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Technoference: Longitudinal Associations Between Parent Technology Use, Parenting Stress, And Child Behavior Problems., Brandon T. Mcdaniel Phd, Jenny S Radesky

Health Services and Informatics Research

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Heavy parent digital technology use has been associated with suboptimal parent-child interactions and internalizing/externalizing child behavior, but directionality of associations is unclear. This study aims to investigate longitudinal bidirectional associations between parent technology use and child behavior, and understand whether this is mediated by parenting stress.

METHODS: Participants included 183 couples with a young child (age 0-5 years, mean = 3.0 years) who completed surveys at baseline, 1, 3 and 6 months. Cross-lagged structural equation models of parent technology interference during parent-child activities, parenting stress, and child externalizing and internalizing behavior were tested.

RESULTS: Controlling for potential …

Technoference: Parent Distraction With Technology And Associations With Child Behavior Problems., Brandon T. Mcdaniel Phd, Jenny S Radesky

Health Services and Informatics Research

Heavy parent digital technology use has been associated with suboptimal parent-child interactions, but no studies examine associations with child behavior. This study investigates whether parental problematic technology use is associated with technology-based interruptions in parent-child interactions, termed "technoference," and whether technoference is associated with child behavior problems. Parent reports from 170 U.S. families (child age = 3.04 years) and actor-partner interdependence modeling showed that maternal and paternal problematic digital technology use predicted greater technoference in mother-child and father-child interactions; then, maternal technoference predicted both mothers' and fathers' reports of child externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Results suggest that technological interruptions are …