Relationships Among Preschoolers' Smartphone Addiction Tendency, Their Problem Behaviors, and Parenting Efficacy of Their Mothers.
10.4094/chnr.2015.21.2.107
- Author:
Hyun Joo LEE
1
;
Sun Mi CHAE
;
Kyung Sook BANG
;
Heeseung CHOI
Author Information
1. Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Preschool children;
Cell phones;
Behavior;
Parenting;
Self-Efficacy
- MeSH:
Adult;
Cellular Phone;
Child;
Child, Preschool;
Humans;
Mothers*;
Organization and Administration;
Parenting*;
Parents*;
Smartphone;
Surveys and Questionnaires
- From:Child Health Nursing Research
2015;21(2):107-114
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
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.
