Developing a transdiagnostic Ecological Momentary Assessment protocol for psychopathology

• Published in: International journal of methods in psychiatric research Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. e2028 - n/a
• Main Authors: Jover Martínez, Alberto, Lemmens, Lotte H. J. M., Fried, Eiko I., Roefs, Anne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2024; Wiley
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety disorders; Clinical psychology; Comorbidity; Ecological Momentary Assessment; Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA); Female; Focus Groups; Humans; Information sources; Licenses; Male; measurement; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Mental health care; Middle Aged; Mood; network approach; Psychologists; Psychopathology; Psychopathology - methods; Psychotherapy; Questionnaires; Social networks; Surveys; transdiagnostic; Variables; United States > US; Netherlands; network approach; transdiagnostic; psychopathology; Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA); measurement
• ISSN: 1049-8931; 1557-0657; 1557-0657
• DOI: 10.1002/mpr.2028

Objectives The network approach to psychopathology posits that mental disorders emerge from dynamic interactions among psychopathology‐relevant variables. Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is frequently used to assess these variables in daily life. Considering the transdiagnostic nature of the network approach to psychopathology, this study describes the development of a transdiagnostic EMA protocol for psychopathology. Methods First, 96 clinicians completed an online survey, providing three EMA constructs for up to three disorders they specialize in, and three EMA constructs relevant across disorders (transdiagnostic constructs). Second, 12 focus groups were conducted with clinical experts for specific types of diagnoses (e.g., mood disorders, anxiety disorders). Finally, a selection of items was reached by consensus. Two raters independently coded the online survey responses with an inter‐rater agreement of 87.3%. Results Jaccard indices showed up to 52.6% overlap in EMA items across types of diagnoses. The most frequently reported transdiagnostic constructs were mood, sleep quality, and stress. A final set of EMA items is created based on items' frequency and informativeness, ensuring completeness across diagnoses and minimizing burden. Conclusions The described procedure resulted in a feasible EMA protocol to examine psychopathology transdiagnostically. Feasibility was helped by the overlap in mentioned symptoms across disorders. Such overlap raises questions about the validity of DSM categories.