The relationship between parental attitudes and the assessment of the benefits and risks of screen devices use among children in early primary school years

Abstract

Nowadays, children increasingly choose screen devices as a form of communication and spending free time, which raises concerns about the potential harmfulness of excessive use of them. Therefore, it seems important to look at the issue of using screen devices from the perspective of parents and their attitudes towards children themselves, as well as in relation to the use of screen devices in everyday life. The aim of the presented study was to demonstrate the relationship between parental attitudes, parent’s gender and the assessment of the benefits and risks associated with children’s screen devices use. The research tools used in the study included The Parental Attitudes Scale (SPR) by Mieczyslaw Plopa (2008), covering six parental attitudes, and original The Screen Usage Questionnaire (KKE) to measure the attitude towards screen use by children. The article discusses theoretical aspects of parental attitudes towards children and screen use, as well as the benefits and risks of children’s screen devices use in the early primary school years. The operationalization of variables in research tools was presented. The study involved 173 participants aged 29-44 years (M = 36.56; SD = 3.16; Me = 37), including 127 mothers and 47 fathers of children aged 7-10 from the Podkarpackie. No correlation was found between parental attitudes and their assessment of the benefits and risks associated with screen devices use. However, the differences were observed between mothers and fathers in the assessment of benefits and risks. The research results indicate the need for education on digital parenting. Mothers assessed the use of screens neutrally or negatively, while fathers assessed it neutrally or positively, hence the conclusion regarding preventive activities is to direct various educational interventions towards fathers and mothers. These findings indicate the need to support parents introducing children to the digital world in effective education regarding the use of screen devices.