Summary: A new study finds that any form of parental distraction, whether from screens or non-digital activities, has a negative impact on parent-child interaction. Digital and non-digital distractions reduce parental sensitivity and child engagement. This suggests that it’s not the screens themselves, but rather divided attention, that hinders parent-child communication.
Highlights:
- Parental distraction, whatever the source, impairs parent-child interaction.
- Digital and non-digital distractions decrease parental sensitivity and child engagement.
- Undistracted parental attention is crucial for optimal parent-child communication.
Source: Borders
The use of technology is at an unprecedented level and it is crucial to understand its impact on daily life. When it comes to parent-child interactions, scientists have coined the term “technoference,” which means technological interference. This occurs when parent-child interaction and communication is disrupted by the use of digital devices.
But is distraction from digital devices more detrimental to parent-child interaction than when parental distraction comes from different sources? Swiss researchers investigated.
“In this study, we show that when parents are distracted, the quality and quantity of parent-child interaction are impaired compared to when parents are not distracted,” said Professor Nevena Dimitrova, a researcher at the University of Applied Sciences and Western Arts. Swiss and principal investigator of the study published in Frontiers of child and adolescent psychiatry.
“It doesn’t depend on whether that distraction comes from digital or non-digital activity.”
Distraction Screening
Although the negative impact of parents being distracted by their phones when around their children is established, it is less known whether these negative effects come from the parent using a screen or from the fact that they is distracted in general.
To fill this gap, the team around Dimitrova tasked 50 parent-child pairs, in which the children were on average 22 months old, to play together for 10 minutes. The pairs of participants were divided into three groups. In the first group, there was no disturbance.
In the second group, after five minutes of play, the parent was given a questionnaire to complete on paper, while in the third group, also after five minutes, the parent was asked to complete the same questionnaire using a tablet. Parents who completed the questionnaire were asked to continue interacting with their children.
The researchers found that parents who completed the questionnaire were less sensitive to children’s communication cues and that children showed lower levels of social involvement with their parents.
Technoference, however, did not have a more negative effect on parent-child interactions than non-digital distractions. Instead, any distraction, whether caused by screens or pen and paper, has negative effects on parents, children and couples.
“We interpret this finding – which was equally surprising to us – as the possibility that screens are so ubiquitous these days that young children might become accustomed to the reality of seeing their parents using screens,” Dimitrova said.
Regardless of their findings, the researchers emphasized that parent-child interaction is optimal when parents are not distracted at all. This can be especially important for parents who struggle to bond with their children.
Put an end to the “moral panic”
In the media, we mainly talk about alarmist messages about the risks linked to the use of screens, the researchers indicated. However, research does not support the thesis that screen use by or in the presence of children is exclusively bad. For example, previous research has shown positive effects of screens on children’s psychological development.
“This study shows how important it is to rely on scientific evidence rather than public opinion regarding screen use. We find that it is not screens per se that harm the quality of parent-child interaction,” Dimitrova concluded.
“Instead, it appears to be the parent not being fully engaged in the interaction that negatively impacts parent-child communication.”
However, the researchers also pointed out that it is difficult to make definitive statements about parental screen use based on a single study. This is partly because daily parent-child interaction differs from the experimental context.
For example, the way parents use the screen when around their children cannot always be fully replicated. Studies in a naturalistic context are needed and could lead to different results, the scientists noted.
About this research news on parenting and psychology
Author: Deborah Pirchner
Source: Borders
Contact: Deborah Pirchner – Borders
Picture: Image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Free access.
“Effects of digital and non-digital parental distraction on parent-child interaction and communication” by Nevena Dimitrova et al. Borders in Child and adolescent psychiatry
Abstract
Effects of digital and non-digital parental distraction on parent-child interaction and communication
Technoference, that is, parental use of a screen in the presence of a child, is a widespread phenomenon that has negative effects on parent-child interaction and communication.
When parents use screens around their children, there is less interaction and the parents are less contingent and less responsive to the child. Additionally, children exhibit more negative behaviors, such as whining, frustration, and outbursts.
Communication is also affected: parents speak and gesture less towards their children and, as a result, children are less likely to develop their language skills.
However, it remains to be determined whether parental distraction from screen use more negatively affects parent-child interaction and communication compared to non-digital parental distraction.
Fifty-two parent-child dyads (mean child age = 22 months, range 12–36 months) first played for 5 minutes (time 1); then (Time 2), the parent was invited to complete a questionnaire on a tablet (screen condition), on a printed form (paper-pen condition) or was not interrupted (control condition).
Interactive quality was assessed at Time 1 and Time 2 using the Coding Interactive Behavior scale. Communication was assessed by coding the number of tokens and word types during Times 1 and 2; the children’s gestures were also coded.
The results revealed that when parents were distracted, either by the pen-and-paper or the on-screen questionnaire, the quality of the interaction deteriorated significantly (ps≤ 0.01) and the amount of parental communication decreased significantly (ps≤ 0.012).
Importantly, the nature of the distraction did not matter: there were no significant differences between the pen-to-paper and screen distraction conditions during Period 2 (ps≥ 0.59).
The results suggest that parental distraction is important for the quality of interaction and the quantity of communication offerings, regardless of whether parents were distracted by digital or non-digital activity.
These findings are likely related to complex factors related to young children’s experiences and habits regarding parental screen use.