Randomized controlled trial of brief app-based gratitude and mindfulness interventions for parents of young children.
Chelsea G Ratcliff, Hillary A Langley, Debbie Torres, Kennedy S Anderson
Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43) June 9, 2025 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1037/fam0001347 via PubMed
Summary
Many parents seek digital tools for stress relief. A study explored if brief, daily app-based mindfulness or gratitude exercises could improve parents' well-being. Researchers assigned 125 parents to use a mindfulness app, a gratitude app, or a food journaling app for two weeks. The findings indicated that these short app-based interventions did not significantly improve parenting stress, mood, or emotion regulation compared to the control group. This suggests that brief digital interventions may not be sufficient for these outcomes.
Abstract
Parenting is associated with considerable stress. Brief, self-directed mindfulness and gratitude interventions via mobile app may mitigate the effects of stress on parents' mood and emotion regulation. The present study is a randomized controlled trial among parents of young children (N = 125) comparing the effect of a 2-week daily (10-min/day) app-based mindfulness intervention to a 2-week daily (10-min/day) app-based gratitude intervention to a 2-week daily (10-min/day) app-based food journaling attention control condition on parenting stress, positive and negative affect, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and gratitude reported immediately postintervention and 1-month later. Linear multilevel modeling revealed no significant group or Group × Time effects on any outcome (ps > .1). Exploratory analyses examining gender as a moderator of effects also generally did not provide evidence of the interventions' efficacy on outcomes for men or women. Two-week app-based mindfulness and gratitude interventions did not lead to improved outcomes compared to an attention control condition for parents of young children. More intensive gratitude and/or mindfulness interventions may be needed to effect change in parents. Alternatively, it is possible that mindfulness- and/or gratitude-focused interventions may not be the most effective approach for addressing parenting stress. However, future research powered to assess parents' responses to such interventions is needed to determine efficacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).