Poster #72 - Mobile Media Use for Emotion Regulation in the Family Context During Early Childhood

• In Event: Poster Session 12

Abstract

Increased access to mobile technology has shaped new parenting trends, such as using digital media to distract children from boredom or negative emotions. This trend is a common practice for parents in the United States, but it also has links to weaker emotion regulation skills for young children (Coyne et al., 2021). While much descriptive research has been done on media use for child emotion regulation (e.g., Beyens & Eggermont, 2014; Gantz, 1982; Gantz & Masland, 1986; Nikken, 2019), there is less attention on the relation between this media use for emotion regulation and children’s actual emotion regulation skills (Coyne et al., 2021). Further, the connection between this media use and emotion regulation has not been examined within the context of other family variables, such as child-parent relationship or parent behavior related to emotion. The current study surveyed parents of 4-6-year-olds (N = 449, 53% fathers) about their media use for emotion regulation. We situate this media use within the family context by testing a tripartite model of adjustment (Morris et al., 2007).

The tripartite model of emotion regulation suggests that parents influence emotion regulation (and, in turn, adjustment) through modeling emotional behavior; engaging in parenting practices related to emotion regulation; and influencing the emotional climate of the family. We measure these constructs through parent distress reactions to children’s negative emotions (modeling; Fabes et al., 1990), media use for child emotion regulation (parenting practices; Coyne et al., 2021), and quality of child-parent relationship (emotional climate of the family; Pianta, 1992). These independent variables are examined with relation to adjustment (i.e., internalization and externalization; Goodman, 1997) as mediated by emotion regulation skills (Shields & Cicchetti, 1998).

Results indicate that family context factors, including media habits, relate to children’s emotion regulation skills as well as their emotional adjustment, but some directions of these relations were unexpected. As hypothesized, we found that greater observation of negative emotional reactions, more frequent media use for emotion regulation, and poorer parent-child relationship were associated with lower emotional adjustment in terms of internalization and externalization issues. Surprisingly, however, we found that more frequent media use for emotion regulation was associated with better emotion regulation skills among children. A previous study found the opposite (e.g., Coyne et al., 2021). However, this study used both observational and survey data, demonstrating that children who are met with media for emotion regulation more often have worse emotion regulation skills. It is possible that in our study parents reported high emotion regulation skills for their children because they are placated by media, and parents may not consider what their children’s skills look like in the absence of media. This work provides the first empirical test of the tripartite model of emotion regulation, and it also has practical implications, such that it considers media use in the greater family context. Based on our findings, parents should ensure that all of these family context elements (observation, parenting practices, and emotional climate of the family) support their children’s emotional development.

Authors

• Allyson Snyder, University of California - Davis
  Presenting Author

• Lauren Beth Taylor, University of California - Davis

• Drew Cingel, University of California - Davis