The growth of maternal technoference across early childhood and associations with child problematic media use.

Media use is increasingly becoming an important facet of early childhood, and while professional organizations and researchers have attempted to present guidelines to parents to help them structure their children's media use, many parents either are not aware of these guidelines, or struggle to effectively implement them into their children's daily routine. This research aimed to examine what rules parents of young children are implementing to structure their children's media use and how specific media rules affected development of children's problematic media use (an early indicator of media dependence) longitudinally from ages 2-4 (three time points, each one year apart) in a sample of n = 435 children. We found that more parents have rules around their child's TV use than tablet use when children are around age 2 ½ years old, and that a sizable minority of parents (n = 45; 10.30%) or parents do not allow their child to use tablets at this same age. There was no relationship between media rules and problematic media use at Time 2. However, parents who did not allow their child to use tablets at Time 1 had lower levels of child problematic media use at Time 3, implying that the rules parents set around young children's use of tablets and other personal media devices may be impactful in protecting children from the development of problematic media use.

Maternal distress increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly impacting children's media use. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence mechanism of maternal COVID-19 distress on preschoolers' problematic media us through a moderated mediation model; specifically, we examined the possible mediating roles of parenting stress and negative instrumental use of media in parenting and the moderating role of supportive co-parenting. An online survey was conducted in a sample of 1357 children (Mage = 4.01, SD = 1.06; 47.4% boys) and their parents from six public kindergartens in Shanghai, China. The mothers provided information by completing measures on their levels of distress related to COVID-19, parenting stress levels, digital parenting practices, and perception of supportive co-parenting from their partners. Additionally, both parents rated their children's problematic media use. (1) maternal COVID-19 distress was significantly and positively related to children's problematic media use; (2) this relationship was sequentially mediated by parenting stress and parents' negative instrumental use of media in parenting; and (3) supportive co-parenting moderated the serial mediation path by reducing the effect of maternal COVID-19 distress on parenting stress. The findings provide some support and guidance for preventing children's problematic media use and enhancing parental adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic or in potentially adverse situations.

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

Given that mother plays the main nurturing role in a family unit and their unique influence on children's development, the current study aimed to examine the influence of maternal phubbing on children's problematic media use and the independent and interactive moderating role of children's negative affectivity and effortful control. Participants were 1986 children aged 3 to 6 years in Shanghai, China. Their mothers were asked to complete a series of questionnaires including parental phubbing scale, problematic media use measure, and child behavior questionnaire. To investigate the moderating influence of children's negative affectivity and effortful control, hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 24.0. Simple slopes analyses and the Johnson-Neyman technique were further used to depict moderation effects. Maternal phubbing was associated with higher levels of problematic media use in preschool children (β = 0.18, p <.001, [0.14, 0.22]). Children's negative affectivity acts as a risk factor, exacerbating the adverse effects of maternal phubbing on children's problematic media use (β = 0.05, t = 2.69, p < 0.05), whereas children's effortful control acts as a protective factor, buffering the link between maternal phubbing and children's problematic media use (β = -0.10, t = -5.00, p < 0.001). These results suggest that interventions seeking to promote appropriate digital development in preschoolers should take the child's temperament into account and be complemented by active parental mediation and involvement.

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.

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.

Media emotion regulation has been defined as parents’ use of media to regulate their children's emotions in early childhood. The purpose of this review is to investigate the predictors of media emotion regulation and its consequences on children's socioemotional development. As predictors of media emotion regulation, parental education level, parental media use, and the child’s temperament were examined. It was observed that parents with low levels of education and higher personal media use more frequently offer their children media emotion regulation than other parents. The relationships between children’s temperamental domains of negative affect and extraversion/surgency and media emotion regulation have been shown as positive, while the relationship between effortful control and media emotion regulation has been displayed as negative. As for the consequences of media emotion regulation on children's socioemotional development, children’s problematic media use, emotional knowledge, and empathy were examined. The relationship between media emotion regulation and problematic media use was displayed as positive; children who frequently experienced media emotion regulation had increased problematic media use. Also, it was shown that media emotion regulation has a negative role in children's emotional knowledge. As children's experience with media emotion regulation increased, their emotional knowledge decreased. Lastly, in the relationship between media emotion regulation and empathy, both positive and negative findings were observed and variables that may influence this relationship were discussed. This study contributes significantly to understanding the conditions under which children more frequently experience media emotion regulation and the role of this experience on children's socioemotional developmentAs the consequences of media emotion regulation on children’s socio-emotional development, children's problematic media use, emotional knowledge, and empathy have been explored. There is a positive relationship between media emotion regulation and problematic media use. As media emotion regulation increases, children's emotional knowledge decreases. Finally, in the relationship between media emotion regulation and empathy, both positive and negative outcomes have been found, suggesting that media content and how children perceive media emotion regulation may influence this relationship. This study offers a significant contribution by exploring the conditions under which children more frequently experience media emotion regulation and its role in children's socio-emotional development.

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.

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.

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

This study explores the relationship between preschool children’s problematic media use, behavioural problems, and their parents’ styles and stress levels, also examining whether parental stress mediates this relationship. The study was designed as a correlational study and 415 parents of children aged 4–6 years participated in the study. Data were collected using the Problematic Media Use Scale (PMUM), the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation-30 Scale (SCBE-30), the Parental Attitude Scale (PAS), and the Turkish version of the Parental Stress Scale (PSS). Results revealed that parental stress, parenting styles, and children’s behavioural problems explained 33% of the variance in problematic media use. Parental stress significantly mediated the relationship between problematic media use and Democratic, Authoritarian, and Overprotective parenting attitudes, as well as the Social Competence and Anger–Aggression subscales. These findings underscore the critical role of parental stress and behavioural dynamics in the development of problematic media habits in early childhood.

Problematic media use and psychological adaptation in children in the COVID-19 pandemic: A descriptive cross-sectional study

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

Parental technoference, the interruption of parent-child interactions by technology, has been associated with negative outcomes in children's media use. However, the magnitude of this relationship and its moderating factors remain unclear. This study aims to systematically examine the relationship between parental technoference and child problematic media use, as well as to identify moderating factors such as age, parental technoference group, study design, and type of problematic media use. Following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was conducted up to August 2024 across multiple databases, including Web of Science, EBSCO, ProQuest, PubMed, PsycINFO, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, using predefined search strings. A total of 53 studies with a total of 60,555 participants (mean age of 13.84, SD 1.18 years) were included. Inclusion criteria comprised studies involving children under the age of 22 years, assessing the association between parental technoference and child problematic media use with valid measures, and reporting necessary statistical data. Exclusion criteria included studies focusing on other child outcomes, having sample sizes <30, or being case reports or review papers. The risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed using R (version 4.2.1; R Foundation for Statistical Computing) with the meta and metafor packages to evaluate the association and conduct moderator analyses. The meta-analysis identified a significant positive association between parental technoference and child problematic media use (r=0.296, 95% CI 0.259-0.331). Moderator analyses revealed that both parental technoference group (P<.001) and study design (P=.008) significantly influenced this relationship. Specifically, the association was stronger when both parents engaged in technoference compared to when only 1 parent did, and in cross-sectional studies compared to longitudinal studies. Age, gender, publication status, and type of problematic media use did not significantly moderate the relationship (all P>.05). This meta-analysis provides robust evidence of the association between parental technoference and child problematic media use. The findings highlight the need for family-based interventions and underscore the importance of longitudinal research to understand the temporal dynamics of this relationship better. PROSPERO CRD42023471997; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=471997.

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.