4 research outputs found
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Problematic media use in early childhood: The role of parent-child relationships and parental wellbeing in families in New Zealand and the United States.
Problematic media use (PMU) during early childhood has the potential to interfere with the healthy functioning of family systems and may be associated with significant long-term problems for the child. However, we know very little about what contributes to early childhood PMU, particularly in the family context. We examine parenting factors as correlates of child PMU in two studies, from two different countries, using two different methods. Study 1 (N=93, Mage=45.3months, SD=10.15, 58%males, 87%mothers) investigated the concurrent role of self-reported parental burnout and parent-child conflict and closeness as correlates of child PMU in an early childhood sample in New Zealand. Study 2 (N=269, Mage=41.17months, SD=3.06 months, 49%males, 95%mothers) investigated observed parental warmth and harsh criticism as predictors of concurrent and longitudinal PMU in an early childhood sample in the United States. Together, findings showed that in both countries approximately 22-25% of young children show symptoms of PMU. After controlling for parents PMU, parent-child conflict, warmth and parental burnout were not associated with child PMU. Low levels of parent-child closeness and parents use of harsh criticism were predictive of child PMU. The findings advance our understanding of some of the parenting factors that influence the development of PMU in young children
Tantrums, toddlers and technology: Temperament, media emotion regulation, and problematic media use in early childhood.
Parents regularly use media to help regulate their childs difficult emotions, particularly for those with a more difficult temperament. However, no research has examined how this may be related to the development of problematic (or addictive-like) media use in early childhood. The purpose of the study was to examine associations between temperament, parental media emotion regulation, and problematic media use in young children, using both questionnaires and observational data. Participants included 269 toddlers (2-3 years old) and their parents, who completed several observational tasks and questionnaires. Analyses revealed that higher levels of media emotion regulation was associated with more problematic media use and more extreme emotions when media was removed in toddlers. Additionally, temperament (specifically negative affect and surgency) was related to problematic media and extreme emotions and was mediated by media emotion regulation. Parents should avoid using media as a primary way of regulating their childrens emotions as this may be related to the development of problematic media strategies during infancy
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ABCs or Attack-Boom-Crash? A longitudinal analysis of associations between media content and the development of problematic media use in early childhood.
Researchers have begun to extensively examine pathological (or addictive-like) media use during adolescence and adulthood. However, few studies have examined precursors to these types of behavior (termed problematic media use) in early childhood, with even fewer examining predictors of this behavior over time. The current longitudinal study examined bi-directional associations between television content (educational, prosocial, and violence) and problematic media use over a 1-year period during early childhood. Participants included 443 children (M age at Wave 1 = 29.68 months) and their parents. Results revealed that early educational media was protective against developing problematic media use over time. However, early problematic media use was not predictive of future media content choices longitudinally. Additionally, problematic media use was moderately stable over time. Implications for parents and policy makers regarding the importance of early media content for later outcomes and consideration of media use trajectories are discussed