Summary: A new study has found that any form of parental distraction, whether from screens or non-digital activities, negatively affects parent-child interaction. Both digital and non-digital distractions reduced parental sensitivity and child engagement. This suggests that it is not the screens themselves, but rather the divided attention that hinders communication between parents and children.
Key facts:
- Parental distraction, regardless of the source, disrupts parent-child interaction.
- Both digital and non-digital distractions reduce parental sensitivity and children’s engagement.
- Undistracted parental attention is essential for optimal communication between parent and child.
Source: Border
The use of technology is at an all-time high and understanding how it affects everyday life is essential. When it comes to parent-child interactions, researchers have coined the term “technoference,” meaning technological interference. It occurs when parent-child interaction and communication is disrupted by the use of digital devices.
But is the distraction caused by digital devices more harmful to parent-child interaction than when parental distraction comes from different sources? Researchers in Switzerland investigated.
“In this study, we show that when parents are distracted, the quality and quantity of parent-child interaction is impaired compared to when parents are not distracted,” said Professor Nevena Dimitrová, a researcher at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western. Switzerland and the principal investigator of the study published in Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry.
“This was regardless of whether that distraction came from digital or non-digital activity.”
Screening distraction
Although the negative impact of parents being distracted by phones when they are around their children has been shown, less is known about whether these negative effects come from the fact that the parent is using a screen or from the fact that the parent is distracted in general.
To fill this gap, Dimitrova’s team assigned 50 parent-child pairs, in which the children were an average of 22 months old, to play together for 10 minutes. Participating pairs were divided into three groups. There was no disruption in the first group.
In the second group, after five minutes of play, the parent was given a questionnaire to fill out on paper, while in the third group, also after five minutes, the parent was instructed to complete the same questionnaire using a tablet. Parents who completed the questionnaire were instructed to continue interacting with their children.
The researchers found that parents who completed the questionnaire were less sensitive to the children’s communication signals and that the children showed lower levels of social engagement with their parents.
However, technoference did not affect parent-child interactions more negatively than non-digital distractions. Instead, all distractions, whether caused by screens or pencil and paper, had negative effects on parents, children and couples.
“We interpret this finding – which was surprising to us as well – as the possibility that screens are so ubiquitous these days that young children can become accustomed to the reality of their parents using screens,” said Dimitrová.
Regardless of their findings, the researchers emphasized that parent-child interaction is best when parents are not distracted at all. This can be especially important for parents who find it difficult to bond with their children.
Curbing “moral panic”
Media coverage is mostly alarmist about the risks of screen use, the researchers said. However, research does not support the notion that screen use by or in the presence of children is exclusively bad. In previous research, for example, the positive effects of screens on a child’s psychological development have been proven.
“This study shows how important it is to rely on scientific evidence rather than public opinion about screen use. We see that it is not the screens themselves that are harmful to the quality of interaction between parents and children,” concluded Dimitrová.
“Instead, the fact that the parent is not fully engaged in the interaction appears to negatively affect parent-child communication.”
However, the researchers also pointed out that it is difficult to make a definitive statement about parental screen use based on just one study. In part, this is because everyday parent-child interactions differ from experimental settings.
For example, the ways in which parents use the screen when in the presence of their children cannot always be fully imitated. The researchers noted that studies in a naturalistic context are needed and may lead to different results.
About these parenting and psychology research reports
Author: Deborah Pirchner
Source: Border
Contact: Deborah Pirchner – Boundaries
Picture: Image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“The Impact of Digital and Non-Digital Parental Distractions on Parent-Child Interaction and Communication” by Nevena Dimitrova et al. Boundary in Child and adolescent psychiatry
Abstract
The Effects of Digital and Non-Digital Parental Distractions on Parent-Child Interaction and Communication
Technoference, specifically the use of a parent’s 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 are fewer interactions and parents are less dependent and 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 to their children, and children are less likely to develop their language skills.
However, it remains unclear whether parental distraction caused by screen use affects parent-child interaction and communication more negatively compared to non-digital parental distraction.
Fifty-two parent–child dyads (mean child age = 22 months, range 12–36 months) first played for 5 min (Time 1); then (Time 2) the parent was asked to complete the questionnaire on a tablet (screen condition), on a printed form (pen-and-paper condition), or 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 word tokens and types during Time 1 and Time 2; children’s gestures were also coded.
The results showed that when parents were distracted – either with a paper pen or a questionnaire on the screen – the quality of the interaction significantly deteriorated (Mrwith≤ 0.01) and the amount of parental communication decreased significantly (Mrwith≤ 0.012).
Importantly, the nature of the distraction did not matter: there were no significant differences between the paper and screen distraction conditions at Time 2 (Mrwith≥ 0.59).
Findings suggest that parental distraction is important for interaction quality and quantity of communicative offerings, regardless of whether parents were distracted by a digital or non-digital activity.
These findings likely relate to complex factors related to young children’s parental screen experiences and habits.