Young people's compliance with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): Examining patterns, predictors and associations with well-being and mental health

The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) can help young people gain insight into their fluctuating emotions through multiple daily surveys. This can act as an intervention to improve well-being and mental health. However, the effectiveness of ESM interventions is expected to depend on compliance, i.e.,...

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Main Authors: Julius März, Lianne P. de Vries, Hanneke Scholten, Annabel Vreeker, Jeroen S. Legerstee, Loes Keijsers, Brenda W.J.H. Penninx, Manon H.J. Hillegers
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Internet Interventions
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782925000600
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author Julius März
Lianne P. de Vries
Hanneke Scholten
Annabel Vreeker
Jeroen S. Legerstee
Loes Keijsers
Brenda W.J.H. Penninx
Manon H.J. Hillegers
author_facet Julius März
Lianne P. de Vries
Hanneke Scholten
Annabel Vreeker
Jeroen S. Legerstee
Loes Keijsers
Brenda W.J.H. Penninx
Manon H.J. Hillegers
author_sort Julius März
collection DOAJ
description The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) can help young people gain insight into their fluctuating emotions through multiple daily surveys. This can act as an intervention to improve well-being and mental health. However, the effectiveness of ESM interventions is expected to depend on compliance, i.e., how often participants respond to these surveys. We aimed to understand compliance patterns among young people during an ESM-based intervention, explored predictors of these patterns, and examined if the intervention's impact on well-being and mental health varied with compliance levels.Dutch adolescents and young adults (N = 1139, 12–25 years, mean age = 17.67; 79 % female) completed baseline questionnaires, responded to five daily ESM surveys over three weeks using the Grow It! app, and completed follow-up questionnaires.Despite overall low compliance (mean compliance = 33.8 %), latent class growth analyses identified four compliance patterns: stable high (N = 176; M = 78.8 %), stable medium (N = 193; M = 50.1 %), high initial and decreasing (N = 272; M = 30.9 %), and low initial and decreasing (N = 498; M = 13.2 %). These patterns were not consistently associated with age, gender, education, baseline well-being, or depressive and anxiety symptoms, and did not influence the intervention's effect on well-being and mental health outcomes.We identified specific ESM compliance patterns among young people but found no clear predictors or outcomes of these patterns. To improve compliance and intervention effectiveness, future ESM interventions can potentially be enhanced by personalized designs, incorporating intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and investigating situational factors and additional participant characteristics.
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spelling doaj-art-172c0ec3ae66418da7da27d489befd5d2025-08-26T04:14:21ZengElsevierInternet Interventions2214-78292025-09-014110085910.1016/j.invent.2025.100859Young people's compliance with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): Examining patterns, predictors and associations with well-being and mental healthJulius März0Lianne P. de Vries1Hanneke Scholten2Annabel Vreeker3Jeroen S. Legerstee4Loes Keijsers5Brenda W.J.H. Penninx6Manon H.J. Hillegers7Department of Child and Adolescents Psychiatry/Psychology Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Corresponding author.Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Child and Adolescents Psychiatry/Psychology Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Child and Adolescents Psychiatry/Psychology Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Education & Child Studies, Team Youth and Family, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Child and Adolescents Psychiatry/Psychology Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology, Education & Child Studies, Team Youth and Family, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Child and Adolescents Psychiatry/Psychology Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the NetherlandsThe Experience Sampling Method (ESM) can help young people gain insight into their fluctuating emotions through multiple daily surveys. This can act as an intervention to improve well-being and mental health. However, the effectiveness of ESM interventions is expected to depend on compliance, i.e., how often participants respond to these surveys. We aimed to understand compliance patterns among young people during an ESM-based intervention, explored predictors of these patterns, and examined if the intervention's impact on well-being and mental health varied with compliance levels.Dutch adolescents and young adults (N = 1139, 12–25 years, mean age = 17.67; 79 % female) completed baseline questionnaires, responded to five daily ESM surveys over three weeks using the Grow It! app, and completed follow-up questionnaires.Despite overall low compliance (mean compliance = 33.8 %), latent class growth analyses identified four compliance patterns: stable high (N = 176; M = 78.8 %), stable medium (N = 193; M = 50.1 %), high initial and decreasing (N = 272; M = 30.9 %), and low initial and decreasing (N = 498; M = 13.2 %). These patterns were not consistently associated with age, gender, education, baseline well-being, or depressive and anxiety symptoms, and did not influence the intervention's effect on well-being and mental health outcomes.We identified specific ESM compliance patterns among young people but found no clear predictors or outcomes of these patterns. To improve compliance and intervention effectiveness, future ESM interventions can potentially be enhanced by personalized designs, incorporating intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and investigating situational factors and additional participant characteristics.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782925000600Experience sampling methodMobile mental healthComplianceYoung peopleWell-beingLatent class growth analysis
spellingShingle Julius März
Lianne P. de Vries
Hanneke Scholten
Annabel Vreeker
Jeroen S. Legerstee
Loes Keijsers
Brenda W.J.H. Penninx
Manon H.J. Hillegers
Young people's compliance with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): Examining patterns, predictors and associations with well-being and mental health
Internet Interventions
Experience sampling method
Mobile mental health
Compliance
Young people
Well-being
Latent class growth analysis
title Young people's compliance with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): Examining patterns, predictors and associations with well-being and mental health
title_full Young people's compliance with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): Examining patterns, predictors and associations with well-being and mental health
title_fullStr Young people's compliance with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): Examining patterns, predictors and associations with well-being and mental health
title_full_unstemmed Young people's compliance with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): Examining patterns, predictors and associations with well-being and mental health
title_short Young people's compliance with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): Examining patterns, predictors and associations with well-being and mental health
title_sort young people s compliance with the experience sampling method esm examining patterns predictors and associations with well being and mental health
topic Experience sampling method
Mobile mental health
Compliance
Young people
Well-being
Latent class growth analysis
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782925000600
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