Capturing Parental Wellbeing in Everyday Life Through a Mobile Diary App

NCT07476833 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 220608-1220608
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 300
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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.

Conditions

Wellbeing; Sleep; Support, Family

Keywords

Parental Wellbeing

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• 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.

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Sleep satisfaction

  Assessed each morning during the 14-day EMA monitoring period

• Number of sleep interruptions

  Assessed each morning during the 14-day EMA monitoring period

• End-of-day global satisfaction

  Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period

• Daily caregiving load and time allocation

  Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period

• Perceived support in childcare

  Assessed each evening during the 14-day EMA monitoring period

Study Arms (1)

Parents of children aged between 0 months - 11 years and 11 months living in Switzerland.

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Parents of children aged between 0 months - 11 years and 11 months living in Switzerland.

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

• All Children \> 11 years and 11 months of age
• Not German speaking
• Swiss nationality but living abroad
• No smartphone with internet access

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences: lead

Study Sites (1)

Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences

Sankt Gallen, Switzerland

Location

Related Links

• Funding agency's project description (Swiss National Science Foundation)

Study Officials

• Matthias Baldauf, PhD

  Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Sebastian Müller

CONTACT

+41 58 257 14 68; sebastian.mueller@ost.ch

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 27, 2026
• First Posted: March 17, 2026
• Study Start: March 1, 2026
• Primary Completion: July 31, 2026
• Study Completion: July 31, 2026
• Last Updated: March 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL

Locations

CH (1)