Child Health Nurs Res.  2015 Apr;21(2):107-114. 10.4094/chnr.2015.21.2.107.

Relationships Among Preschoolers' Smartphone Addiction Tendency, Their Problem Behaviors, and Parenting Efficacy of Their Mothers

Affiliations
  • 1Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2College of Nursing & The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. schae@snu.ac.kr
  • 3College of Nursing & The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among preschoolers' smartphone addiction tendency, problem behaviors, and parenting efficacy of the mothers of these children.
METHODS
A cross-sectional, descriptive study design was used with self-administered questionnaires. A total of 83 mothers of preschoolers aged 4-6 years and their preschool teachers from a kindergarten participated in the study.
RESULTS
Mean daily time spent by the preschoolers on smartphones was about 45 minutes/day. About 40% spent more than 60 minutes/day on smartphones. The majority (69.8%) used smartphones without adult supervision. The level of smartphone addiction tendency among the preschoolers was 1.52+/-0.45 on a 4-point scale. Preschoolers whose mothers use smartphones for more than 60 minutes/day showed a higher level of smartphone addiction tendency than preschoolers whose mothers use smartphones for less than 60 minutes/day. Also smartphone addiction tendency among preschoolers had a positive correlation with hyperactive-distractible behavior (r=.228, p=.038) and a negative correlation with parenting efficacy of their mothers (r=-.299, p=.006).
CONCLUSION
Our findings demonstrated that preschooler's smartphone addiction tendency is significantly associated with hyperactive-distractible behaviors of the children and low parenting efficacy among their mothers. Therefore well-designed care plans for these populations should be provided to decrease smartphone addiction tendency.

Keyword

Preschool children; Cell phones; Behavior; Parenting; Self-Efficacy

MeSH Terms

Adult
Cellular Phone
Child
Child, Preschool
Humans
Mothers*
Organization and Administration
Parenting*
Parents*
Smartphone
Surveys and Questionnaires
Full Text Links
  • CHNR
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr