Parental Problematic Smartphone Use and Children's Executive Function: The Mediating Role of Technoference and the Moderating Role of Children's Age

Abstract

Smartphones can affect the relationship between parents and their children, and this technoference of technology has been associated with children's socio-emotional development. Nonetheless, few studies have examined the association between the problematic use of smartphones by parents in relation to children's executive function (EF). The current study thus explored whether parental problematic smartphone use and technoference were associated with children's EF. A total of 472 parents of children aged 3–9 years answered questionnaires that measured their problematic smartphone use, technoference, and children's EF. Results indicated that parental problematic smartphone use was significantly correlated with children's EF difficulties. Furthermore, the positive relationship between parental problematic smartphone use and children's EF problems was partly due to the interference of technology with parent–child activities. Furthermore, the relationships between parental problematic smartphone use, technoference, and children's working memory problems were moderated by the children's age group. These findings emphasize the important influence of parental media use on children's EF.