abstract
- Everyday life contexts and interactions are influential for the well-being of both postpartum women and their infants. We collected naturalistic observational recordings of the daily environments and social interactions of primiparous postpartum women (N = 50) using the electronically activated recorder (EAR). We addressed two aims. First, we examined the feasibility, acceptability, and compliance of collecting naturalistic ambient sounds with postpartum women. We found the EAR to be acceptable, feasible, and associated with good compliance. Second, we evaluated the frequency and interrater reliability of social-emotional characteristics using a novel coding system developed for this population. In general, the frequency of social and emotion behavior variables was adequate and interrater reliability among trained research assistants was moderate to excellent. This study was the first to use the EAR with postpartum women and suggests that the EAR shows promise as a method to enrich our understanding of social-emotional daily life during the postpartum period. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).