PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Asthma, a leading chronic illness in childhood, can be life-threatening and is associated with a multitude
of adverse outcomes. Guideline-recommended medical care including the use of daily, effective inhaled
corticosteroids, has greatly improved the treatment of asthma. However, asthma remains a considerable health
concern, particularly among adolescents, who often have preventive medication adherence rates as low as 50%.
This poor adherence may not be surprising given that adolescence is a developmental period characterized by
increased autonomy including self-managing one’s health care, a skill that takes time to master. Further, stress
has been shown to negatively impact asthma health in adolescents, and this could in part be due to stress’
negative association with medication adherence. Thus, innovative approaches to improving adherence to
preventive medication and decreasing stress are needed to promote better asthma health.
Positive Psychology is the study of positive experiences, positive individual traits, and supportive social
networks. Positive affect (e.g., emotions such as happiness) is a major component in Positive Psychology and
has been demonstrated in multiple peer reviewed studies to boost health in several conditions. Evidence
suggests that the health enhancing effects of positive affect occur through its beneficial impact on health
behaviors (such as medication adherence) and stress. Given the role of medication adherence and stress in
asthma health, we expect that positive affect will benefit asthma health by increasing medication adherence and
decreasing stress, as well as have direct effects on asthma health.
That said, positive affect, adherence, stress, and asthma health are all dynamic in nature changing from
moment to moment, but the momentary effects of and interactions among these factors have not been studied
together in prior asthma literature. Testing these associations at the momentary level may help uncover nuanced
relationships informing behavioral interventions that can be adaptive over time to fit not only the person but the
occasion (i.e., what is happening in that moment), thus increasing intervention effectiveness for the management
of asthma.
Thus, the present proposal will test the associations between momentary-positive-affect and asthma
health, as well as the hypothesized mechanisms behind this association, using a longitudinal burst design with
momentary assessment of adolescents with moderate to severe persistent asthma. The work in this application
lays the foundation for the development of adaptive behavioral interventions to better treat asthma in
adolescents.
