ArticlePloS one2021
A pilot study on ecological momentary assessment in asylum-seeking children and adolescents resettled to Germany: Investigating compliance, post-migration factors, and the relation between daily mood, sleep patterns, and mental health.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Insomnia and poor sleep quality in refugee and asylum-seeking populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- Readdressing the Ongoing Challenge of Missing Data in Youth Ecological Momentary Assessment Studies: Meta-Analysis Update.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Scoping Review of Experience Sampling Methodology Investigations of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms.Clinical psychology : a publication of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association · 2026Article
- Understanding postmigration stress in forcibly displaced people in Austria: study protocol of a 14-day ambulatory assessment study.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2025Article
- Health-Promoting Effects and Everyday Experiences With a Mental Health App Using Ecological Momentary Assessments and AI-Based Ecological Momentary Interventions Among Young People: Qualitative Interview and Focus Group Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Article
- Sleep health inequities in vulnerable populations: Beyond sleep deserts.Sleep medicine: X · 2024Review
- A collaborative realist review of remote measurement technologies for depression in young people.Nature human behaviour · 2024Review
- Agreement for posttraumatic stress symptoms among unaccompanied young refugees and professional caregivers.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2024Article
- State-level working memory and dysregulated eating in children and adolescents: An exploratory ecological momentary assessment study.The International journal of eating disorders · 2024Article
- Improving Sleep Health Among Refugees: A Systematic Review.Neurology. Clinical practice · 2023Review
- Community indicators for mental health in Europe: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAsylum-seeking children and adolescents (ASCs) resettled to western countries show elevated levels of psychological distress. While research on the mental health of ASCs is increasing, less is known about their day-to-day living experiences such as their daily mood, sleep patterns, and post-migration factors. Moreover, no examination in situ, using smartphone-assisted ecological momentary assessment (EMA), has been conducted up to now among ASCs. Furthermore, we do not know if screening measures succeed in reflecting the daily mood of ASCs experienced in everyday life.
methodsWe undertook a smartphone-assisted EMA study over a two-week period with 3 measurements a day. Participants were N = 40 ASCs from 10 different countries who had resettled to Germany. They completed standardized questionnaires screening for history of trauma and clinical symptoms (post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, and anxiety) that were carried out in interview-like settings, and they participated in the subsequent EMA where they rated mood, sleep parameters, and post-migration factors on a daily basis. Multilevel models of clinical symptoms, daily mood, and sleep parameters were computed based on a total of 680 measurements.
resultsThe multiply traumatized and highly distressed participants reported different levels of discrimination, and various social activities and contacts in the EMA. The overall compliance rate was shown to be 40.5%. Higher PTSS and anxiety scores were associated with lower levels of daily mood and poorer outcomes of some sleep parameters. Depression scores were not associated with any of the variables assessed in the EMA.
conclusionsSmartphone-assisted EMA among ASCs resettled to Germany proved to be implementable despite a rather low compliance rate. Not only do ASCs show high symptom levels, they are also affected by these symptoms in their daily lives. The results emphasize the need for concise screenings and psychological treatment for this high-risk population. Limitations include the convenient nature of the sample and the lack of a comparison group.
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