Poster #91 - Measuring Regulatory Media Use in Parents and Children: The RUM-P and RUM-C Scales

• In Event: Poster Session 08

Abstract

Introduction: Parents use media to fulfill a wide range of parenting-related needs (Beyens & Eggermont, 2014), potentially increasing media use. Regulatory media use refers to parents’ use of media to manage their own or their child’s emotions and behaviors. Some studies suggest regulatory uses of media may be related to parent stress (McDaniel & Radesky, 2020) and may be particularly problematic for children’s development of self-regulation (Coyne et al., 2021). We developed the Regulatory Use of Media for Parents (RUM-P) and Children (RUM-C) scales to better characterize regulatory media use. Here we describe the scale development metrics using two samples with different age groups.
Method: The RUM-P (16 items, Table 1) and the RUM-C (12 items, Table 2) include statements about parental motivators for using media to regulate their own or their child’s emotions and behaviors. In Study 1, 305 parents with a child 5-10 years old (parent: M = 38.4 years, SD = 5.6; child: M = 7.3 years, SD = 1.6) completed an online survey reporting their media parenting practices as a part of the Family Pandemic Experience Study. In Study 2, 100 parents with a child 3-5 years old complete an online survey about parent well-being and household media use as part of the Ecology of Media Use study. Data collection for Study 2 is underway; the preliminary results are based on 52 parents, or approximately 50% of our final sample (parent: M = 36.4 years, SD = 4.0; child: M = 4.2 years, SD = 0.9). We examined internal consistency for both scales in both samples. Additionally, the data from Study 1 was used to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA), while the data from Study 2 will be used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis.
Preliminary Results: Both scales had acceptable reliability in both samples (RUM-P: Cronbach’s α = .79 and .75; RUM-C: Cronbach’s α = .78 and .72). Tables 1 and 2 show descriptive statistics of each item and preliminary factors from EFA. Despite some degree of variability among items, parents endorsed regulatory media use for themselves more than for their child (RUM-P: M = 3.04 and 2.05; RUM-C: M = 1.94 and 1.72). Preliminary EFA suggests that both scales have a four-factor structure.
Discussion: Using media to regulate emotions and behavior may be detrimental to self-regulation development (Radesky et al., 2014) which is a modifiable parent behavior related to household digital media use. Yet, research to date relies on a single, binary question. Our preliminary results illustrate the reliability of the more comprehensive RUM-P and RUM-C scales and suggest there may be several distinct factors which characterize regulatory media use. Further analysis is planned to examine whether the factors are replicated with a sample of families with younger children and the extent to which the factors are related to other parent, child, and household characteristics. In addition, we will also work on item reduction to shorten the scales and increase reliability of the scales.

Authors

• Bolim Suh, University of Wisconsin - Madison
  Presenting Author

• Heather Kirkorian, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Rachel F Barr, Georgetown University

• Margaret L. Kerr, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Douglas Piper, Georgetown University

• Jennica Li, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Chioma Torres, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

• Jenny Radesky, University of Michigan