Application of Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in assessing the relationship between affect and movement behaviors among people with mood disorders: a scoping review

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) enables the generation of intensive longitudinal data to examine dynamic relationships between variables. This study aims to describe the use of EMA in assessing dynamic associations between movement behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep) and affective experiences among people with affective disorders. This scoping review searched peer-reviewed journal articles in eight electronic databases in both June 2022 and October 2023. Twenty-two studies were identified. Affective constructs were inconsistently implemented conceptually and operationally. Most studies (4/5) comparing compliance rates between mood-disordered participants and healthy controls found no significant differences, supporting EMA feasibility for individuals with affective disorders. Sleep quality was consistently linked to higher positive affect, lower negative affect, and mood enhancements. Physical activity (6/8 studies) was consistently associated with mood enhancements or improved positive affect, but not negative affect (2/3 studies). One study investigated affect and an indicator of sedentary behavior. Our review highlights EMA feasibility for investigating movement behaviors and affective experiences among people with affective disorders. Understanding these associations may contribute to informing clinical management of affective disorders and developing behavioral interventions such as just-in-time adaptive interventions. However, enhancing EMA methodology design and reporting is necessary to improve study reliability and validity.