Bidirectional longitudinal associations between Chinese young children's screen use and behavioral difficulties: The protective role of parental mediation

IF 2.1 2区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology Pub Date : 2025-08-28 DOI:10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101861

Wenxiang Lu , Xiaowei Li

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

A nuanced understanding of the relationships between children's screen use and behavioral difficulties within the Chinese context is needed to guide their screen use. This study investigated bidirectional relationships between screen use and behavioral difficulties using a multi-dimensional measure of screen use (involving time, content, and contexts) and the moderating effects of parental mediation. Data were collected from a sample of 620 Chinese young children (aged 3–6, M_age = 3.97 years) across two measurement waves. The cross-lagged panel model results found that the predictive path from screen use to behavioral difficulties was not significant, while behavioral difficulties negatively predicted later screen use (β = −0.12, 95 % CI = [−0.21, −0.06], p < 0.01). Moderation analysis showed that active mediation (discussing with children) helped ensure the benefits of proper screen access and content in reducing behavioral difficulties; restrictive mediation (setting rules) alleviated the negative relationship between behavioral difficulties and later screen access. These findings demonstrate the important protective roles of parental mediation, highlighting the need for both parents' active engagement in mediating children's screen use and support from educators and policymakers to promote effective parental mediation.

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中国幼儿屏幕使用与行为困难的双向纵向关联：父母中介的保护作用

在中国背景下，需要对儿童屏幕使用与行为困难之间的关系进行细致入微的理解，以指导他们使用屏幕。本研究使用屏幕使用的多维测量（包括时间、内容和环境）和父母中介的调节作用来调查屏幕使用与行为困难之间的双向关系。数据收集自620名中国幼儿（3-6岁，年龄= 3.97岁）的两个测量波样本。交叉滞后面板模型结果发现，从屏幕使用到行为困难的预测路径不显著，而行为困难负向预测以后的屏幕使用（β = - 0.12, 95% CI = [- 0.21, - 0.06], p < 0.01）。适度分析表明，积极的调解（与儿童讨论）有助于确保适当的屏幕访问和内容在减少行为困难方面的好处；限制性调解（设定规则）缓解了行为困难与后期屏幕接触之间的负相关关系。这些发现证明了父母调解的重要保护作用，强调了父母双方积极参与调解儿童屏幕使用的必要性，以及教育工作者和政策制定者的支持，以促进有效的父母调解。

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来源期刊

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

3.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology focuses on two key concepts: human development, which refers to the psychological transformations and modifications that occur during the life cycle and influence an individual behavior within the social milieu; and application of knowledge, which is derived from investigating variables in the developmental process. Its contributions cover research that deals with traditional life span markets (age, social roles, biological status, environmental variables) and broadens the scopes of study to include variables that promote understanding of psychological processes and their onset and development within the life span. Most importantly.