An application of the experience sampling method to the study of aphasia: A case report

Background: Researchers stress that functional health and psychological well-being are important aspects of quality of life in the investigation of individuals with aphasia. Employed in the social sciences, the experience sampling method (ESM) has begun to shed light on deviations in participants' momentary responses to behavioural contingencies in naturalistic environments. Applications of ESM have demonstrated value in monitoring within-participant variations in mood, psychopathology, and treatment outcomes while minimising the effect of memory bias. Additionally, the application of ESM in psychological cognitive-behavioural therapy and occupational therapy (OT) research reportedly appeared to contribute to treatment success. A time-based, fixed-schedule sampling application of ESM was used in this study to attain self-reports throughout an aphasia treatment programme. Aims: The current investigation introduced the ESM paradigm to the study of aphasia and piloted its use in measuring psychoemotional variables in an individual with chronic aphasia participating in an intensive treatment regime. Methods & Procedures: Repeated ESM probes were administered during a university-based treatment programme to measure the daily responses of a 75-year-old participant with a moderate-to-severe communicative impairment secondary to a cerebral vascular accident (CVA). A total of 20 brief ESM probes were cued by clinicians at four fixed times per day, 5 days a week during a 35-hour a week, 6-week programme. Probes conducted throughout each day used a 5-point Likert scale to query participant response to psychoemotional variables perceived happiness, perceived tiredness, perceived stress, and perceived communication satisfaction. Outcomes & Results: Findings revealed that the participant with aphasia was able to respond to a 5-point Likert scale administered with a personal data assistant (PDA) with 100% compliance when cued by clinicians that it was time to complete the ESM probe (464 responses across 29 days). The internal validity of internal states used in this study is supported by the strong negative correlation found with perceived happiness between both perceived tiredness (p < .01) and perceived stress (p < .01), as well as the positive correlation found between the negative states of perceived tiredness and perceived stress (p < .01). Conclusions: This initial success of ESM implementation in this case study of aphasia treatment suggests that further explorations are needed in the application of ESM in aphasia research.