Predicting psychosocial intervention response from baseline gene expression.

To address the challenge of predicting psychological response to a psychosocial intervention we tested the possibility that baseline gene expression profiles might provide information above and beyond baseline psychometric measures. The genomics strategy utilized individual level inferences of transcription factor activity to predict changes in loneliness and affect in response to two well-established meditation interventions. Initial algorithm development analyses focused on three a-priori defined stress-related gene regulation pathways (CREB, GR, and NF-ĸB) as inferred from TELiS promoter-based bioinformatic analysis of basal (pre-intervention) blood samples from a randomized-controlled trial comparing a compassion-based meditation (CM, n = 45) with mindfulness meditation (MM, n = 44). Greater baseline CREB activity (but not GR or NF-ĸB) predicted greater reductions from pre- to post-intervention in loneliness (b = -0.24, p = 0.016) and negative emotions (b = -0.23, p = 0.017) for CM, but not for MM. A second algorithm validation analysis applied the same approach to another randomized controlled trial comparing CM (n = 42) with MM (n = 38) and a health education control condition (n = 41). Similarly, greater baseline CREB activity predicted greater pre- to post-intervention decreases in loneliness (b = -0.24, p = 0.029) and greater increases in satisfaction with life (b = 0.21, p = 0.046) for the CM condition only. Baseline CREB activity was not associated with baseline psychometric measures in either study. Results raise the possibility that pre-intervention gene expression profiles may reflect non-conscious psychobiological states that affect psychological responses to distinct psychosocial interventions, and thereby help personalize intervention selection.

Interparental Positivity Spillover Theory: How Parents' Positive Relational Interactions Influence Children.

Interparental interactions have an important influence on child well-being and development. Yet prior theory and research have primarily focused on interparental conflict as contributing to child maladjustment, which leaves out the critical question of how interparental positive interactions-such as expressed gratitude, capitalization, and shared laughter-may benefit child growth and development. In this article, we integrate theory and research in family, relationship, and affective science to propose a new framework for understanding how the heretofore underexamined positive interparental interactions influence children: interparental positivity spillover theory (IPST). IPST proposes that, distinct from the influence of conflict, interparental positive interactions spill over into children's experiences in the form of their (a) experience of positive emotions, (b) beneficially altered perceptions of their parents, and (c) emulation of their parents' positive interpersonal behaviors. This spillover is theorized to promote beneficial cognitive, behavioral, social, and physiological outcomes in children in the short term (i.e., immediately after a specific episode of interparental positivity, or on a given day) as well as cumulatively across time. As a framework, IPST generates a host of novel and testable predictions to guide future research, all of which have important implications for the mental health, well-being, and positive development of children and families.

Positive emotions co-experienced with strangers and acquaintances predict COVID-19 vaccination intentions through prosocial tendencies.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of vaccination depends on its widespread adoption, making vaccine uptake not just a personal health behavior but also a prosocial one. Previous research has shown that everyday moments of co-experienced positive emotions (positivity resonance) are associated with higher prosocial tendencies, and these moments, in turn, prospectively predict people's pandemic hygiene behaviors. Yet, limited research has explored how moments of positivity resonance may have predicted greater COVID-19 vaccine intentions during the early months of the pandemic. METHODS: We longitudinally surveyed a national U.S. sample across four weeks during the fall of 2020. We tested the hypothesis that positivity resonance with strangers and acquaintances indirectly predicts COVID-19 vaccine intentions, as statistically mediated by prosocial tendencies. We also aimed to replicate the indirect effects of positivity resonance on hygiene behaviors (such as mask wearing and hand washing), effects that have been demonstrated in previous research. RESULTS: In a pre-registered structural equation model, we found that perceived positivity resonance experienced with strangers and acquaintances prospectively predicted prosocial tendencies, which in turn amplified people's COVID-19 vaccine intentions (ß = 0.053) and hygiene behaviors - i.e., social distancing (ß = 0.032), mask wearing (ß = 0.027), hand washing (ß = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the effects of high-quality social interactions with strangers and acquaintances on vaccine intentions and hygiene behaviors is critical, particularly given the likelihood of emerging pandemics and novel vaccines. We discuss theoretical and practical implications related to perceived positivity resonance, prosocial tendencies, and vaccination uptake for novel vaccines.