Parents' phone addiction may lead to child behavioural problems

Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that when mothers and fathers report being distracted by digital technology, this causes interruptions in interactions with their children. These interruptions in mothers – but not fathers – seem to have an impact on child behaviour. The authors suggest that the poor behavioural outcomes might only be found for mother-child interactions because children might react differently to maternal versus paternal responsiveness. It could also be that children simply spend more time with their mothers on a daily basis in this sample so there were more opportunities for technoference. However, there are some important things to consider about this research: The participants were almost all white, had a high level of education and were from the US. Therefore the findings might not be relevant to other populations. The survey involved self-reporting, which may be subject to bias. For example, parents may under- or over-estimate their use of digital technology or might be unwilling to honestly answer questions about their child's behaviour if they fear it would cast them in a bad light. As it was cross-sectional, it only provides a snapshot of parenting and child behaviours, which might change over time. Only children under the age of five were included. Technoference might have different effects on behavioural outcomes in older children – for example, it might encourage use of technology in a positive way. Further research...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pregnancy/child Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news