The emotional signature of anhedonia in depression and psychosis in daily life: Developing a fine-grained and temporal understanding using advanced Experience Sampling Methods

Depression and psychosis in adolescents and emerging adults have a significant economic, health, and social burden on an international scale. Targeting transdiagnostic factors that are common across disorders, and doing so early before symptoms develop or worsen, is critical to maximise impact and get more bang for buck. Anhedonia, the pervasive inability to anticipate and experience pleasure or interest, is a transdiagnostic feature of depression and psychosis. Anhedonia has received comparatively little research attention compared to other symptoms, meaning that it is not well understood or addressed in therapy. The current research will use existing high-quality datasets in an ambitious exploration of the emotional processes related to anhedonia in depression and psychosis, with a focus on adolescents and emerging adults. It will extend prior research by using advanced real-time methodologies that provide a fine-grained and temporal understanding of emotional experiences in anhedonia in daily life. This approach will dramatically advance the field by aiding the future development of transdiagnostic techniques targeting anhedonia that are more effective than those currently available. The workplan also outlines training and career development activities that focus on experience sampling methodology, complex multilevel and time series data analysis, open science, and building transferable professional skills to lead an independent and productive lab. These skills will underpin the fellow’s ability to establish a profile as an up-and-coming researcher with a competitive edge for funding and employment. The research fellow and supervisor are the ideal team to conduct this work. The fellow’s strong background in research on youth depression and digital programs delivered at scale complements the methodological expertise of the supervisor, who is an expert in psychosis and real-time data collection methods in real-world contexts.