ArticleComprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology2021
The causal effect of household chaos on stress and caregiving: An experimental study.
Article in Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Persuasive Gamified Virtual Reality Experience to Enhance Engagement and Focus in Young Adults With Mild Anxiety Symptoms: Randomized Pilot Experimental Study.JMIR XR and spatial computing · 2026Article
- Reciprocal Relationships Among Household Chaos, Parenting Stress, and Children's Behavioral Self-Regulation From Early to Middle Childhood.Family process · 2025Article
- Household chaos, child temperament, and structure-related feeding practices in toddlerhood: A moderation analysis.Eating behaviors · 2024Article
- Interactive Effects of Temperament and Family-Related Environmental Confusion on Spoken Language in Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR · 2022Article
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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
The correlational nature of previous studies on household chaos does not allow claims about causal effects of household chaos. The present study used an experimental design to assess the causal effect of household chaos on stress, negative emotions, and caregiving. Ninety-six female students (18-25 years) participated in our study. They took care of an infant simulator in a normal living room (neutral condition), and a chaotic living room (chaos condition), while caregiver sensitivity was observed, operationalized as perceiving, correctly interpreting, and responding accurately and promptly to the infant's signals. Participants reported on their current emotional state, and saliva was collected four times for analysis of salivary alpha-amylase (sAA). Results showed that there were no significant time or condition effects on negative emotional state. Yet, sAA levels were higher in the chaos condition compared to the neutral condition. We found no evidence for negative emotional state or sAA mediating the relation between household chaos and caregiver sensitivity. Because household chaos affected physiological stress in a parenting situation, it should not be ignored when using interventions aimed at reducing stress in parents. More research is needed on the effect of reduced (as opposed to increased) levels of household chaos on physiological stress levels in families with young children.
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