Ecological Momentary Assessment of Social Interactions: Associations With Depression, Anxiety, Pain, and Fatigue in Individuals With Mild Stroke.
Anna J Neff, Yejin Lee, Christopher L Metts and 1 others
PMID 32918909WHAT IT FOUND
In 48 people with mild stroke, higher momentary fatigue and depressed mood were linked to lower social confidence and satisfaction.
Better social interactions predicted lower fatigue and mood symptoms hours later, while social success unexpectedly predicted increased pain at the next check-in.
Key findings
01Higher momentary fatigue and depressed mood were negatively associated with social satisfaction, and a 1-unit increase in depressed mood was associated with a 0.237-point reduction in social confidence.
02Over the 2-week period, higher average social satisfaction, confidence, and success were associated with lower momentary fatigue, anxious mood, and depressed mood at the subsequent time point.
03Social success at one time point was significantly associated with pain at the next time point, which was the only observed result in an unexpected direction.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Small sample size (48 participants) limits generalizability. Multiple statistical tests were performed, increasing the risk of Type I error (false positives). The study did not collect data on household size, environmental factors, or social support availability, which could influence social interactions. The unexpected finding that social success predicted increased pain requires further investigation and should be interpreted with caution. Participants were recruited from a single hospital registry, which may introduce selection bias.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by an NIH grant.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that improving social interactions will universally reduce pain. While social interactions were linked to better mood and fatigue outcomes, the study found that social success predicted an increase in pain at the next time point. This contradictory finding means that encouraging social engagement without monitoring pain levels could inadvertently worsen somatic symptoms in some patients.