A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes

Nghi Hoang Bui; Marilyn Cruickshank; John McAloon; Jane Maguire

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17

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A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes

Nghi Hoang Bui, Marilyn Cruickshank, John McAloon, Jane Maguire

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 3)

Received: 5 May 2022 Accepted: 25 May 2022 Published: 31 May 2022

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Abstract

Children have been thrust into a “portable age” where handheld devices, such as smartphones, tablets or iPads, have become a part of the daily norm. Parental factors and early life experiences, such as engaging in screen devices, have been widely established as major influences on children’s outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the mental health of parents, parental and child screen time (ST), and child outcomes. A longitudinal study of mothers and fathers (N = 214) were recruited at two time points (T1, April 2019-February 2020; T2, September 2020-February 2021). Due to loss to follow-up, the final sample consisted of 101 participants (97 mothers, 4 fathers) with a mean age of 37.55 (SD = 4.14). Children of participants had a mean age of T1 = 5.25 (SD = .44) and T2=6.51 (SD = .52). Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires regarding their own mental health, their child’s and their own engagement with handheld devices, as well as their child’s internalising and externalising behaviour. The study demonstrated that parental anxiety significantly predicted child internalising symptoms, whereas both parental anxiety and depression significantly predicted child externalising symptoms, across time. These findings suggest that after controlling for ST, parental mental health is predictive of temporal child outcomes. Future studies should consider early intervention programs that target parents with mental health concerns, examining children who engage in excessive ST, and consider context and content of ST amongst these trends.

Published in	Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17
Page(s)	147-156
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Parental Mental Health, Screen Time, Handheld Devices, Internalising Problems, Externalising Problems, Handheld Devices, Children’s Outcomes

References

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APA Style

Nghi Hoang Bui, Marilyn Cruickshank, John McAloon, Jane Maguire. (2022). A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes. Humanities and Social Sciences, 10(3), 147-156. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17

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ACS Style

Nghi Hoang Bui; Marilyn Cruickshank; John McAloon; Jane Maguire. A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2022, 10(3), 147-156. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17

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AMA Style

Nghi Hoang Bui, Marilyn Cruickshank, John McAloon, Jane Maguire. A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes. Humanit Soc Sci. 2022;10(3):147-156. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17,
  author = {Nghi Hoang Bui and Marilyn Cruickshank and John McAloon and Jane Maguire},
  title = {A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {10},
  number = {3},
  pages = {147-156},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20221003.17},
  abstract = {Children have been thrust into a “portable age” where handheld devices, such as smartphones, tablets or iPads, have become a part of the daily norm. Parental factors and early life experiences, such as engaging in screen devices, have been widely established as major influences on children’s outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the mental health of parents, parental and child screen time (ST), and child outcomes. A longitudinal study of mothers and fathers (N = 214) were recruited at two time points (T1, April 2019-February 2020; T2, September 2020-February 2021). Due to loss to follow-up, the final sample consisted of 101 participants (97 mothers, 4 fathers) with a mean age of 37.55 (SD = 4.14). Children of participants had a mean age of T1 = 5.25 (SD = .44) and T2=6.51 (SD = .52). Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires regarding their own mental health, their child’s and their own engagement with handheld devices, as well as their child’s internalising and externalising behaviour. The study demonstrated that parental anxiety significantly predicted child internalising symptoms, whereas both parental anxiety and depression significantly predicted child externalising symptoms, across time. These findings suggest that after controlling for ST, parental mental health is predictive of temporal child outcomes. Future studies should consider early intervention programs that target parents with mental health concerns, examining children who engage in excessive ST, and consider context and content of ST amongst these trends.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes
AU  - Nghi Hoang Bui
AU  - Marilyn Cruickshank
AU  - John McAloon
AU  - Jane Maguire
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PY  - 2022
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DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 147
EP  - 156
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17
AB  - Children have been thrust into a “portable age” where handheld devices, such as smartphones, tablets or iPads, have become a part of the daily norm. Parental factors and early life experiences, such as engaging in screen devices, have been widely established as major influences on children’s outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the mental health of parents, parental and child screen time (ST), and child outcomes. A longitudinal study of mothers and fathers (N = 214) were recruited at two time points (T1, April 2019-February 2020; T2, September 2020-February 2021). Due to loss to follow-up, the final sample consisted of 101 participants (97 mothers, 4 fathers) with a mean age of 37.55 (SD = 4.14). Children of participants had a mean age of T1 = 5.25 (SD = .44) and T2=6.51 (SD = .52). Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires regarding their own mental health, their child’s and their own engagement with handheld devices, as well as their child’s internalising and externalising behaviour. The study demonstrated that parental anxiety significantly predicted child internalising symptoms, whereas both parental anxiety and depression significantly predicted child externalising symptoms, across time. These findings suggest that after controlling for ST, parental mental health is predictive of temporal child outcomes. Future studies should consider early intervention programs that target parents with mental health concerns, examining children who engage in excessive ST, and consider context and content of ST amongst these trends.
VL  - 10
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Author Information

Nghi Hoang Bui

Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Marilyn Cruickshank

Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
John McAloon

Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Jane Maguire

Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia

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Nghi Hoang Bui, Marilyn Cruickshank, John McAloon, Jane Maguire. (2022). A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes. Humanities and Social Sciences, 10(3), 147-156. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17

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ACS Style

Nghi Hoang Bui; Marilyn Cruickshank; John McAloon; Jane Maguire. A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2022, 10(3), 147-156. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17

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AMA Style

Nghi Hoang Bui, Marilyn Cruickshank, John McAloon, Jane Maguire. A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes. Humanit Soc Sci. 2022;10(3):147-156. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17,
  author = {Nghi Hoang Bui and Marilyn Cruickshank and John McAloon and Jane Maguire},
  title = {A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {10},
  number = {3},
  pages = {147-156},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20221003.17},
  abstract = {Children have been thrust into a “portable age” where handheld devices, such as smartphones, tablets or iPads, have become a part of the daily norm. Parental factors and early life experiences, such as engaging in screen devices, have been widely established as major influences on children’s outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the mental health of parents, parental and child screen time (ST), and child outcomes. A longitudinal study of mothers and fathers (N = 214) were recruited at two time points (T1, April 2019-February 2020; T2, September 2020-February 2021). Due to loss to follow-up, the final sample consisted of 101 participants (97 mothers, 4 fathers) with a mean age of 37.55 (SD = 4.14). Children of participants had a mean age of T1 = 5.25 (SD = .44) and T2=6.51 (SD = .52). Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires regarding their own mental health, their child’s and their own engagement with handheld devices, as well as their child’s internalising and externalising behaviour. The study demonstrated that parental anxiety significantly predicted child internalising symptoms, whereas both parental anxiety and depression significantly predicted child externalising symptoms, across time. These findings suggest that after controlling for ST, parental mental health is predictive of temporal child outcomes. Future studies should consider early intervention programs that target parents with mental health concerns, examining children who engage in excessive ST, and consider context and content of ST amongst these trends.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Mental Health and Handheld Devices on Child Outcomes
AU  - Nghi Hoang Bui
AU  - Marilyn Cruickshank
AU  - John McAloon
AU  - Jane Maguire
Y1  - 2022/05/31
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 147
EP  - 156
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221003.17
AB  - Children have been thrust into a “portable age” where handheld devices, such as smartphones, tablets or iPads, have become a part of the daily norm. Parental factors and early life experiences, such as engaging in screen devices, have been widely established as major influences on children’s outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the mental health of parents, parental and child screen time (ST), and child outcomes. A longitudinal study of mothers and fathers (N = 214) were recruited at two time points (T1, April 2019-February 2020; T2, September 2020-February 2021). Due to loss to follow-up, the final sample consisted of 101 participants (97 mothers, 4 fathers) with a mean age of 37.55 (SD = 4.14). Children of participants had a mean age of T1 = 5.25 (SD = .44) and T2=6.51 (SD = .52). Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires regarding their own mental health, their child’s and their own engagement with handheld devices, as well as their child’s internalising and externalising behaviour. The study demonstrated that parental anxiety significantly predicted child internalising symptoms, whereas both parental anxiety and depression significantly predicted child externalising symptoms, across time. These findings suggest that after controlling for ST, parental mental health is predictive of temporal child outcomes. Future studies should consider early intervention programs that target parents with mental health concerns, examining children who engage in excessive ST, and consider context and content of ST amongst these trends.
VL  - 10
IS  - 3
ER  -

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