Contextualized Mental Health: Predicting Mood Fluctuations by Social Contact, Emotion Coping, Physical Activity, Sleep, and Negative Events in Concert

The unique and synergistic effects of daily risk and protective factors thatshape our moods remain largely unknown because each is typically studied in isolation. Using experience sampling techniques 1396 Dutch adults reported on their positive and negative affect (PA/NA), social contact, emotion coping, physical activity, sleep quality, and negative events; thrice daily for 30 days (90 assessments). These five risk/protective factors combined explained approximately 15% of the variation in PA and 23% in NA, with emotioncoping and sleep quality as the strongest predictors. All risk and protective factors influenced subsequent mental health, but examined collectively, only coping ability and sleep quality significantly affected individuals’ mental health. These results identify coping and sleep as the most interesting targets for depression interventions and psychotherapy to enhance positive mood and decrease negative mood.