Emotion regulation, motivation and relationship quality at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020: 4-week experience sampling and 7-month longitudinal study in a healthy sample in a partner relationship

Research Questions/Hypotheses:

Due to the scope of the study and associated research questions, reference is only made here to those studies whose data analysis has already been completed (see study description). All other hypotheses can be found in the respective preregistrations (https://osf.io/72ejg/).

1) Greater severity of insomnia predicts reduced mental health.

2) Higher emotional intensity is associated with higher likelihood of using interpersonal emotion regulation strategies compared to intrapersonal emotion regulation.
 

Research Design:

Mixed-standardized survey instrument (combination of differently standardized parts); repeated measurements

Baseline (T0): Questionnaire battery
Immediately after T0: Experience sampling survey of 28 days (3x daily)
Immediately after experience sampling phase (T1): Questionnaire battery
Subsequently a total of 5 follow-ups at intervals of 1 month each (T2-T6): Questionnaire battery 

Measurement Instruments/Apparatus:

Participants completed various validated self-report questionnaires at study inclusion (see below). This was followed by an experience sampling survey over 28 days, during which questions on emotions and emotion regulation, workload/stress, proportion of time alone/with own interests/with others, as well as motivation, behavior, affect and relationship satisfaction were answered three times a day on their own smartphone. In addition, participants were asked to initiate a specific survey on their smartphone in the event of conflicts in the relationship. The experience sampling phase was followed by six monthly follow-up surveys. This resulted in a total survey period per person of 7 months.
Open response format was only offered if none of the given options were applicable (e.g. if emotions were regulated in a different way than standardized).

Questionnaires:
- PHQ-9: Depressive symptoms
- DASS: Depressive and anxiety symptoms
- OCI-R: Obsessive-compulsive symptoms
- ISI: Insomnia
- AUDIT: Symptoms of alcohol abuse
- Whiteley Index: Illness anxiety
- WEMWBS: Psychological well-being
- ABC scales: explicit social needs/motives
- CSI: global relationship satisfaction
- ECR: attachment styles
- BFI: Big Five Personality
- SWLS: Life satisfaction
- SBCS: Secure base through the partner

Projective methods:
- PACT: Implicit motives

Data Collection Method:

Survey in the absence of an investigator

• Online survey
• Other method, namely: via an app on the participant's smartphone
   

Population:

Adult participants who were in a heterosexual partnership at the start of the study (individuals, dyads)
 

Survey Time Period:

2020-04-09 – 2021-01-02  (during the survey period Covid lockdowns in Germany)

Sample:

Convenience Sample

The following information applies to the total sample (N = 267): consists of n = 110 couples, of which both partners took part, and additionally n = 47 participants who took part without a respective partner.

Gender Distribution:

59.93 % female participants
43.07 % male participants

Age Distribution: Range: 18 – 66

Spatial Coverage (Country/Region/City): 

Germany (n=257)/Baden-Württemberg (n = 14), Bavaria (n = 157), Berlin (n = 13), Brandeburg (n = 1), Bremen (n = 4), Hamburg (n = 8), Hesse (n = 5), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (n = 5), Lower Saxony (n = 8), North Rhine-Westphalia (n = 20), Rhineland-Palatinate (n = 4), Saarland (n = 9), Saxony (n = 1), Saxony-Anhalt (n = 3), Schleswig-Holstein (n = 5), Thuringia (n = 10)/-

Austria (n=6)/-/-

Qatar (n=2)/-/-

Greece (n=1)/-/-

South Africa (n=1)/-/-

Subject Recruitment:

Participants were recruited from the general population using email distribution lists, online forums, blog posts and notices.
In order to increase motivation to participate, the possibility of individual feedback was offered after completion of the study. In addition, shopping vouchers (worth between €50 and €250) were raffled off, with the chance of winning increasing depending on the completeness of the data (i.e. the more experience sampling data, the more complete the follow-up data, the higher the chance of winning). The chance of winning also increased if both partners took part in the study.

Sample Size:

267 (complete at t0, to which all further information refers)

Return/Drop Out:

N = 267 completed the t0 survey in full (N = 273 incl. incomplete data sets) 
N = 191 provided experience sampling data (according to the exclusion criteria defined in the pre-registration, see https://osf.io/zmw7t)
N = 181 completed the t1 survey in full (N = 183 incl. incomplete data sets) 
N = 174 completed the t2 survey in full (no incomplete data sets)
N = 171 completed the t3 survey in full (no incomplete data sets)
N = 168 completed the t4 survey in full (no incomplete data sets)
N = 167 completed the t5 survey in full (no incomplete data sets)
N = 166 completed the t6 survey in full (N = 167 incl. incomplete data sets)