1-111 - Familial and Contextual Influences on Media Use for Families with Young Children

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Across ethnic and socioeconomic groups in the U.S., families with young children have incorporated mobile screen technologies, such as smartphones and tablets, into their family time. From the limited but growing body of research on this topic, we know that the use of these devices can positively or negatively influence the quality of family interactions, depending on how they are used. However, very few studies have examined the factors that might influence the way families use mobile screen technologies, and even fewer have included ethnically and socioeconomically diverse families. Thus, these four papers examine unique factors, among diverse families that influence technology use and the quality of family interactions. Specifically, the first experimental study investigates which parent, child, and home media use variables predict positive and negative quality parent-toddler interactions while sharing e-books and printed books. The second paper’s survey study explores how parents of preschool-age children use and think about e-books compared to print books as they relate to their child’s learning and bonding time. The third qualitative study explores how socioeconomically diverse Latino mothers and fathers use mobile technology with children under 4 years. Finally, the fourth survey study examines the complex cycle of parents’ distraction with technology, parenting quality, and children’s subsequent use and distraction with technology. Together, these presentations shed light on the factors that might explain how and why diverse families are using new mobile screen technologies. These findings can inform future interventions and policies that aim to promote healthy media habits among diverse families.

Sub Unit

• Technology, Media & Child Development

Chair

• Wendy Ochoa, UC Irvine

Individual Presentations

• Parent-toddler predictors of positive and negative tablet-based reading experiences - Presenting Author: Tiffany Munzer, University of Michigan; Non-Presenting Author: Alison L. Miller, University of Michigan School of Public Health; Non-Presenting Author: Heidi Weeks, University of Michigan School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Niko Kaciroti, Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan; Non-Presenting Author: Jenny Radesky, Medical School, University of Michigan

• Parent Attitudes Surrounding eBooks and Print Books: An Amazon Mechanical Turk Study - Presenting Author: Roxanne Etta, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Non-Presenting Author: Elizabeth Skora Horgan, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Non-Presenting Author: Heather Kirkorian, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Socioeconomically Diverse Latino Mothers and Fathers’ Attitudes, Beliefs, and Use of Mobile Technology with Children - Presenting Author: Wendy Ochoa, UC Irvine; Non-Presenting Author: Stephanie Reich, University of California, Irvine; Non-Presenting Author: Audrey Helen Mosley, University of California, Irvine

• The Distracted Family: Associations between Parent Distraction with Technology, Parenting, and Child Distraction with Technology - Presenting Author: Brandon T. McDaniel, Illinois State University; Non-Presenting Author: Jenny Radesky, Medical School, University of Michigan