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

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.