233 - Problematic maternal smartphone use is associated with toddler mobile device use

Poster Number: 233
Publication Number: 233.96

Background: With widespread use of smartphones, problematic smartphone use, described as compulsive or excessive use, has received increased attention. Since parents are role models for their child’s digital media use, this could contribute to unhealthy smartphone use in children. Evidence on this topic is limited, but what is available suggests that problematic smartphone use in parents is associated with problematic use in school-age children. Little is known about parents’ influence in the toddler years, a time when digital media use behaviors are developing.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between mothers’ problematic smartphone use and frequency of toddler mobile device use (e.g. smartphone, tablet)

Design/Methods: This study enrolled a convenience sample of Mexican American families with toddlers (15-26 months old) recruited from a safety net health system. Following informed consent, data were collected from mothers via a survey that included the Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Version, a widely used and validated scale of problematic smartphone use. Scores can range from 10-60, with scores above 33 considered high risk for problematic smartphone use. The survey also included four items asking about frequency of child mobile device use across settings. We evaluated whether maternal problematic smartphone use was related to frequency of child mobile device use in these settings using linear regression, adjusting for maternal education, partnership status, and child gender and age.

Results: Table 1 shows characteristics of the 340 mother/child dyads. Mean maternal smartphone addiction scores were 24.5 (SD=8.1, Range 10-59), with 16% (n=53) categorized as at high risk for problematic use. Maternal problematic smartphone use was associated with more frequent maternal reported child mobile device use during meals/snacks at home (β=0.02, 95% CI:0.01-0.03, p< 0.01), when in a restaurant (β=0.03, 95% CI:0.01-0.04, p< 0.001), when in a car/public transit (β=0.02, 95% CI:0.003-0.03, p=0.02), and when away from home (β=0.02, 95% CI:0.01-0.03, p< 0.01).

Conclusion(s): Greater problematic smartphone use in mothers is associated with more frequent mobile device use in toddlers across a variety of settings. Although the β coefficients are small, the public health impact of parental smartphone use on toddler use is possibly large given the ubiquity of smartphones. Since mobile device use starts in the first few years of life, these findings underscore the need to consider interventions that support healthy smartphone use in parents, as a way to promote healthy digital media use in early childhood.