Evaluating Supplemental Samples in Longitudinal Research: Replacement and Refreshment Approaches

How do users compare the costs between nicotine vaping products and cigarettes? Findings from the 2016-2020 International Tobacco Control United States surveys

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Nicotine vaping products (NVPs) can potentially help adult tobacco users quit smoking. This study evaluated how adult consumers compare the costs between NVPs and cigarettes.

METHOD

We used data from the US arm of the 2016-2020 International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping (ITC 4CV) surveys to perform a multinomial logit model with two-way fixed effects to measure how perceived cost comparisons are associated with NVP and cigarette taxes, use patterns, NVP device types and individual sociodemographic factors.

RESULTS

Higher cigarette taxes are associated with a greater likelihood of perceiving NVPs and cigarettes as costing the same for the overall population and among people who exclusively smoke, and a lower likelihood of perceiving NVPs as more expensive among people who exclusively vape, compared with lower cigarette taxes. Pre-filled cartridge and tank users are more likely to perceive NVPs as less expensive than cigarettes, compared with people who use other types of NVPs. The associations between taxes and perceived cost comparison were more pronounced among males, younger and low-income populations.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher cigarette taxes are associated with perceived financial incentives for nicotine vaping products (NVPs) over cigarettes, whereas NVP taxes are not associated with perceived cost comparison between NVPs and cigarettes.

Innovating teaching and instruction in turbulent times: The dynamics of principals’ exploration and exploitation activities

In turbulent environments, schools have to adapt to constantly changing conditions. According to ambidexterity theory, whether they are successful in this primarily depends on their leaders and how they manage the tension between the use of current knowledge (exploitation) and the search for new knowledge (exploration). Through unique top-down and bottom-up pathways, they thus influence the innovation outcome of a school. However, it is so far unclear whether these assumptions are correct. Using data from a panel of principals who are representative of Germany and were surveyed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, we therefore investigate if and how school leaders adapted to the turbulent environment caused by the pandemic and evaluate the extent to which this had an impact on their schools’ innovations in teaching and instruction. The results demonstrate that principals’ exploration activities increased markedly during the pandemic, while their exploitation activities decreased noticeably. Further, a focus on the use and refinement of existing knowledge in comparatively predictable (pre-COVID-19) environments harmed principals’ readiness to explore new knowledge in increasingly uncertain environments. Nevertheless, exploitation had positive consequences for the innovativeness of schools, and exploration goes along with more radical innovations in teaching and instruction. Our research suggests that schools that innovatively addressed the COVID-19 pandemic had school leaders who were able to quickly shift between the two modes of exploitation and exploration. A capacity to transition seamlessly between these modes of thinking and working thus appears to be vital for the longevity of schools.

Risk and Resilience Predictors of Recovery After Spinal Fusion Surgery in Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

This prospective study examined risk and resilience predictors of pain and functional recovery in the first 6 months after spinal fusion surgery in adolescents.

METHODS

Adolescents with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis undergoing spinal fusion surgery (n=100, aged 12 to 18 y, 77% girls) completed assessments before surgery and at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 6 months after surgery. Recovery trajectories in pain, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and objectively registered physical activity were identified. Presurgical pain catastrophizing and pain intensity (risk), and psychological flexibility, and postsurgical pain acceptance (resilience) were examined as predictors of recovery.

RESULTS

Latent growth class analyses revealed 4 distinct pain recovery trajectories (ie, Severe-Moderate [11%, n=9], Mild-No [58%, n=49], Moderate-Mild [24%, n=20], and Moderate-Severe [7%, n=6] pain trajectory), 2 HRQOL recovery trajectories; 2 trajectories characterizing recovery in average daily physical activity at moderate-to-vigorous intensity (MVPA); and 3 trajectories characterizing recovery in total physical activity volume characterized by the average daily number of steps. Subsequent multivariate analyses of variance revealed that presurgical pain intensity (partial η2=0.21, P<0.001) and pain catastrophizing (partial η2=0.13, P<0.01) were both predictive of poorer recovery in HRQOL, and pain catastrophizing additionally predicted poorer pain recovery (partial η2=0.15, P<0.05). Psychological flexibility (partial η2=0.25, P<0.001) and postsurgical pain acceptance (partial η2=0.07, P<0.05) were predictive of more favorable recovery trajectories in HRQOL, and psychological flexibility additionally predicted more favorable recovery trajectories in postsurgical pain (partial η2=0.15, P<0.05). Daily MVPA trajectories were not significantly predicted by any of the hypothesized factors, while presurgical pain catastrophizing levels were predictive of a delayed recovery trajectory in the daily amount of steps (partial η2=0.17 P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Presurgical screening could include assessment of pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, psychological flexibility, and pain acceptance to identify adolescents who are at risk for poorer recovery. These are potentially modifiable factors that can be targeted in presurgical interventions to prevent poor and foster adaptive outcomes after major surgery in adolescents.

Bias Correction for Replacement Samples in Longitudinal Research

Missing data are commonly encountered problem in longitudinal research. One way researchers handle missing data is through the use of supplemental samples (i.e., the addition of new participants to the original sample after missing data appear at the second or later measurement occasion). Two types of supplemental sample approaches are commonly used: a refreshment approach (additional participants are randomly selected from the population of interest) and a replacement approach (additional participants are selected based on auxiliary variables that explain missingness in the original data). Past research demonstrates that using a replacement approach produces biased parameter estimates because the addition of the replacement sample results in an unrepresentative sample of the population. However, replacement samples have been used in previous studies and the estimation bias has not been corrected. Thus, for this study, we propose and evaluate four ways to correct the bias introduced by replacement samples: a parametric bootstrapping replacement sample correction, a non-parametric bootstrapping replacement sample correction, a primary inverse probability reweighting correction, and a likelihood-based inverse probability reweighting correction. We evaluate their performance using a simulation study and an empirical study.

Longitudinal relations of self-criticism with disordered eating behaviors and nonsuicidal self-injury

OBJECTIVE

Self-criticism has been proposed as a transdiagnostic predictor of disordered eating and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). First, this study explored cross-sectional associations of multiple disordered eating behaviors, NSSI, and self-criticism. Second, it tested longitudinal relations of self-criticism with disordered eating and NSSI, adjusting for baseline levels of both behaviors.

METHODS

In Sub-study 1, undergraduates (N = 251, 79.5% female, M_age = 19.1 years) completed self-report measures of disordered eating, NSSI, and self-criticism at baseline and after 8 weeks. In Sub-study 2, community-based young adults with histories of disordered eating, NSSI, or both (N = 517, 88.8% female, M_age = 24.7 years) completed measures of disordered eating, NSSI, and self-criticism at baseline and after 4 weeks. All measures were completed online.

RESULTS

In Sub-study 1, both disordered eating and NSSI showed significant cross-sectional associations with self-criticism, and self-criticism was significantly related to binge eating, fasting, and NSSI at follow-up. In Sub-study 2, both behaviors again showed significant cross-sectional associations with self-criticism. Self-criticism showed significant longitudinal relations with fasting, purging, and excessive exercise. Longitudinal relations of self-criticism with NSSI varied across disordered eating behaviors.

DISCUSSION

NSSI showed cross-sectional associations with a range of disordered eating behaviors. Self-criticism reflects a common correlate of both disordered eating and NSSI. Evidence supported transdiagnostic longitudinal impact of self-criticism across multiple forms of disordered eating but provided more limited support for impacts on NSSI.