The complex feelings and family correlates surrounding parent technology use

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Parents and the family system have been inundated with technology/mobile devices, and media use is common. Use ranges from task-oriented to leisure and can be connected to both positive and negative influences on parents and children (e.g., receiving support from family/friends, parent distraction, child emotion regulation). According to family systems theory, family members influence one another’s feelings and behavior, which likely extends to potential impacts and implications of technology use within family contexts. Through four studies, this symposium examines the complexity of parent technology use, seeking to elucidate types of use, links with child characteristics/outcomes, and ties with parent feelings/experiences. The first study examines 265 parent reports of their technology use (e.g., TV use, gaming, etc.) and utilizes latent profile modeling to distinguish types of parent users; linkages with child outcomes (e.g., language development) are found. The second study examines 76 mother reports of technology use and their infant’s temperament and finds the two may not always be associated in the expected ways. Via objectively-measured smartphone use among 62 parents, the third study finds that parents struggling with stress show more pickups. Finally, the fourth study examined objectively-measured smartphone use among 268 parents, self-reports of desire for phone behavior change, and perceptions of problematic use; latent profile modeling revealed that 85% of parents desire to change their use. Collectively, this work demonstrates that parents’ technology use is a complex and important piece of families’ lives and may be ripe for future interventions to promote healthy habits and positive child development.

Sub Unit

• Technology, Media & Child Development

Chair

• Brandon T. McDaniel, Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation

Individual Presentations

• Latent profiles of parent media use and child outcomes over time - Presenting Author: Hailey Holmgren, Brigham Young University; Laura Stockdale, Brigham Young University; Brandon Neil Clifford, Arizona State University; Emilie Davis; Kevin Collier; Sarah M Coyne, Brigham Young University

• Maternal technology use during infant feeding and care and infant temperament: A longitudinal analysis - Presenting Author: Alison K. Ventura, California Polytechnic State University; Camille M. Delfosse, California Polytechnic State University

• Mobile device notifications, pickups and associations with parent stress: Digital tool or digital disruptor? - Presenting Author: Tiffany Munzer; Alison Leslie Miller, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Heidi M. Weeks, University of Michigan; Niko Kaciroti; Jenny Radesky, University of Michigan

• Parents’ Desire to Change Phone Use: Associations with Smartphone Use and Feelings About Phone Use - Presenting Author: Brandon T. McDaniel, Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation; Michelle Drouin, Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation; Jessica Pater, Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation; Jenny Radesky, University of Michigan; Safia Mughal, Utah State University; Victor Cornet, Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation; Lauren Reining, Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation; Alex Schaller, University of Michigan