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| ID | Type | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 220608 | Other Grant/Funding Number | Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) |
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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.
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.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parents of children aged between 0 months - 11 years and 11 months living in Switzerland. |
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| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Momentary Parental Subjective Wellbeing | 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). | Repeated assessments three times per day during the 14-day EMA monitoring period. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep satisfaction | Self-reported sleep satisfaction ("How satisfied were you with your sleep last night?" Items: "very dissatisfied", "dissatisfied", "neutral", "satisfied", "very satisfied") | Assessed each morning during the 14-day EMA monitoring period |
| Number of sleep interruptions |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Parents living in Switzerland
Participants must have a smartphone with internet access to participate in the mobile diary study
Exclusion Criteria:
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Parents of children aged between 0 months - 11 years and 11 months living in Switzerland.
| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian Müller | Contact | +41 58 257 14 68 | sebastian.mueller@ost.ch |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Matthias Baldauf, PhD | Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences | Sankt Gallen | Switzerland |
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| Label | URL |
|---|---|
| Funding agency's project description (Swiss National Science Foundation) | View source |
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Study protocol, data dictionary, diary study data
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Self-reported number of nocturnal awakenings. |
| Assessed each morning during the 14-day EMA monitoring period |
| End-of-day global satisfaction | Daily overall satisfaction ("How satisfied were you with your day overall?" Scale: 0 - 10, endpoints "very dissatisfied" - "very satisfied") | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period |
| Daily caregiving load and time allocation | Self-reported hours spent in childcare, additional care work, and time available for personal interests. | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period |
| Perceived support in childcare | 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") | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period |
| Available parenting resources | 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") | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period |
| Parental conflicts | Self-reported conflicts with partner ("My partner and I had misunderstandings, tensions, or arguments." Scale: 0-100, endpoints "Not at all" - "Always") | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period |
| Child behavior | 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") | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period |
| Rewarding and challenging situations for parents | Self-reported experience of rewarding and challenging sutiations, description of the situation(s) with text | Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period |