Greater mobile device-prompted phone pickups are associated with daily parent stress

No studies have examined notifications as they relate to parent stress. We aimed to examine associations between objective daily mobile device notifications and pickups with daily parenting stress.

This was a within- and between-subjects, cross-sectional study that took place from 2020 to 2021. The study occurred during the coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic. Data were collected in a low-contact home visit. This study included 62 parents of 62 children aged 48-71 months. Parents downloaded a passive sensing app on their Android mobile devices collecting data on duration, device notifications and device pickups. Parents completed an end-of-day stress survey for 4 days. We used random effects models to examine the variation of daily stress with smartphone duration, notification frequency, pickup frequency and device-initiated pickups, adjusting for covariates.

Parents were on average 37.3 years old (SD ± 5.7) and were predominantly mothers (82.3%). On average, parents received 293 daily notifications and picked up their phones 93 times. Duration of smartphone use and notification frequency were not associated with daily stress. Device-initiated pickups were associated with daily parent stress.

When notifications prompted parents to pick up their phones more often, parents experienced greater stress.