Latent Profile Analysis of Sleep Patterns Among Late School-Age Children: Differences in Physical Activity, Purpose-Specific Smart Media Use, and Happiness

Differential roles of problematic media use by mothers and toddlers in the relation between parenting stress and toddlers’ socioemotional development

Media use appears to adversely affect sleep quality. Yet, findings remain inconsistent based on medium, duration, and manner of use. Given the recent, widespread rise in consumption of video-on-demand services and social media platforms, problematic use of these media has become of interest to media and sleep researchers. Although research has looked at the correlation between problematic media use and sleep, to date no studies have compared different media platforms to better understand the processes. To address this, we conducted a survey examining the relationships between both sleep quality and depression with problematic broadcast television, video-on-demand, and social media use. Results demonstrate problematic Internet-based media consumption, i.e., video-on-demand and social media use, is related to adverse sleep outcomes while broadcast television use, even when problematic, was not related to adverse sleep outcomes in our study. Similar results were found for depression. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.

Pervasive digital media use in early childhood raises concerns about problematic media use and executive functions. Yet, limited research has examined its long-term predictive effects and bidirectional relations among these factors, leaving predictive pathways unclear. This study analyzed data from 1113 Korean children in the Panel Study on Korean Children, tracking them at ages 6, 9, 10, and 12 years. A cross-lagged panel model examined bidirectional associations between general media use, problematic media use, and executive function difficulties in middle childhood, with media use at age 6 as a predictor. Results showed that higher media use at age 6 predicted higher general and problematic media use at ages 9 and 10. Problematic media use at age 10 mediated the link between media use at age 6 and executive function difficulties at age 12, suggesting that problematic media use drives later executive function difficulties. While executive function difficulties predicted problematic media use at all ages, bidirectional associations emerged between media use and problematic media use (ages 9 and 10) and between problematic media use and executive function difficulties (ages 10 and 12). These findings highlight dynamic interplay between general and problematic media use and executive functions from early to middle childhood.

This study investigates the relationship between mother phubbing and preschoolers' problematic media use, examining the mediating role of the mother-child relationship and the moderating effects of paternal coparenting. Drawing on the Interactive Theory of Childhood Problematic Media Use and family system theory, we aim to identify key family dynamics that influence early childhood media habits. The findings could provide insights into mitigating the negative impacts of parental phubbing on children's media habits and inform targeted interventions to promote healthier media use among young children. The study examined 1008 mothers (Mage = 35.58 years, SD = 3.90) with preschool-aged children (Mage = 4.59 years, SD = 0.92) who completed self-report questionnaires. Path analysis with bootstrap sampling was executed to assess the moderated mediation model. Mother phubbing was positively associated with preschoolers' problematic media use, with this relationship mediated by the mother-child relationship. Paternal coparenting moderated both the direct and indirect pathways in this relationship. Specifically, paternal coparenting directly mitigated the impact of mother phubbing on child problematic media use. Additionally, it alleviated the negative influence of mother phubbing on the mother-child relationship, thereby indirectly reducing its adverse effect on preschoolers' problematic media use. Overall, paternal coparenting demonstrated a protective function against the negative consequences of mother phubbing. The findings significantly contribute to our understanding of how mother phubbing might increase the risk of problematic media use among preschoolers and underscore the potential importance of reducing mother phubbing and increasing paternal coparenting as integral steps to prevent preschoolers' problematic media use.

Research has found that childhood adversity is associated with numerous maladaptive outcomes, including insecure attachment, mental health challenges, and problematic media use. As attachment is a primary developmental process that can be affected by childhood adversity, insecure attachment may be one psychological mechanism through which childhood adversity is associated with problematic media use. Further, disturbances in the attachment relationship resulting from childhood adversity may be associated with increased impulsivity, a construct that has been connected with problematic media use. Using a sample of adults (n = 616), this study examined whether the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and problematic media use was mediated through (i) attachment anxiety, (ii) attachment avoidance, or (iii) both attachment dimensions operating in series with impulsivity. Results revealed that a history of adverse childhood experiences was significantly associated with more problematic media use. Both anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions independently mediated the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and problematic media use. Specifically, avoidant attachment was associated with less problematic media use, and anxious attachment was associated with more problematic media use. Avoidant attachment and impulsivity in series, as well as anxious attachment and impulsivity in series, both accounted for part of the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and problematic media use. Results suggest that attachment may influence media use both directly and indirectly. Implications are discussed.

In the current information era, even preschool children are unable to withstand the “digital flood”. However, excessive exposure to electronic screens not only negatively impacts various aspects of children’s health and adaptation, but also harms family relationships. Based on family systems theory, social–cognitive learning theory, and attachment theory, this study examines the relationships between co-parenting and preschoolers’ problematic media use, as well as the underlying mechanism—the mediating role of parental phubbing and the moderating effect of secure attachment. A sample of 610 parents of preschoolers from three kindergartens in central China completed validated scales, including the Co-Parenting Scale, Parental Phubbing Scale, Children’s Electronic Media Use Questionnaire, and Secure Attachment Dimension of the Waters Attachment Q-sort. A moderated mediation model was tested using the PROCESS macro with bootstrap procedures. The results showed that, after controlling for the subjective family socioeconomic status and parental education level, (1) co-parenting was negatively associated with preschoolers’ problematic media use; (2) parental phubbing significantly mediated the relationship between co-parenting and preschoolers’ problematic media use; (3) secure attachment significantly moderated both the direct relation between co-parenting and the preschoolers’ problematic media use and the mediating effect of parental phubbing (the relation between parental phubbing and children’s problematic media use); furthermore, both of these effects were more pronounced in children with lower levels of secure attachment. These findings extend family systems and attachment theories by elucidating mechanisms underlying early media behaviors. Practically, interventions should promote collaborative co-parenting and reduce parental phubbing to mitigate children’s problematic media use, while fostering secure attachment to buffer digital risks.

The relationship between problematic media use and sleep problems in preschool children: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

The lifestyles change of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic due to antipandemic measures can affect their sleep health. Existing studies have used convenient samples and focused on the initial months of the pandemic, leaving a knowledge gap on changes in young people's sleep patterns under the "new normal" under COVID-19. As part of a territory-wide epidemiological study in Hong Kong, this cross-sectional study recruited primary and secondary school students by stratified random sampling. Sleep parameters were collected using the structured diagnostic interview for sleep patterns and disorders. We investigated the pandemic's effects on sleep parameters by comparing data of participants recruited pre-COVID and those recruited during COVID using multivariate regression, adjusting for age, sex, household income, seasonality, and presence of mental disorders, and the moderators and mediators of the effects. Between September 1, 2019 and June 2, 2021, 791 primary and 442 secondary school students were recruited and analyzed. Primary school and secondary school participants assessed before COVID had a longer sleep latency on school days (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0-5.2 minutes, adjusted P-value = .010; and 95% CI= 3.9-13.0 minutes, adjusted P-value = .004, respectively) and nonschool days (95% CI = 1.7-7.2 minutes, adjusted P-value = .005; 95% CI = 3.4-13.7 minutes, adjusted P-value = .014, respectively). Low household income was a moderator for later bedtime (adjusted P-value = .032) and later sleep onset (adjusted P-value = .043) during nonschool days among secondary school students. Changes associated with COVID have a widespread and enduring effect on the sleep health of school-aged students in Hong Kong. Household income plays a role in adolescent sleep health resilience, and the impact of antiepidemic measures on the health gaps of the youth should be considered. Chau SWH, Hussain S, Chan SSM, etal. A comparison of sleep-wake patterns among school-age children and adolescents in Hong Kong before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(4):749-757.

This study assesses the relation between screen time, problematic media use behaviors, and clinical concerns (internalizing and externalizing problems) and suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-injury within race/ethnicity and sex in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (youth aged 11 to 12; N = 10,052). Understanding behaviors around screens (problematic media use), rather than focusing on screen time alone is useful in guiding clinical recommendations. In this analysis, regression models indicated that problematic media use consistently predicted clinical concerns with a larger effect size than screen media use. When examining how problematic media use and screen media use related to clinical concerns along domains of race/ethnicity and sex, problematic media use was a more consistent predictor of clinical concerns than screen media use for almost every race/ethnicity (except American Indian/Alaska Native participants). Problematic media use was also a consistent predictor of clinical concerns for both males and females, with some difference in screen media use predictors. This study has implications for the utility of assessing screen media use in research on clinical concerns in youth, and further suggests that researchers and clinicians should consider behaviors around screens in addition to screen time itself when assessing for impact on mental health.

Early childhood is crucial for prosocial emotions development and psychological well-being. However, the explosion of digital technology and screen devices has sparked growing concerns regarding children’s social-emotional development and the long-term well-being. While emerging research has highlighted the negative effects of problematic media use on children’s psychology and behavior, few studies have empirically focused on the potential link between problematic media use and early callous-unemotional behaviors. Therefore, this study examines the positive association between problematic media use and early callous-unemotional behaviors, as well as the roles of emotion regulation and parental mediation. A cross-sectional design was employed, with data collected from 1033 Chinese parents of young children aged 40 to 84 months (Mmonths = 59.60, SD = 10.36) via an online survey. The completed questionnaires assessed children’s problematic media use, emotion regulation, and callous-unemotional behaviors, as well as parental mediation. A moderated mediation model was further conducted to examine the mediating role of emotion regulation and the moderating role of parental mediation. The empirical findings revealed the significant correlation between young children’s problematic media use and callous-unemotional behaviors. Callous-unemotional behaviors of children with problematic media use can be correlated to impaired emotion regulation, with emotion regulation acting as the crucial mediator. Moreover, the conditional effects of problematic media use on emotion regulation and callous-unemotional behaviors varied significantly depending on the degree of parental mediation. Parental mediation serves as the key protector against the negative impacts of problematic media use on emotion regulation and callous-unemotional behaviors. The findings highlight the significance of improving emotional regulation and parental screen mediation in the relationship between problematic screen use and early callous-unemotional behaviors. These insights will further expand the perspectives on digital life and protective factors related to early externalizing behaviors and prosocial emotions. Not applicable.

Youth with a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are more likely to develop risky health behaviors. With the increase of media use in the general population, it is likely that these high-risk youth are developing maladaptive behaviors associated with media use (i.e., problematic media use). The goals of this article are (1) to describe symptoms of problematic media use in high-risk youth and (2) to determine whether ACEs are related to problematic media use in this population. Data were collected through online questionnaires from 348 parents or legal guardians of children ages 5 to 18 years, the majority of whom had been adopted. Parents and guardians reported on the child’s history of ACEs and completed the Problematic Media Use Measure-Short Form (PMUM-SF). Almost half of the participants reported that their child had a history of four or more ACEs (48.9%). Caregivers of foster or adopted children reported more symptoms of problematic media use than those reporting on their biological children. After adjusting for covariates, the number of ACEs predicted problematic media use above and beyond variance explained by demographic factors or screen time amount. Children with a history of ACEs had higher problematic media use compared to children without ACEs.

Research Findings: This study aims to examine the latent profiles of parents’ mediation and their predictors, as well as links between different profiles and children’s problematic media use. A total of 1415 children aged 3–6 years (47.8% boys) and their paired parents were recruited in Shanghai, China and surveyed demographic information, parents’ mediation practice and marital conflict, and children’s media use problems. Latent profile analyses, tests of variance, and logistic regression analyses were used for data analysis. The results indicated that: (1) four potential profiles of mediation were yielded: mother-dominated mediation, father-dominated mediation, coordinated high-level mediation, and coordinated low-level mediation; (2) there were significant associations between children’s age, fathers’ age, parents’ educational backgrounds and marital conflict with mediation profiles; and (3) the likelihood of children experiencing problematic media use was lowest in the consistent high-level group, followed by the mother-dominated and the father-dominated group, and highest in the consistent low-level group. Practice or Policy: These findings imply that parents’ digital parenting patterns are influenced by multiple factors, and that parents who are older, have less education, have older children, and experience more marital conflict should be given more support and assistance to improve parents’ child-rearing and child development.

Previous studies have shown that bullying victimisation is a significant risk factor for problematic media use. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms involved in this link. This study aimed to examine the association between bullying victimisation and problematic media use among primary school students, as well as the mediating effect of depression and the moderating effect of teacher–student relationships on this association. A total of 341 participants (10.73 ± 0.68 years) from a Chinese primary school completed the structured questionnaire with respect to the study variables. The results showed that depression mediated the association between bullying victimisation and problematic media use and that teacher–student relationships moderated the second stage (depression to problematic media use) of the mediation model. The simple slope analysis indicated that the association between depression and problematic media use was not significant when the relationship between teachers and students was high (bsimple = 0.03, t = 0.30, p > 0.05). As students perceived low levels of relationships with teachers, depression had a significant effect on problematic media use (bsimple = 0.32, t = 3.34, p < 0.01). These findings can provide empirical support for formulating problematic media use intervention measures based on the bullying victimisation experience as well as the important role of depression and teacher–child relationships.

Family dynamics play an important role in shaping young children’s media use behaviors, with family dysfunction linked to problematic media use. However, very few studies, particularly using longitudinal designs, have attempted to explore the mechanisms underlying this relationship among preschool children. Drawing upon the Process-Person-Context-Time model and the Interactional Theory of Childhood Problematic Media Use, this study incorporated parental mediation and parent–child relationship as potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between family dysfunction and children’s problematic media use. Data were collected from 942 parents of preschool children aged 3–6 years (M age = 4.76) at two time points, with children’s problematic media use measured 6 months later. The results showed that family dysfunction not only directly predicted children’s subsequent problematic media use but also exerted an indirect effect through parental restrictive mediation. However, the indirect effect through active mediation was not statistically significant. Furthermore, the mediating effect of parental restrictive mediation was moderated by parent–child conflict, with a significant effect observed only under the conditions of low parent–child conflict. These findings underscore the critical role of family dynamics in shaping media use patterns and offer valuable insights for mitigating problematic media use among preschool children.

The effect of digital parental awareness and somatic symptoms on problematic media use in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.