Sleep, Support, Family, Wellbeing
Conditions
Keywords
Parental Wellbeing
Brief summary
This observational study investigates the wellbeing of parents in German-speaking Switzerland in everyday contexts using smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). Family caregiving can be both rewarding and burdensome, yet little is known about how parental wellbeing fluctuates in daily life and across caregiving situations. The study aims to examine momentary subjective wellbeing, caregiving activities, and contextual factors in natural settings. Participants complete repeated real-time assessments via a digital diary application five times a day over a 14-day study period. The study seeks to characterize within-person variability in parental wellbeing and identify contextual factors associated with positive and negative daily experiences.
Detailed description
Family caregiving is essential for individual and societal wellbeing but is often associated with ambivalent experiences, including both reward and overload. However, parental wellbeing has rarely been examined using intensive longitudinal, real-time methodologies. This observational study uses Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to capture parents' subjective wellbeing in their natural environments. Participants complete five smartphone-based assessments per day over the 14-day study period. Measures include momentary wellbeing, emotions, (caregiving) activities, as well as rewarding and challenging situations. The EMA approach minimizes retrospective bias and enables the investigation of within-person fluctuations and context-dependent variations in wellbeing. The study aims to identify patterns of daily parental wellbeing and examine associations between caregiving contexts and subjective experiences. Findings are expected to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of parental wellbeing in everyday life and inform future support approaches.
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Parents living in Switzerland * with at least one child aged between 0 months - 11 years and 11 months * German-speaking * any form of parenting * any relationship status * any form of couples or other forms of cohabitation * No restrictions regarding nationality, wealth, external childcare, employment (full-time, part-time or homemaker) or similar characteristics. Participants must have a smartphone with internet access to participate in the mobile diary study
Exclusion criteria
* All Children \> 11 years and 11 months of age * Not German speaking * Swiss nationality but living abroad * No smartphone with internet access
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Momentary Parental Subjective Wellbeing | Repeated assessments three times per day during the 14-day EMA monitoring period. | Momentary wellbeing assessed via smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) three times daily. The measure includes multiple bipolar affective rating items (tired-awake, satisfied-unsatisfied, calm-restless, energized-exhausted, relaxed-tense, well-unwell, stressed-not stressed) and an emotion wheel. Items are rated in real time to capture current subjective wellbeing in naturalistic settings. The focus is on observing within-subject fluctuations in well-being throughout the study period and how these are influenced by various contextual factors (e.g., time use, childcare support, sleep). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep satisfaction | Assessed each morning during the 14-day EMA monitoring period | Self-reported sleep satisfaction ("How satisfied were you with your sleep last night?" Items: "very dissatisfied", "dissatisfied", "neutral", "satisfied", "very satisfied") |
| Number of sleep interruptions | Assessed each morning during the 14-day EMA monitoring period | Self-reported number of nocturnal awakenings. |
| End-of-day global satisfaction | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period | Daily overall satisfaction ("How satisfied were you with your day overall?" Scale: 0 - 10, endpoints "very dissatisfied" - "very satisfied") |
| Daily caregiving load and time allocation | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period | Self-reported hours spent in childcare, additional care work, and time available for personal interests. |
| Perceived support in childcare | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period | Self-reported receipt of support from partner or other persons in childcare. ("Today, I received support from my partner with childcare." Scale: 0-100, endpoints "Not at all" - "Always" and "Today I received help from people other than my partner) with childcare." Scale: 0-100, endpoints "Not at all" - "Always") |
| Available parenting resources | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period | Self-reported availability of resources ("Today, I lacked the resources (e.g., time, energy) to take care of my children." Scale: 0-100, endpoints "Not at all" - "Always") |
| Parental conflicts | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period | Self-reported conflicts with partner ("My partner and I had misunderstandings, tensions, or arguments." Scale: 0-100, endpoints "Not at all" - "Always") |
| Child behavior | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period | Self-reported positive and negative child behavior ("I shared positive moments with my children." Scale: 0-100, endpoints "Not at all" - "Always" and "I shared difficult moments with my children." Scale: 0-100, endpoints "Not at all" - "Always") |
| Rewarding and challenging situations for parents | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period | Self-reported experience of rewarding and challenging sutiations, description of the situation(s) with text |
Countries
Switzerland
Contacts
CONTACTSebastian Müller
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORMatthias Baldauf, PhD
Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences
Outcome results
None listed