Digital socialisation and parental mediation in the digital activities of children with disabilities

With the increasing adoption and penetration of information and communication technologies (ICT), cyberbullying has become a critical social issue, which severely threatens the physical and psychological health of children and adolescents. Despite the rapid increase in the saliency of cyberbullying in the last decade, there still remains numerous research gaps. In order to identify these research gaps, this dissertation first conducted a meta-analytic study (Study 1) to systematically examine the factors underlying cyberbullying in the existing literature. Next, in response to the research gaps identified, Study 2 was carried out to explore how parents manage their children’s social media use as well as to develop and validate a scale of parental mediation of social media. Based on this scale, Study 3 was designed to investigate the influences of parental mediation strategies, personality traits, and the third-person perception on cyberbullying on social media. Specifically, Study 1 systematically examined the predictors of cyberbullying from the social cognitive and media effects approach. This study identified and examined 16 predictors of cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. The magnitude of the effects of these predictors were meta-analyzed using 81 empirical studies, which represented a total sample of 99,741 participants and yielded 259 independent correlations. The results revealed that risky ICT use, moral disengagement, depression, social norms, and traditional bullying perpetration were the main predictors of cyberbullying perpetration, while risky ICT use and traditional bullying victimization were the major contributors of cyberbullying victimization. According to the moderator analyses, country of the sample, sampling method, age, and media platform were significant moderators of the relationships between some specific predictors and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. The findings suggested that future research should examine cyberbullying on social media among people from different age groups (e.g., children) and different countries (e.g., Asia). In addition, according the results, two personality traits reflecting positive views of the self – self-esteem and narcissism – are important to cyberbullying. However, there are very limited studies to date that examined and compared the influences of narcissism and self-esteem on cyberbullying. Furthermore, this research clarified that although there were few studies highlighting the role of parental mediation in cyberbullying, these studies did not differentiate between the influences of different parental mediation strategies on cyberbullying. To fill in these research gaps, studies should explore how parents approach their children’s social media use, as well as how these mediation strategies and positive self-views affect cyberbullying on social media amongst children and adolescents. Building on the recommendations from Study1, Study 2 addressed the conceptualization and operationalization of parental mediation of social media. First, this study conducted focus groups with both children and parents in Singapore, which identified four conceptually distinct parental mediation strategies of social media – active mediation, restrictive mediation, authoritarian surveillance, and monitoring, and developed an initial scale for them. In order to refine and test the scale, this study conducted a survey with a representative sample of 1,424 child participants and 1,206 parent participants in Singapore. The results were analyzed using a confirmation factor analysis. Besides, the scale was confirmed and validated upon assessments of the reliability, convergence validity, and discriminant validity. Study 3 examined the associations of four different parental mediation strategies (validated in Study2) and personality traits reflecting positive self-views with cyberbullying perpetration and victimization on social media between primary and secondary school students. Potential interactive mechanisms affecting the effectiveness of parental mediation were further examined. They include the third-person perception, parent-child agreement in reporting parental mediation, and the age of the children. The results revealed that four different parental mediation strategies had varied effectiveness on preventing cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Among these, active mediation was the most effective strategy in reducing cyberbullying perpetration, whereas restrictive mediation was more effective than others in protecting children from cyberbullying victimization. However, children under authoritarian surveillance parental mediation strategy were more likely to resist their parents’ demanding control and engage in both cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Furthermore, the moderation results revealed that the effectiveness of some parental mediation strategies of social media was contingent upon the third-person perception and parent-child agreement in reporting parental mediation. Moreover, the parental mediation effectiveness varied between primary and secondary school students. Taken together, this dissertation provides a systematic and comprehensive view on cyberbullying. In addition, it also elucidates some effective parental mediation strategies to guard against cyberbullying as well as identifies the key factors affecting the effectiveness of parental mediation. Lastly, the findings obtained from the research studies provide both theoretical and practical contributions to the field of cyberbullying and parental mediation.

Given that various childrearing cultures exist in Europe, as confirmed by analysis of the 1999/2000 European Values Survey (Halman, 2001), the present study aimed to identify and explain cross-cultural similarities and differences in strategies of parental mediation of children's Internet use. The study also sought to identify which parental mediation strategies may protect children against experiencing content risks online in general and in various childrearing cultures in particular. Parental mediation strategies and content online risk were indexed on the basis of data from 18 European countries from the Eurobarometer 2005. Findings show that all parents favor social mediation of the internet for children over strategies based on technical solutions. Favoring restrictive (by time or content) to non-restrictive mediation depends on a country's value orientation in childrearing. Analyses showed that each parental strategy has the potential to reduce the probability of children's experience of content risk online. However, the extent to which particular parental mediation strategies are protective differs across European childrearing cultures.

Industrial era 4.0 provides accessibility to smartphone use on early childhood. The negative or positive impact depending on how parents introduce smartphones to children through parental mediation strategies. Parents’ character plays a role in shaping children’s behavior and discipline, especially parents with mindful parenting. This study aims to examine the relationship between mindful parenting and parental mediation from the psychological and Islamic perspective. We used a mixed method with sequential explanatory design. Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ) and Parental Mediation Questionnaire (PMQ) was used as measuring instrument with a total of 131 parents who have children aged 3-6 years participated in this study. The results show that mindful parenting correlates significantly to the active mediation strategy while its relationship was weak with restrictive mediation. In the Islamic perspective, when parents rely on all responsibilities and rights that must be given to children with the intention of worshiping Allah, parents will apply the rules to their children according to Islamic law.Industrial era 4.0 provides accessibility to smartphone use on early childhood. The negative or positive impact depending on how parents introduce smartphones to children through parental mediation strategies. Parents’ character plays a role in shaping children’s behavior and discipline, especially parents with mindful parenting. This study aims to examine the relationship between mindful parenting and parental mediation from the psychological and Islamic perspective. We used a mixed method with sequential explanatory design. Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ) and Parental Mediation Questionnaire (PMQ) was used as measuring instrument with a total of 131 parents who have children aged 3-6 years participated in this study. The results show that mindful parenting correlates significantly to the active mediation strategy while its relationship was weak with restrictive mediation. In the Islamic perspective, when parents rely on all responsibilities and rights that must be given to children with the intention of worshiping Allah, parents will apply the rules to their children according to Islamic law.

Abstract: Parents use a variety of mediation strategies, such as rule-setting, instructing, co-using, and monitoring, centered on their intentions to mediate their children's smartphone use. Common parental aims for mediation often include the facts of ensuring children's online safety and encouraging children's involvement to explore online opportunities. Recent literature reiterates that parental mediation theory should also consider parents' aspirations to be participatory with their adolescents rather than being focused only on parental protection and "good parent" motives. The current study proposes examining the existence of two new parental mediation strategies, participatory use (PU) and participatory learning (PL) intended for sharing and learning, using the data collected from adolescents ( N = 420, aged 13–17). The study also explores the other common mediation strategies practiced during adolescent smart-phone use. In addition, a structural equation model was tested in order to comprehend the relation of PU and PL to other parental mediation strategies. Incorporating PU and PL into the current parental mediation framework builds significance for a deeper understanding of the media relationships between parents and adolescents.

The individuals who go online may face with both opportunities and risks. When developmental stages are considered, late childhood and adolescence is more tended to experience these opportunities and risks. One of the most influencial factors which shape online risks and opportunities is parental mediation strategies. The main aim of this study was examining online risks and perceived parental strategies among Turkish children/adolescents who live in Turkey and Europe within a comparative approach. Data of the study were based on EU Kids Online-II survey which aims to investigate children’s/adolescents’ and their parents’ online experiences in 25 European countries. Turkey sample included 962 participants (513 male, 449 female; Mage= 12.19, SD=2.15). A total of 182 participants (103 females, 79 males; Mage=12.70, SD=2.30) were involved in European sample. Results revealed that the associations between parental mediation strategies and online risks have differed in Turkey and Europe. Active mediation strategies were positively related with online risks in Turkey, while this relationship was insignificant in Europe. On the other hand, restrictive mediation strategies were positively related with online risks in Europe, while this relationship was insignificant in Turkey. Parental monitoring which was examined as the third parental mediation strategy was also functioning differently as a mediator across samples. It was found to mediate positively between active mediation strategies and online risks in Turkey, while it was mediating negatively between restrictive mediation strategies and online risks in Europe.

Parents' and Children's Perspectives of Parental Mediation Strategies in Association with Children's Internet Skills The purpose of this study was to examine the association of parental mediation strategies (from parents' and children's perspective) and children's internet skills. In total 194 parent-child dyads were questioned about their parent's mediation strategies. The children (fifth to ninth grade) additionally answered questions about their internet skills and the amount of time they spent daily on the internet. Parents' and children's ratings of the parental mediation strategies showed moderate associations. Parents reported to use more often mediation strategies than was perceived by their children. The mediation strategies had only limited value for the prediction of the children's internet skills. Parents' and children's perspective about restrictive content mediation were both negatively associated to children's internet skills. After controlling for children's age, sex and time spent daily on the internet, results showed that only congruencies between children's and parental perspectives regarding the parental restrictive content mediation were associated with decreased technical and social internet skills. Additionally, discrepancies between the children's and parental perspectives regarding the parental use of technical mediation were associated with decreased technical internet skills. Discrepancies regarding the parental mediation strategy monitoring were related to increased information navigation skills.

The goal of this study is to understand the relationship between the problematic use of WhatsApp among young adolescents and parental mediation. The rise of mobile phone use among young people is a cause for concern, especially among parents themselves. The literature suggests that parents have a certain amount of room for maneuver through different parental strategies (parental mediation) to maximize the benefits of technology and reduce its possible risks, although this has not been sufficiently analyzed in the case of problematic use of the mobile phone and its applications. This study therefore examined three different parental mediation strategies (restrictive, modeling and stimulation) and their possible impact on the problematic use of WhatsApp. The sample comprised 1,144 13- and 14-year-old students during three academic years (2015-2018) in 17 schools in 7 Spanish provinces. One of the novelties of the study was the use of adolescent voices to understand the parental mediation of their parents. The results showed a direct relationship between the level of restrictive mediation and a problematic use of WhatsApp. In addition, the number of mobile phones that students have enjoyed, as well as whether parents use their mobile phone during dinner, also has a positive relationship with the problematic use of WhatsApp. These results are useful for understanding a responsible use of the mobile phone, as well as to guide parents about the problematic use of WhatsApp among adolescents.

This study explores parental mediation – its patterns, purpose and intention, the intentions behind it, and related social inequalities – from the perspective of the ideal of intensive parenting. Parental mediation in the form of restricting or monitoring teenagers’ technology use might mitigate the harm of the intensive or risky online behaviour. Moreover, active mediation strategies might improve the teenagers’ digital literacy by obtaining specific skills that foster appropriate online behaviour. Therefore, the paper argues that parental mediation has become a highly relevant aspect of contemporary parenting practices. The paper is based on thematic analyses of semi-structured interviews on children’s screen time and parental mediation strategies. The interviews were carried out with 29 parents of adolescents in Hungary in 2019. The findings show that restriction and active mediation primarily aimed at protecting children from risks, as a resource-intensive practice, form part of the contemporary parenting skill set. This study contributes to understanding how these skills constitute a digital cultural capital, and thereby how parenting can enhance the digital inequality.

Hedonistic smartphone usage refers to smartphone activities for instant gratification and pleasure; increased hedonistic use is associated with perceived stress, problematic smartphone usage, and smartphone addiction among adolescents. Parents naturally intervene in adolescents’ screen media use through various mediation strategies, including active mediation of safety, restrictive mediation, monitoring mediation, and technical mediation, to reduce potential negative impacts and online risks. This study aims to identify the relationship between parental mediation strategies and adolescents’ hedonistic smartphone use using the data from 447 adolescents and 432 parents. This study also explores the consideration of a new mediation technique, participatory learning mediation, in the parental mediation model. Multiple regression results revealed positive and negative associations between different parental mediation strategies and adolescents’ hedonistic smartphone use, with restrictive mediation having no effect.

The process of digitalization has become an integral part of the social situation of a child’s growth in the modern world. Child development in the digital environment demands the involvement of adults as mediators. This practice is called parental digital mediation. Previous studies have identified the significant parental and environmental aspects of parental mediation, but there has been little information about the relationships between the children’s characteristics and parental digital mediation. The current study aims to fill this gap by identifying the behavioral (social network and screen time) and emotional (social network addiction and happiness) predictors of the two dimensions of digital mediation: parental support and parental control. The study also examines the differences among children influenced by various parental mediation strategies. A total of 4011 students (42% male and 58% female) ranging in age from 13 to 15 years (M = 14.07; SD = 0.76) took part in the study. The parental mediation of their children’s internet use, social media addiction, social network time, screen time, and happiness were measured. According to the results, both the behavioral and emotional characteristics of the children served as predictors of parental mediation. A small amount of time spent on social networks or screens and low social media addiction and happiness were identified as the predictors of parental support, whereas a large amount of time spent on social networks and screens and low social media addiction were identified as the predictors of parental control. Three groups of children experiencing different parental mediation strategies were determined. The children with parents who enabled mediation were happier than the others. Children under instructive mediation demonstrated the highest tendency to social media addiction. Children under selective mediation spent the most time (of all groups) on gadgets, but they showed a low tendency towards social media addiction.

This study examines how parents and their children differ in their perceptions of parental mediation strategies implemented to supervise and monitor children’s digital media use. Focusing on the Asian context, we explore reasons for parents to set rules as well as parental roles and strictness in relation to children’s digital media use. In-depth qualitative interviews with parents and their children (n = 41 from 20 families) showed that children and parents had divergent opinions on the parental mediation strategies deployed. While some parents felt that they communicated with their children about digital media and were actively involved in mediating their children’s digital media use, children generally perceived these conversations as instructional, one-way communication. Children and parents in the sample stated that prioritizing scholastic pursuit was a major reason for parents’ restricting and reducing of children’s digital media use. Children also perceived differences between fathers and mothers in their strictness and mediating roles when regulating digital media use. Insights gained from the research will help policymakers develop educational platforms for parents to incorporate more effective communication-based mediation strategies. The findings will also encourage parents to consider children’s reactions and perceptions when employing parental mediation, while reevaluating the over-reliance on restrictive strategies.

In the digital era, it is significant to study how parents implement parental mediation for junior high school students during their formative years to enhance their cooperation willingness. Based on survey data from 348 junior high school students in two cities in Anhui Province and employing the fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), this study identifies four configurational pathways associated with higher levels of cooperation willingness towards parental mediation. The findings suggest that: (1) The combined use of different restrictive mediation strategies may potentially exert a negative impact on adolescents' cooperation willingness; (2) Active mediation may not only hold practical application value but could also contribute to the effectiveness of restrictive mediation; (3) Parents need to flexibly adjust their parental mediation strategies according to their children's individual characteristics.

Purpose Social media use carries both opportunities and risks for children and adolescents. In order to reduce the negative impacts of social media on youth, the authors focus our efforts on parental mediation of social media. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to enhance the conceptualization and operationalization of parental mediation of social media. Design/methodology/approach First, the authors conducted focus groups with both children and parents in Singapore to categorize parental mediation strategies for social media and develop an initial scale of these strategies. Then, a survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 1,424 child participants and 1,206 parent participants in Singapore to develop and test the scale. Findings The focus group results identified four conceptually distinct parental mediation strategies for social media, labeled as active mediation, restrictive mediation, authoritarian surveillance, and non-intrusive inspection, and were used to develop an initial scale of these strategies. Based on the data from survey questionnaires, the authors investigated both inter-item and item-total correlations and performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which developed and validated the scale of parental mediation of social media. Originality/value First, this research explained what parents do to manage children’s social media use and identified four conceptually distinct parental mediation strategies of social media, making a significant contribution to the parental mediation theory. Additionally, the research developed the first theory-derived, successively validated and reliable scale in parental mediation of social media.

Objective Racially marginalized adolescents are exposed to online racism, yet little is known about assets and resources that may effectively resist the negative influence of online racism and with what effect. Based on risk and resilience theory, the current study examined the compensatory and protective roles of different parental mediation strategies in overcoming the risk of online racial discrimination for Black and Latino adolescents’ psychosocial distress. Methods A total of 356 Black and Latino adolescents (M age = 16.01 ± 1.60; 78.92% female) completed an online survey. Youth reported their perceived online racial discrimination, parental mediation, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. Results The findings revealed significant positive associations between individual online racial discrimination and adolescents’ anxiety, as well as between vicarious online racial discrimination and depressive symptoms. Four parental mediation strategies demonstrated distinct roles in this examination of online racial discrimination on adolescents’ psychosocial distress. Significantly related to lower levels of adolescents’ depressive symptoms, active mediation displayed a compensatory effect. Restrictive mediation and technical mediation also showed negative but nonsignificant associations with depressive symptoms. Neither of the above moderated the association between online racial discrimination and adolescents’ psychosocial distress. Parents’ monitoring of adolescents’ online activities neither compensated nor protected adolescents’ psychosocial well-being. On the contrary, frequent use of monitoring was related to higher levels of anxiety, and it amplified the association between individual online racial discrimination and depressive symptoms. Conclusions The findings highlight the varying utility of parental mediation strategies in promoting adolescents’ psychosocial well-being against online racial discrimination.

The goal of this study was to investigate the moderating effect of parental mediation in the longitudinal associations among cyberbullying bystanding, depression, subjective health complaints, and self-harm. Participants were 1,067 seventh and eighth graders ( M age = 13.93; 50% female) from the suburbs of a large Midwestern city in the United States. Restrictive parental mediation and instructive parental mediation strategies moderated the relationships examined in this study. Increases in restrictive parental mediation strengthened the association between cyberbullying bystanding and depression, subjective health complaints, and self-harm. High instructive parental mediation weakened these associations. These findings underscore the importance of developing interventions that increase parents’ awareness of how to implement effective parental mediation strategies. Parental intervention programs that focus on parents’ role in mitigating their children’s exposure to cyberbullying and how they can help reduce the associated negative outcomes should be developed.