Gallery Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

The Daily Use of DBT ABC PLEASE skills and First-Year Students’ WellBeing During COVID-19: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study (#312)

Jaymes Paolo Rombaoa 1 , Saida Heshmati 1 , Marcus Rodriguez 2 , Tyler Owen 1 , Yilin Li 2 , Lizbeth Valdivia-Jauregui 3 , Lila Avendaño Dreyfuss 2 , Julia Ho 2 , Jenna Ledbetter 2
  1. Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA, United States
  2. Pitzer College, Claremont, CA, United States
  3. Scripps College, Claremont, CA, United States

Background

Mass trauma such as COVID-19 has large impacts on people’s emotional wellbeing (Masten & Narayan, 2012) and a growing body of research has shown Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills to mediate outcomes of emotional dysregulation (Neacsiu et al., 2010). In this study, we examine the daily use of one particular set of DBT skills—ABC PLEASE (Linehan, 2014)—in relation to emotional wellbeing for first-year college students during COVID-19. ABC PLEASE stands for: “Accumulate positives, Build mastery, Cope ahead, treat PhysicaL Illness, balanced Eating, Avoid mood-altering substances, balanced Sleep and Exercise.” These skills have been demonstrated to be efficacious for individuals in crisis for this age group (Flynn et al., 2018). 

 

Hypotheses/Research Questions

(i) Is daily usage of PLEASE skills associated with momentary wellbeing above and beyond general levels of wellbeing? (ii) Are there day-today associations between PLEASE behavior adoption and facets of PERMA wellbeing (Seligman, 2011)? (iii) Does day’s mood mediate the relationship between same day’s adoption of PLEASE behavior and momentary wellbeing? We predict that certain PLEASE skills and increased daily usage of PLEASE skills will be associated with positive wellbeing outcomes.

 

Sample Characteristics and Size

76 (54 females, 18 males, 4 other) US college freshmen (18-20 years old) during the COVID-19 crisis.

 

Design

We collected baseline measures and data from a one-week period of ecological momentary assessment (EMA; Shiffman & Stone, 1994) during which four times per day, participants completed a 2-3 minute survey responding to: (a) momentary wellbeing items, (b) positive/negative affect scales, and (c) usage of PLEASE skills during the day. 

 

Results

Preliminary multilevel modeling demonstrated that PLEASE behaviors are related to emotions and wellbeing at various within-person levels.

 

Scientific Contribution

We contribute ecologically valid knowledge about how evidence-based skills that college students might already be using daily helps buffer the negative impacts of COVID-19.

  1. Masten, A. S., & Narayan, A. J. (2012). Child development in the context of disaster, war, and terrorism: Pathways of risk and resilience. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 227-257.
  2. Neacsiu, A. D., Rizvi, S. L., & Linehan, M. M. (2010). Dialectical behavior therapy skills use as a mediator and outcome of treatment for borderline personality disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48(9), 832-839.
  3. Linehan, M. M. (2014). DBT? Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets. Guilford Publications.
  4. Flynn, D., Joyce, M., Weihrauch, M., & Corcoran, P. (2018). Innovations in practice: Dialectical behaviour therapy–skills training for emotional problem solving for adolescents (DBT STEPS‐A): Evaluation of a pilot implementation in Irish post‐primary schools. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 23(4), 376-380.
  5. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.
  6. Stone, A. A., & Shiffman, S. (1994). Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in behavioral medicine. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 16(3), 199–202.
  • Keywords: Coping and Emotion Regulation, Education, Positive emotions, Psychotherapy, Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth