Journal of Children and Media最新文献

Parental motivations for their own and their child's media use may shape the quality of media experiences and ultimately child development and family well-being. However, validated scales are lacking. The current paper describes scale development and validation of the Media Motivations for Child (MEMO-C) and Parent (MEMO-P) in 501 parents with young children (2-5 years old). The MEMO-C measures motivations for children's media use, while the MEMO-P measures motivations for parents' own use, emphasizing parents' regulatory and relational goals. Each scale had a three-factor structure (MEMO-C: Regulate, Occupy, Connect; MEMO-P: Regulate, Relax Alone, Connect). These factors demonstrated strong psychometric properties including high reliability, convergent validity, and incremental validity, uniquely predicting child- and parent-related constructs. By measuring parental media motivations through a regulatory and relational lens, these scales enable researchers to more closely examine how family media use is associated with child development and family members' well-being.

Research shows that exposure to screen media and externalizing behavior problems in young children are linked. Externalizing behavior problems also present a significant barrier to parents attempting to adhere to screen media use recommendations. However, screen media use interventions have not specifically targeted children with externalizing behavior problems. This randomized pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and initial effectiveness of adapting an evidence-based parenting intervention (the School Readiness Parenting Program) to intervene around screen media use with 31 low-income caregivers of preschool-aged children (ages 4 - 5 years) with externalizing behavior in the U.S. Caregivers were randomly assigned to receive either the adapted (n = 16) or the standard (n = 15) versions of the parenting intervention. Results provided positive evidence for feasibility and acceptability. Additionally, there was preliminary evidence of decreases in children's screentime, and increases in educational content, for the adapted intervention group relative to the standard intervention group, and evidence that parent limit setting around screen media use increased in both groups. Results suggest that integrating screen media content into a parenting intervention targeting general parenting skills may be a promising way to help support families who face greater barriers to managing their children's screen media use.

Government responses to COVID-19 included workplace and childcare closures. Many parents worked from home while caring for preschool children. Media use increased worldwide for adults and young children. This study examined how government responses were linked to family media use by testing whether policy stringency predicted preschool children's screen time and parents' motivations for child media use. Data were analyzed from 2,365 parents of 2- to 5-year-old children in five countries: Canada, the United States, Israel, Sweden, and New Zealand. Higher stringency was associated with decreased screen time, though changes in screen time depended on parental income and education. Children from lower-resourced homes had the highest screen time while experiencing low stringency levels. Parents' motivations for children's media use to calm their children and for their child's enjoyment were less likely with higher stringency. Motivations also depended on child age; parents were more likely to use media to calm their younger children than their older children. Media motivations also differed with family resources; less resourced families were more likely to use media for calming their children. Our discussion focuses on how structural factors (policies, supports, and resources for parents) relate to family media patterns and how future research can inform our understanding of policy-related outcomes on children.

Associations between adolescent social media use and well-being are inconclusive, and studies using rigorous methodologies and objective measures are needed. Additionally, attention on what individual differences may moderate linkages between social media and well-being is necessary. We tested 1) how daily social media use (assessed via ecological momentary objective and self-reports) relates to daily subjective well-being, 2) the prevalence and concordance between scholar-defined addiction-like social media use (ASMU) and participant perceptions of social media addiction, 3) how these constructs relate to subjective well-being, and 4) if these constructs moderate daily links between social media use and subjective well-being. In a sample of 103 adolescents (M _age=16.48, 47% female), ASMU and perceived addiction were highly correlated but some adolescents' classification differed when cross-referencing. Both were similarly associated with demographics and depressive symptoms. Self-reported, but not objectively-recorded, social media use was related to greater ASMU and perceived addiction. Links between social media use and well-being were inconsistent, with no moderation by ASMU or perceived addiction. Most adolescents endorsed some degree of ASMU, and future research should examine how social media-triggered disruptions to daily functioning relates to well-being.

This study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to examine how screen media use and problematic media use changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic (pre-onset, 3-months and 15-months post-onset). We examined changes in screen media use (time spent) and problematic media use (seemingly addicted behavior) in children ages 1.17-11.42 years across three time points (N=316, 51.7% girls, 83.9% White; primarily middle-to-high income). Qualitative findings provided insight into parent perceptions of the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 media behaviors, some parents experiencing burnout over fighting with their children about screens, and families finding a balance with screens. Quantitatively, both screen and problematic media use increased from 2019 to 2020 (small-medium effect size) and decreased from 2020 to 2021 (small effect size), though not all the way to 2019 levels. There were significant interactions between screen media use and child age/negative parent perceptions, but none with problematic media use. This is the first study to elucidate that while many parents were seeing a return to normal for their child's media use 15 months post-onset, many were struggling just as much as they were at COVID-19 onset, indicating the pandemic's potentially long-lasting effect on child media use behaviors.