Problematic media use in early childhood: The role of parent-child relationships and parental wellbeing in families in New Zealand and the United States

Figures & data

Figure 1. Distal and proximal factors in the prediction of child PMU.

Table 1. Correlations between parent reports of children’s problematic media use, parent-child relationship quality, and characteristics of parental burnout for the population sample.

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
(1) Age	-
(2) Gender^a	−.02	-
(3) PMU – child	.06	−.09	-
(4)PMU – caregiver	.02	−.06	.36***	-
(5) Conflict	−.12	−.02	.26**	.38***	-
(6) Closeness	.20†	.15	−.27**	−.19†	−.22*	-
(7)Parental burnout	−.02	.09	.30**	.47***	.41***	−.22*	-
Mean	45.30	-	8.47	11.09	1.27	3.72	19.00
SD	10.15	-	5.60	4.61	.76	.29	11.13
Range	25–65	-	0–22	3–28	0–3.14	2.86–4	0–53.80

N = 93. ^aGender: 0 = male, 1 = female †p < 0.10 *p < 0.05 ** p < 0.01 ***p < 0.001.

Table 2. Hierarchical regression analyses of parental burnout and parent-child relationship quality predicting child PMU.

		Model 1			Model 2			Model 3
		β	t	p	β	t	p	β	t	p
	Intercept
Step 1: control variable	Parent PMU	.36	3.62	<.001***	.28	2.55	.01**	.26	2.29	.03*
Step 2: parental well-being	PBA				.15	1.39	.17	.08	.71	.48
Step 3: parent-child relationship	Closeness							−.20	−1.97	.05*
	Conflict							.08	.75	.45
	Model fit	R = .36			R = .38			R = .44
		Adjusted R^2 = .12			Adjusted R^2 = .13			Adjusted R^2 = .16
	Model comparison	ΔR^2 = 0.13, F(1, 91) = 13.10, p < .001			ΔR^2 = 0.02, F(2, 91) = 7.58, p < .001			ΔR^2 = 0.05, F(4, 91) = 5.22, p < .001

PMU = problematic media use; PBA = parental burnout assessment †p < 0.10 *p < 0.05 **p < 0.01 ***p < 0.001.

Table 3. Bivariate correlations.

	1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.	8.
(1)Parental Warmth (1)	–
(2)Parental Harsh Criticism (1)	.03	–
(3)Child problematic media use (1)	.01	.18**	–
(4)Child problematic media use (2)	−.03	.01	.57***	–
(5)Parent problematic media use (1)	−.10	−.16*	.31***	.29***	–
(6) Income (1)	.08	−.18**	.02	.07	.16*	–
(7)Child Age (1)	.04	.06	.11	.22***	−.03	.10	–
(8) Race (1)	−.13	.04	−.03	.02	−.01	−.24***	−.11	–
(9) Sex (1)	−.04	.05	−.05	−.10	.17*	.07	−.09	.02

*p < .05; **p < .01, ***p < .001; Number after variable refers to wave; For Race 1 = White, 2 = Non-White, For Sex 1 = male, 2 = female.

Figure 2. Longitudinal associations between parenting and child problematic media use.

Notes: Standardized values are shown. Additionally, not all covariates and paths are shown. All additional statistics can be obtained by contacting the author directly.

*p < .05; **p < .01, ***p < .001

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of Study 1 are available from the corresponding author, Cara S. Swit, upon reasonable request. The data to support the findings of Study 2 are available by contacting Sarah M. Coyne.