The Common Cold Project › Measures by Study › Daily Interviews (PCS2, PMBC, PCS3)

Daily Interviews (PCS2, PMBC, PCS3)

In 3 of the 5 cold studies (PCS2, PMBC, PCS3), evening telephone interviews were conducted in the weeks prior to viral exposure (baseline) to assess participants’ daily social interactions, mood, health behaviors, and experience of physical symptoms. Participants in PCS2 were interviewed over 6 days--4 weekdays and 2 weekend days, whereas participants in PMBC and PCS3 were interviewed over 14 days--10 weekdays and 4 weekend days (see Interview Procedures). The largest part of the interviews assessed whether social interactions took place, for how long, with whom, and the quality of the interactions. The PCS2 interview focused on interactions that lasted 10 minutes or longer. PMBC and PCS3 used nearly identical interviews, with queries focused on the occurrence and evaluation of specific social activities in which subjects engaged (e.g., meals, meetings, recreational activities). Because an interest of the PMBC study was to examine the effects of the marital relationship on cold risk, married participants answered additional items regarding the supportiveness of interactions with their spouse/partner. Data collection forms used for conducting evening interviews in PCS2, PMBC, and PCS3 can be accessed below.

Daily Telephone Interview Forms

PCS2	PMBC (unmarried participants)
PCS3 (with social rhythm metric)	PMBC (married participants)

The structure of the daily interviews is such that the same constructs are being measured multiple times over a period of 6 or 14 days. Accordingly, cumulative measures of the various constructs were ascertained by averaging values across days. Alternatively, associations within days and lagged associations can be analyzed using multilevel modeling. Data are available both in averaged (participant as case) and time-series (interview as case) formats. Examples of published work using cumulative measures include Cohen et al. (2003)¹ and Cohen et al. (2003)², and examples of multi-level analyses include Brissette & Cohen (2002)³ and Janicki-Deverts et al. (2007)⁴.

Here we present tables that list person-level variables that were created by aggregating daily interview data across the total interview period. Social interaction and activity data also can be aggregated at the level of the day if interest is in conducting multi-level analyses. More detailed information on the specific interview items and how aggregate variables were created can be obtained by clicking the title of the table. Detailed information on the interview procedures used in each study can be obtained by clicking on the appropriate protocol link below.

Daily Affect ¹

	PCS2	PMBC	PCS3
Positive Affect	✔	✔	✔
Negative Affect	✔	✔	✔
Negative Affect Including Fatigue Subscale	✔	✔	✔
Fearfulness	✔
Loneliness			✔

¹All affect scores are computed as averages across interview days.

Cold and Allergy Symptoms

	PCS2	PMBC	PCS3
Average daily cold symptom score	✔	✔	✔
Total # interview days participant reported having problems with allergies	✔	✔	✔
Did participant report having a cold or flu during the interview period?	✔	✔	✔

Health Behaviors

	PCS2	PMBC	PCS3
Smoking
Total # interview days that the participant smoked		✔	✔
Average # cigarettes per day		✔	✔
Alcohol Consumption
Total # interview days that the participant consumed alcohol		✔	✔
Average # drinks per day		✔	✔
Exercise
Total # interview days that the participant exercised		✔	✔
Average duration of exercise per day		✔	✔
Diet
Total # interview days that the participant ate breakfast			✔
% breakfasts that included high-quality protein			✔
Total # interview days that the participant ate…fruit; vegetables; bread or cereal; dairy products; and meat, poultry, or fish			✔
Sleep
Average sleep duration (hours)		✔	✔
Average sleep efficiency		✔	✔
Total # interview days participant felt rested		✔	✔

Social Interactions

	PCS2	PMBC	PCS3
Total Interactions and Time Spent Interacting
Total # of social interactions during the interview period	✔	✔	✔
Average length (min) of social interactions	✔	✔	✔
Percentage of total interactions initiated by the participant	✔
Total # of unique individuals interacted with during the interview period	✔	✔	✔
Total # of different types of people interacted with during the interview period	✔	✔	✔
Percentage of total interactions that included the participant’s spouse/partner	✔	✔	✔
Total # of types of activities engaged in with one or more other persons		✔	✔
Percentage of daily activities performed throughout the interview period that involved one or more other persons		✔	✔
Total # of meals shared with one or more other persons		✔	✔
Percentage of meals eaten throughout the interview period that were shared with one or more other persons		✔	✔
*Average # of Interactions Per Day* and Time Per Day Spent Interacting**
Average # of social interactions per day	✔	✔	✔
Average # of unique interaction partners per day	✔	✔	✔
Average # of different types of interaction partners per day	✔	✔	✔
Average time per day spent interacting	✔	✔	✔
Average time per day spent interacting with spouse/partner	✔	✔	✔
Average # of meals per day participant shared with another person		✔	✔
Total # of Specific Interpersonal Experiences During Interaction Period
Total # of conflicts experienced during the interview period	✔	✔	✔
Total # of conflicts with spouse/partner		✔
Total # of interview days that included romantic time with spouse/partner		✔	✔
Total # of interview days participant was hugged		✔	✔
Total # of days participant shared something personal	✔	✔
Total # of days someone shared something personal with the participant		✔
Total days someone tried to make the participant act in a healthy way			✔
Average Interaction Quality
Average pleasantness of interactions	✔
Average level of support received in response to sharing something personal		✔
Average level of support provided to someone who shared something personal with the participant		✔
Average extent to which participant was troubled by conflicts		✔	✔

Daily Activities

	PCS2	PMBC	PCS3
Total Time Spent During Interview Period Engaging in Various Activities
Total time spent at home		✔	✔
Total time spent at work		✔	✔
Total time spent engaging in leisure activities at home		✔	✔
Total time spent engaging in leisure activities away from home		✔	✔
Total time spent doing work around the house		✔	✔
Total time spent running family or personal errands away from home		✔	✔
Average Time Per Day Spent Engaging in Various Activities
Average time per day spent at home		✔	✔
Average time per day spent at work		✔	✔
Average time per day spent engaging in leisure activities at home		✔	✔
Average time per day spent engaging in leisure activities away from home		✔	✔
Average time per day spent doing work around the house		✔	✔
Average time per day spent running family or personal errands away from home		✔	✔
Total Activities During Interview Period
Total # meals		✔	✔
Total # of leisure activities at home		✔	✔
Total # of leisure activities away from home		✔	✔
Total # activities involving work around the house		✔	✔
Total # activities involving family/personal errands performed away from home		✔	✔
Total # of different kinds of activities engaged in during the interview period (sum of the following: whether participant worked, all leisure activities, work around the house activities, errand activities, meals)		✔	✔
Average # Activities Per Day
Average # meals per day		✔	✔
Average # of leisure activities at home engaged in per day		✔	✔
Average # of leisure activities away from home engaged in per day		✔	✔
Average # activities per day involving work around the house		✔	✔
Average # activities per day involving family/personal errands away from home		✔	✔
Average # of different kinds of activities engaged in per day (sum of the following: whether participant worked, all leisure activities, work around the house activities, errand activities, meals)		✔	✔
Total Days
Total # days that participant worked outside the home		✔	✔
Total # days that participant engaged in leisure activities at home		✔	✔
Total # days that participant engaged in leisure activities away from home		✔	✔
Total # days that participant did work around the house		✔	✔
Total # days participant performed family/personal errands away from home		✔	✔

References

¹ Cohen, S., Doyle, W. J., Turner, R. B., Alper, C. M., & Skoner, D. P. (2003). Emotional style and susceptibility to the common cold. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 652-657.

² Cohen, S., Doyle, W. J., Turner, R. B., Alper, C. M., & Skoner, D. P. (2003). Sociability and susceptibility to the common cold. Psychological Science, 14, 389-395.

³ Brissette, I., & Cohen, S. (2002). The contribution of individual differences in hostility to the associations between daily interpersonal conflict, affect, and sleep. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1265-1274.

⁴ Janicki-Deverts, D., Cohen, S., Doyle, W. J. Turner, R. B., & Treanor, J. J. (2007). Infection-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines are associated with decreases in positive affect, but not increases in negative affect. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 21, 301-307.