Dataset re the manuscript entitled "Pinpointing affective disturbances in psychosis: A comparison of temporal affect dynamics in individuals with psychotic disorders, individuals with attenuated psychotic symptoms, and clinical and healthy controls"

Dataset Abstract of submitted manuscript: Identifying the causes of affective disturbances in psychosis requires a better understanding of the phenotypic nature of affective experiences in psychosis. To this end, we focused on temporal affect dynamics, the patterns and regularities with which affect fluctuates over time. In an experience-sampling design, we investigated whether affect dynamics in individuals with psychotic disorders (PSY; <em>n</em> = 32) are characterized by higher instability (i.e., both extreme and frequent moment-to-moment fluctuations of affect intensities), higher affective variability (i.e., larger range of affect intensities), or lower affective inertia (i.e., higher frequency of affective changes), compared to healthy controls (HC; <em>n</em> = 35). We also examined whether these patterns are already evident at a subclinical level by including a control group of individuals with attenuated psychotic symptoms (AS; <em>n</em> = 37). Finally, we tested for psychosis-specificity via a clinical control group with obsessive‑compulsive disorder (OCD; <em>n</em> = 35). Mixed‑model ANOVAs revealed higher affective instability in both PSY and OCD compared to HC, but no significant differences for variability and inertia. AS had an intermediate position and did not significantly differ from any other group. Group differences were not robust against controlling for mean affect levels. It could be promising for future research to move beyond cross-sectional group comparisons and to focus on whether within-person changes in affect dynamics are predictive for upcoming psychotic episodes and the progression of the disorder.