Better ways to measure parenting with interviews, surveys, and short daily reports
Official title: Optimizing the Assessment of Parenting: A Multi-Method and Multi-Informant Approach
Funded at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign · NIH-11195556 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project creates improved tools that collect parenting information from parents, children, and brief phone-based reports to give a clearer picture of family interactions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Champaign, United States) |
| Project start | September 19, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $385,763 |
| NIH project number | 5DP5OD036508-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11195556 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are parents or primary caregivers of children or adolescents, including fathers and coparents, who can complete interviews, questionnaires, and brief smartphone surveys.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not caregivers or who cannot use a smartphone for brief prompts are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
From your perspective as a parent or caregiver, researchers will conduct interviews and ask parents and children to complete questionnaires and short smartphone prompts that capture parenting in real time. They will revise the Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS) using what parents and children say plus advanced statistical checks to make sure the measure works the same for different groups, including fathers. The team will test new daily-report methods (ecological momentary assessments), gather reports from multiple people in the family, and use modern psychometric techniques to improve accuracy and fairness. Participation could include a one-time interview, filling out surveys, and responding to brief phone prompts over several days.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the improved measures could help researchers and clinicians tailor parenting programs and track real-world changes in family behavior more accurately.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work with the MAPS and mixed-methods revisions showed better measurement quality, but combining multi-informant reports and momentary phone-based assessments is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rodriguez, Violeta de Jesus — University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Study coordinator: Rodriguez, Violeta de Jesus
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.