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Extending the Balloon Analogue Risk Task to Assess Naturalistic Risk Taking via a Mobile Platform

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Abstract

The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) is a behavioral measure that is commonly used to assess risk taking propensity. The primary goal of the present study was to introduce a mobile version of the BART (mBART) that can be included within ambulatory assessment protocols to assess risk taking in daily life. Study 1 compared common BART indices (i.e., total money earned, adjusted average pumps, balloon explosions, and coefficient of variability [CV]) on a single administration of the laboratory BART on a computer and the mBART on a smartphone (n = 78). Results revealed generally consistent relationships between indices of risk taking propensity in both the laboratory BART and mBART. Study 2 administered the mBART as part of a 7-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol in a population of nondaily smokers (n = 51). Using multi-level models, results suggest that males have greater adjusted average pumps (p = .03), and that a participant’s average CV is negatively related to trait sensation seeking (p = .03) and positively associated with trait positive urgency (p = .04). There were within-person effects of study day (p = .05) and environment (p = .02) with respect to adjusted average pumps such that individuals took greater risks as the study progressed and were riskier when alone compared to with others. Inclusion of the mBART in EMA did not appear to significantly increase participant burden and demonstrated acceptable levels of compliance. These results offer initial evidence supporting the feasibility and utility of the mBART for ambulatory research designs.

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Notes

  1. Researchers interested in using the mBART can download the Android OS .apk file and instructions at the following URL: https://sites.google.com/site/rrmaclean/mbart

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Correspondence to R. Ross MacLean.

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Funding

Dr. MacLean was supported by the VA New England Mental Illness Education, Research, and Clinical Center and VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Funding for mBART development from the American Psychological Foundation through F.J. McGuigan Dissertation Award to Dr. MacLean. This work was also supported in part by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to Dr. Wilson (R03DA035929). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, the American Psychological Foundation, or the NIH.

Conflict of Interest

R. Ross MacLean, Aaron L. Pincus, Joshua M. Smyth, Charles F. Geier and Stephen J. Wilson declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. 

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MacLean, R.R., Pincus, A.L., Smyth, J.M. et al. Extending the Balloon Analogue Risk Task to Assess Naturalistic Risk Taking via a Mobile Platform. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 40, 107–116 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-017-9628-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-017-9628-4

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