Conceptualizing psychological well‐being as a dynamic process: Implications for research on mobile health interventions

Abstract

We introduce a theoretical framework for conceptualizing Psychological Well‐Being (PWB) as a process that unfolds over short and longer time‐scales. We argue that this framework can be especially useful for studying the change mechanisms in PWB within the context of mobile Health (mHealth) interventions. Four lines of research are considered within this framework to inform the scientific exploration of PWB in the context of mHealth interventions. First, we explore key dynamic characteristics of change in PWB functioning. Second, we discuss PWB intervention response as a learning process (i.e., meaningful and transformational changes in state), reflected as change in key dynamic characteristics of PWB. Third, we explain mechanisms of change in PWB intervention practices through an underlying process of skill development. Fourth, we discuss intervention response heterogeneity within this framework. The approach we outline is intended to articulate currently unanswered, process‐oriented research questions about PWB interventions, how they work, and a methodological path forward for exploring them.

Mindfulness and cognitive–behavioral strategies for psychological detachment: Comparing effectiveness and mechanisms of change.

“…These approaches emphasize the role of (personality) states (i.e., the daily levels of the constructs of interest) and explain how short-term processes (i.e., associations between states) may become habitualized and may stabilize at higher (or lower) levels. Accordingly, because long-term change from interventions likely emerges from accumulating states and modified processes in daily life, we also need to move beyond measuring aggregate outcome measures and assess dynamic change instead (Heshmati, Muth, Roeser, et al, 2024).…”

“…As the stressor-detachment model inherently delineates a sequence of within-person effects, it allows us to investigate change mechanisms from a process-oriented perspective. Process-oriented approaches differ from traditional outcome-focused approaches, seeking “to unpack the mechanisms and pathways through which interventions exert their effects, capturing the complex interplay of factors that contribute to changes” (Heshmati, Muth, Roeser, et al, 2024, p. 8) in the constructs of interest. What is crucial, the stressor-detachment model has been employed to describe etiological processes in observational research, that is, to identify and understand the factors that may play a role in the occurrence or development of a particular phenomenon.…”