Do what matters, no matter what! Factorizing positive activities during COVID-19 lockdown

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Philipp Yorck Herzberg - , Helmut Schmidt Unviersity Hamburg (Author)
  • Tanja Stender - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Janina Charlotte Gabriela Dechmann - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Jasmin Čolić - , Chair of Behavioral Psychotherapy, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Jürgen Hoyer - , Chair of Behavioral Psychotherapy, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)

Abstract

Behavioral activation (BA) interventions systematically encourage positive and value-based activities. Engaging in them is an effective way to counteract negative affect, but it is unknown whether there are subtypes of activities that may have differential effects on mood. This study investigated the factorial structure of 99 potentially rewarding activities used in an online BA intervention during the COVID-19 lockdown. About 3624 German-speaking participants evaluated a list of 99 activities that were easy to apply. We analyzed the initially 99 activities by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Since activities can either be seen as reflective or formative indicators, a reflective as well as a formative model was analyzed. Although the range of chosen activities differed clearly between respondents, a one-factor model provided the best fit. It seems that a general “activity” factor is more important for explaining whether people choose a certain activity or not, than specific characteristics of the activity itself.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)477-490
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of health psychology
Volume28
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 36124687
ORCID /0000-0002-1697-6732/work/173516014

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • behavioral activation, mental health, ordinal factor analysis, positive activities, reflective vs formative measurement