Poster #151 - The Impact of Parents' ICT Use for Childcare on their Evaluation of Children's Socio-Emotional Development

• In Event: 3-159 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

1. Introduction
Increasingly I see parents using smartphones and tablets to get their children’s attention or to calm them down when they are upset. Previous studies which focused on the influence of ICT use on cognitive development have been carried out, but there is very little research that has been done on socio-emotional development of preschoolers.
2. Objectives
Rusbult (1983) defined commitment as “the tendency to maintain a relationship with and feel psychologically attached someone.” She demonstrated through investment model how one person can influence the well-being of a second person using the case of the relationship between the parents and their children (Rusbult, 2003). That is, parents invested the more time and energy in communicating with their children, they maintained the better relationship to their children. I indicated the conceptual model predicting how the parents’ use of ICT during the early years of raising their children influences their children’s socio-emotional development and the parent-child relationship.
This study examines:
How parental use of ICT devices in playing with children and gathering childcare-related information affects their evaluation of their children’s socio-emotional development.
To see if variables on evaluation of socio-emotional development change between Japan and U.S.A.
3. Methods
I used multi-group structural equation modeling approach. Data were collected from the web-based survey. 563 Japanese fathers, 391mothers, 785 U.S. fathers and 689 mothers of dual-earner families with preschool children were analyzed.
4. Major Findings
For both Japanese and U.S. parents in dual-earner families, the more frequent use of ICT in playing with preschool children and for gathering childcare-related information is associated with children’s longer use of ICT (p<.001). For preschool children, prolonged ICT use has a negative impact on their parents’ evaluation of their socio-emotional development (Japanese father; b=-.15***, U.S. father; b=-.11***, U.S. mother; b=-.16***). Additionally, it is found that the parents’ frequent use of ICT for gathering childcare information lowers their evaluation (p<.001). It is concluded that U.S. parents’ use of ICT in playing with children is directly related to the positive evaluation of child’s socio-emotional development (U.S. father; b=.10**, U.S. mother; b=.09*).
5. Implications
My findings suggest that the conceptual model is useful to predict how the parents’ use of ICT during the early years of raising their children influences their evaluation of children’s socio-emotional development and the parent-child relationship. Balancing parental ICT use and play with children will make the parent-child relationship closer and more empathetic. We must adjust parental ICT use for childcare to increase direct playing time and empathy with their children. It is crucial to focus on parental role commitment because it is related to the amount of childcare behavior (Kato, 2007).
These considerations need to be taken into account in the Japanese government’s policy making process to support families and children.

Author

• Kuniko Kato, Kawaguchi Junior College
  Presenting Author