JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Daily stressors are associated with cognitive decline and increased risk of heart disease, depression, and other debilitating chronic illnesses for mid-life adults. Daily stressors tend to happen at home or work and are more frequent in urban versus rural settings. Conversely, spending time in natural environments such as parks or forests, or even viewing nature-themed images in a lab setting, is associated with lower levels of perceived stress, and is hypothesized to be a strong stress ‘buffer’, reducing perceived stress even after leaving the natural setting. However, many studies of daily stress have not captured environmental contexts and relied on end of day recall instead of in-the-moment data capture. With new technology, these limitations can be addressed to enhance knowledge of the daily stress experience.

Objective:

We propose to use our novel custom-built Stress Reports in Variable Environments (STRIVE) ecological momentary assessment (EMA) mobile phone app to measure the experience of daily stress of mid-life adults in free-living conditions. Using our app to capture data in real time will allow us to determine (1) where and when daily stress happens for mid-life adults, (2) whether mid-life adults’ daily stressors are linked to certain elements of the built and natural environment, and (3) how EMA measurement of daily stress is similar and different to a modified version of the popular Daily Inventory of Stressful Events (DISE) measurement tool that captures end of day stress reports (used in Midlife in the United State Survey [MIDUS]).

Methods:

A total of 150 mid-life adults living in the greater Indianapolis, Indiana area will be enrolled in this study on a rolling basis for three-week periods. As those in underrepresented minority groups and low-income areas have previously been found to experience greater levels of stress, we will utilize stratified sampling to obtain a sample that is racially and socioeconomically diverse.

Results:

This project is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) from December 2022 through November 2024. Participant enrollment began in August 2023 and is expected to finish in July 2024.

Conclusions:

Completing this study will expand our understanding of mid-life adults’ experience of stress in free- living conditions and pave the way for data-driven individual and community-based intervention designs to promote health and well-being in mid-life adults.