Changing Times Together? A Time-Diary Analysis of Family Time in the Digital Age in the United Kingdom

Patterns of parent screen use, child screen time, and child socio-emotional problems at 5 years

Digital media screens have become an essential part of our family life. However, we have insufficient knowledge about parental screen use patterns and how these affect children's socio-emotional development. In total, 867 Canadian parents of 5-year-old children from the TARGet Kids! Cohort (73.1% mothers, mean ± SD age = 38.88 ± 4.45 years) participated in this study from 2014 to the end of 2019. Parents reported parental and child time on television (TV) and handheld devices and completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Latent profile analysis identified six latent profiles of parent screen use: low handheld users (P1, reference; n = 323), more TV than handheld (P2; n = 261), equal TV and handheld (P3; n = 177), more handheld than TV (P4; n = 57), high TV and handheld (P5; n = 38), and extremely high TV and handheld (P6; n = 11). Parents that were more likely to belong to P6 were also more likely to be living in single-parent households compared to P1 (estimate = -1.49 ± 0.70), p = .03). High membership probability for P2 (estimate = -0.67 ± 0.32, p = .04) and P4 (estimate = -1.42 ± 0.40, p < 0.001) was associated with lower household income compared to P1. Children of parents with higher P4 (χ²  = 12.32, p < 0.001) or P5 (χ²  = 9.54, p = .002) membership probability had higher total screen time compared to P1. Finally, a higher likelihood to belong to P6 (χ²  = 6.82, p = .009) was associated with a higher SDQ Total Difficulties Score compared to P1. Thus, patterns of parent screen use were associated with child screen use and child socio-emotional problems. The emerging link between parental screen use profiles and child behaviors suggests the need for more research on parent screen time.

Family Socioeconomic Status and Children's Screen Time

OBJECTIVE

This mixed-methods study examined whether higher-SES children's digital technology use adhered to contemporaneous pediatric guidelines, how it compared to lower-SES children, and why, as analyses showed, higher-SES children's technology use far exceeded pediatric recommendations.

BACKGROUND

2013 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines recommended limited "screen time" for children. Higher socioeconomic status (SES) families tend to follow guidelines, but digital technology use-simultaneously a health behavior and a pathway for building human capital-has complex implications.

METHOD

Quantitative analyses provide new nationally representative estimates of the relationship between social class and 9- to 13-year-old children's technology time (including television), device access, and parenting rules (2014 PSID Child Development Supplement, N=427). Qualitative analyses of 77 longitudinal higher-SES parent interviews articulated explanatory processes.

RESULTS

Higher-SES children used technology as frequently as others and in excess of recommendations. Their device access, activities, and agency in adhering to rules, however, differed from others. Qualitative analysis uncovered processes that helped explain these findings: parents' ambivalence about technology and perception that expert guidance is absent or unrealistic, and children's exercise of agency to use technology facilitated by "concerted cultivation" parenting styles, led to higher-SES individualistic parenting practices that supported children's increased non-television technology use.

CONCLUSION

Cultures and structures related to children's technology use are in flux, and classed norms and understandings are emerging to construct relevant class-based distinctions around parenting.

Affectionate Touch Promotes Shared Positive Activities

Shared positive activities, such as engaging conversations and interactive play, enhance relationships and buffer the consequences of negative interactions. The current research tested whether affectionate touch (a prime target for intervention) encourages people to prioritize other shared positive activities and to view shared activities more positively. In a pre-registered dyadic diary study of married couples (Study 1), greater affectionate touch on one day predicted increases in shared positive activities concurrently and prospectively. In a pre-registered dyadic experiment (Study 2), a brief affectionate touch intervention increased self-reported (but not observer-rated) shared positive activities immediately and increased shared positive activities over the following week for people who do not typically engage in such activities. Participants assigned to touch (particularly those low in attachment anxiety) also perceived their partners more positively during shared activities. These results suggest that touch may facilitate positive relationship experiences broadly and supports a theoretical model of affectionate touch.

Trends of Sedentary Time and Domain-Specific Sedentary Behavior in Spanish Schoolchildren

Purpose: To examine the temporal trends of accelerometer-based total daily sedentary time (ST) and self-reported domain-specific sedentary behavior (SB) on weekdays and weekends in Spanish children. Method: A total of 560 (50.53% girls) children (4th graders) in 2011/12 from 23 Spanish schools and 462 (48.70% girls) children (4th graders) in 2017/18 from 19 schools across Cadiz participated. Hip-worn accelerometers and questionnaires were used to assess total daily ST and self-reported time in SB modalities, respectively. Results: The objectively measured total daily ST tended to increase in boys on weekdays and weekends. Time spent watching television (TV) decreased during the week and weekend days, while time surfing on the internet increased on weekdays and weekends. Playing video-games increased in boys during the weekends. The trend to increase the time spent on educational activities with a computer during the weekdays and weekends was accompanied by a reduction of the same activities without using a computer. There was a trend to increase reading for fun, talking on the phone and total time in other SB, on weekdays and weekends in boys and girls. Conclusion(s): Spanish boys tended to increase objectively measured total daily ST. Moreover, SB modalities have changed in recent years in children, replacing TV viewing by computer use for both educational and non-educational purposes, as well as by the use of smartphones or other sedentary activities that does not imply the presence of a screen. These findings highlight the need to promote interventions to decrease total daily ST and reduce SB activities.

Beyond childcare: Changes in the amount and types of parent-child time over three decades

Parents' time with children has increased over the past several decades, according to many scholars. Yet, research predominantly focuses on childcare activities, overlooking the majority of time that parents spend with children. Using time diaries from the 1986-2015 Canadian General Social Survey, we examine trends in the quantity and distribution of parents' childcare time and total co-present time in the company of children, as well as the behavioral or compositional drivers of these trends. Co-present time with children increased sharply since the mid-1980s, by 1 hour per day for fathers and 1.5 hours for mothers. This rise was driven not only by childcare activities, but also parents' time in housework and mothers' time in leisure with children present. Decomposition analyses indicate that changes in parenting behavior primarily explain these increases in co-present time. This study expands knowledge on intensive parenting through a more comprehensive understanding of parents' daily lives with children.

A life course framework for understanding digital technology use in the transition to adulthood

Rapid increases in young people's time spent using digital technology ("screen time") in the mobile internet era have led to anxiety about long-term effects. This mixed-method US study examines childhood experiences and contextual factors that shape screen time in the transition to adulthood. We recursively analyzed 56 qualitative interviews with young adults in a large metropolitan area in 2016-2018 and prospective longitudinal nationally representative survey data (PSID-CDS-2007 and PSID-TAS-2017) to articulate a conceptual framework of life course influences on young adults' time spent using digital technologies. Inductive qualitative analyses built an initial framework, which was assessed with quantitative data, then further refined with qualitative analyses. Young adults drew on life course perspectives when discussing influences on their current digital technology use. As they suggested, in quantitative analyses more frequent adolescent technology use and greater device access weakly predicted increased technology frequency. Current school enrollment and several current peer factors predicted technology time. Interviewees emphasized the influence of parenting around technology use during adolescence, but parenting did not predict young adult screen time in quantitative analyses. Further qualitative analyses suggested that instead of influencing current technology time, earlier parenting shaped current emotional responses and imagined future technology use. We found young adults' technology use frequency to be informed by earlier experiences but highly malleable. Past technology use and current social contexts matter, but only up to a point. Moving beyond time use to incorporate emotional responses and future plans can better capture how the life course shapes technology use.

The association of problematic smartphone use with family well-being mediated by family communication in Chinese adults: A population-based study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Few studies have investigated the effects of problematic smartphone use (PSU) in the family context. We studied the association of PSU as a predictor with family well-being and the potential mediating role of family communication in Hong Kong Chinese adults.

METHODS

We analyzed data of 5,063 randomly selected adults [mean age (SD) = 48.1 (18.2) years; 45.0% men] from a dual landline and mobile telephone survey in 2017. PSU was assessed by the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version with higher scores indicating higher levels. Family well-being was assessed by three questions on perceived family health, harmony, and happiness (3Hs) with higher scores indicating greater well-being. Perceived sufficiency and quality of family communication were rated. Multivariable regression analyses examined (a) associations of PSU with family 3Hs and well-being and (b) mediating role of family communication, adjusting for sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

PSU was negatively associated with perceived family health (adjusted β = -0.008, 95% CI = -0.016, -0.0004), harmony (adjusted β = -0.009, 95% CI = -0.017, -0.002), happiness (adjusted β = -0.015, 95% CI = -0.022, -0.007), and well-being (adjusted β = -0.011, 95% CI = -0.018, -0.004). Perceived family communication sufficiency (adjusted β = -0.007, 95% CI = -0.010, -0.005) and quality (adjusted β = -0.009, 95% CI = -0.014, -0.005) mediated the association of PSU with family well-being, with 75% and 94% of total effects having mediated, respectively.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

PSU was negatively associated with family well-being, which was partially mediated by family communication. Such findings provide insights for health programs to prevent PSU and improve family well-being.