Parents' digital distraction linked to children's anxiety

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-08-17 01:00

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Preteens who feel their parents are distracted by technology appear to have more mental health difficulties. A Canadian study surveyed over 1300 children, and found that those with higher levels of anxiety at 9-10 years were more likely to report their parents were distracted by technology at 10-11 years, while those at 9-10 years who felt their parents spent too much time on digital devices reported higher hyperactivity and inattention later on. The study authors point out that the links are complex - for instance, parents seeing their emerging adolescents struggling with anxiety may be more likely to use technology to escape from difficult interactions or to reach out digitally for support, and children with anxiety may be more sensitive to their parents being distracted than children with lower levels of anxiety. The authors say that parental 'technoference' needs to be addressed as part of emerging adolescents' wellbeing.

Media release

From: JAMA

In a cohort study of 1,300 emerging adolescents ages 9 to 11 across three assessments, higher levels of anxiety symptoms were associated with higher levels of perceived parental technoference later in development. Higher levels of perceived parental technoference were associated with higher levels of inattention and hyperactivity symptoms later in development. The findings of this study speak to the need to discuss digital technology use and mental health with parents and emerging adolescents as a part of routine care.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Université de Montréal, Canada

Funder: The All Our Families study was supported by Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Interdisciplinary Team grant 200700595 and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. Funding for the data collection for the COVID-19 pandemic waves was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Children and Screens Institute of Digital Media and Child Development COVID-19 grant and an Alberta Innovates grant. This study was also supported by Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship 489719 (Dr Deneault).

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