim, I. Myin-Germeys, K. Roelofs, J. Timmer, O. Tüscher, T. Hendler, D. Kobylińska, I. M. Veer, R. Kalisch, E. J. Hermans, H. Walter

Date Published: 1st Dec 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Variability in negative affect is an important feature of neuroticism above mean negative affect once measurement issues are accounted for

Abstract (Expand)

Neuroticism is an important predictor of well-being that is conceptualized by high levels of mean negative affect and negative affect variability. However, research has shown that negative affect …egative affect variability only explained limited additional variance in neuroticism when the confound with mean negative affect was accounted for using a modified version of the standard deviation ( SD), the relative standard deviation ( RSD). Here, we (a) examined the suitability of the RSD as a variability measure, (b) introduced the number of negative affect episodes as an alternative measure of negative affect variability, and (c) investigated the relationship between neuroticism and negative affect variability, accounting for measurement error. Re-analyzing three experience sampling datasets ( N = 430 participants), we found several issues with the RSD, which limits its use as a negative affect variability measure, and which were not found for the number of negative affect episodes measure. Moreover, only the SD and the number of negative affect episodes explained substantial variance in neuroticism above mean negative affect. Thus, neuroticism was associated with experiencing negative affect more strongly and more often in daily life, when measurement error was accounted for, which demonstrates the importance to model reliability and to correct accordingly.

Authors: Mario Wenzel, Zarah Rowland, Lara K Mey, Karolina Kurth, Oliver Tüscher, Thomas Kubiak

Date Published: 1st May 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Be Kind to Yourself: the Implications of Momentary Self-Compassion for Affective Dynamics and Well-Being in Daily Life.

Abstract (Expand)

OBJECTIVES: While self-compassion (SC) has mostly been understood as a stable trait-like property, growing evidence suggests that it may fluctuate over time within a given individual. However, little … is known on how these fluctuations relate to affective well-being and affective dynamics, such as emotional inertia and stress reactivity in daily life. METHODS: A sample of 119 non-clinical individuals (mean age: 31.3 years, 53.8% female) completed a 7-day smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment study with six semi-random signals per day. With each signal, individuals reported their momentary positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), recent SC, and occurrence and perceived strain of daily hassles since the last signal. RESULTS: Whenever individuals reported higher recent SC than usual, they experienced higher momentary PA and lower momentary NA. Moreover, higher recent SC related to lower stress reactivity in terms of lower decrease of PA and lower increase of NA following the experience of daily hassles. No associations between SC and emotional inertia were found. When distinguishing between the positive components (SC-Pos) and negative components (SC-Neg) of SC, SC-Neg (compared to SC-Pos) was more strongly connected to NA, while SC-Pos and SC-Neg were similarly connected to PA. SC-Pos was associated with an attenuated NA stress reactivity, and SC-Neg with an increased NA stress reactivity. SC-Pos and SC-Neg did not significantly moderate PA stress reactivity nor emotional inertia. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that the benefits of SC for well-being and stress reactivity may unfold whenever we treat ourselves with compassion, irrespective of how self-compassionate we are in general. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-022-02050-y.

Authors: L. K. Mey, M. Wenzel, K. Morello, Z. Rowland, T. Kubiak, O. Tuscher

Date Published: 17th Jan 2023

Publication Type: Journal

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