Trait and state irritability in young adults: daily affective dynamics and associations with physical and mental functioning

Irritability is a common and functionally impairing affective experience in young adults, yet its momentary dynamics and connections to everyday functioning remain poorly understood in non-clinical populations. Using ecological momentary assessment, this study examined how stable trait irritability relates to fluctuating state irritability in college-attending young adults, and how these dimensions are differentially associated with daily physical and mental functioning in the context of perceived stress and affective states. Trait irritability was associated with poorer physical functioning but showed no statistically meaningful association with mental functioning, suggesting a more enduring connection with somatic and activity-related domains.

In contrast, state irritability emerged as the primary within-person correlate of impaired mental functioning, with only a modest association with physical functioning, indicating that day-to-day fluctuations of irritability are more related to impairments in psychological well-being. Both between-person differences and within-person changes in perceived stress and negative affect were linked to corresponding shifts in state irritability. Positive affect notably was associated with better daily functioning across physical and mental domains.

Together, these findings position irritability as a multidimensional construct with distinct trait and state pathways to physical and mental functioning, underscoring the importance of contextual stress and affective states in the expression of irritability. We are deeply grateful to the study participants and the host institution, making this work possible. The corresponding author wishes to sincerely thank Dr.

Sanghyuk Shin (one of the dissertation committee members), Professor John Hipp (for foundational instruction in the data analysis and structural equation modeling courses), and Professor Candice Odgers (for excellent instruction in the intensive longitudinal data analysis course). We acknowledge the financial support received from the Academic Senate Council on Research, Computing and Libraries (CORCL) award from UC Irvine Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing. Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA Babak Alfred Saatchi, Miriam Bender & Michelle A.

Fortier Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA UC Irvine Center on Stress and Health, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA Department of Emergency Medicine, Rady Children’s Health, Orange, CA, USA Department of Pediatric Psychology, Rady Children’s Health, Orange, CA, USA The Valley Foundation School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Sciences, San José State University, 1 Washington Square, Health Building 414, San Jose, CA, 95192, USA The author(s) declare no competing interests. This article is derived from a doctoral dissertation study approved by the UC Irvine Institutional Review Board (UCI IRB #3727). All research was performed in accordance with relevant guidelines/regulations.

This project was determined to be less than minimal risk and students who met the inclusion criteria were asked to read and understand the Study Information Sheet. This served as an implied consent and the need to obtain written informed consent was waived by the UC Irvine Institutional Review Board (UCI IRB #3727). Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.