Impact of parents' technology use on 18- to 24-month-old infants' adaptive behaviors

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between adaptive behaviors of 18- to 24-month-old infants and their parents' use of technology. For this purpose, a survey research method was used. The sample consisted of 116 people who are 58 volunteering married couples with 18- to 24-month-old infants and were registered in family health centers in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region. Comparison analyses were conducted between parents’ demographic variables (i.e., education background) and their use of technology (i.e., Internet, smartphone) and adaptive behaviors of their 18- to 24-month-old infants. Adaptive behaviors of infants were measured with ABAS-3 (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition) and the profiles of parents using technology were measured with a survey developed by the researchers. The results showed that parents' use of technology had an impact on adaptive behaviors of 18- to 24-month-old infants. Infants of mothers who did not engage in any Internet activity have higher adaptive behavior scores. The infants of mothers who engaged in activities such as games, videos, and music on the Internet together with their 18- to 24-month-old infants had low scores on adaptive behaviors in terms of concept, self-management, leisure, and communication. According to the findings, various suggestions are presented for parents, researchers, and practitioners

Development and validation of Videogame Addiction Scale for Children (VASC)

The aim of the present study was to develop a valid and reliable Videogame Addiction Scale for Children (VASC). The data were derived from 780 children who completed the Videogame Addiction Scale (405 girls and 375 boys; 48.1% ranging in age from 9 to 12 years). The sample was randomly split into two different sub-samples (sample 1, n=400; sample 2, n= 380). Sample 1 was used to perform exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to define the factorial structure of VASC. As a result of EFA, a four-factor structure comprising 21 items was obtained and explained 55% of the total variance (the four factors being "self-control," "reward/reinforcement", "problems," and "involvement"). The internal consistency reliability of VASC has found 0.89. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to confirm the factorial structure obtained by EFA in the remaining half of sample (n= 390). The obtained fit indices from the CFA confirmed the structure of the EFA. The 21-item VASC has good psychometric properties that can be used among Turkish schoolchildren populations

To Recall to Play in the Street: A Critical Review of the Transformation of the Game Concept, Importance and Place of Game in Children's World

This argumentative study focused on the relationship between children's traditional play cultures and their technology-based play. When the literature examined, it was seen that traditional games contribute children character development, as well as linguistic and communicative development. When children allowed to play outdoor and/or traditional games, they explore the nature, learn democratic behaviors, acquire creative and critical thinking skills, learn how to communicate politely with others, develop muscle strength and coordination, learn sharing and caring, and obtain problems solving skills and self-confidence. In other words, playing traditional games supports the overall development of mind and body of a children. However, nowadays, many children spend too much time indoors, by playing online games, and/or sitting in front of a screen (e.g. television, tablet pc, or smart phone). In contrast to traditional games, online games do not include social interaction. In this study, the significance of game was clarified, and both positive and negative effects of gamification was demonstrated. Consequently, the aim of this study to generate a theoretical framework that display an understanding of theories and concepts that are relevant to the place and importance of games on children's world and disclose a critical perspective about playing games in digital world. Therefore, relevant research studies for theories and analytic models were reviewed and interpreted in order to present two sides of gamification and highlight the importance of games