697 - Maternal mobile device use behaviors and their relationship with toddler mobile device use and toddler affinity for mobile devices.

Publication Number: 697.5871

Marko R. Babiak, University of Puget Sound, Aurora, CO, United States; Lauren Clark, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Laura K. Kaizer, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, United States; Sarah Schmiege, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States; Natasha J. Cabrera, UMD, College Park, MD, United States; Haley Ringwood, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO, United States; Estefania Miramontes Valdes, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States; Darcy Thompson, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, United States

Background: Mobile device use (e.g. smartphone, tablet) in young children is associated with adverse developmental outcomes. Evidence suggests parent mobile device use is associated with duration of mobile device use in children. However, research evaluating this relationship between parent mobile device use and child mobile device use remains particularly limited for toddlers. The prevalence of unhealthy screen use behaviors in Mexican American families warrants a focus on this population.

Objective: To evaluate relationships among maternal duration of mobile device use, maternal smartphone addiction risk, toddler duration of mobile device use, and toddler affinity for mobile devices in Mexican American families with toddlers.

Design/Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled Mexican American families with toddlers (15-26 months old) recruited from a safety net health system. Mothers completed surveys including the Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Version (10 items,α= .85) and toddler affinity to mobile devices (12 items, α= .89, example items: (CHILD) loses interest in mobile devices quickly, wants to use your phone the moment s/he sees it). Mothers also completed 7-day screen use diaries used to calculate mother and toddler average daily minutes of mobile device use. Regression modeling was used to estimate the association of maternal average daily minutes of mobile device use and maternal addiction risk with the outcomes of toddler average daily minutes of mobile device use and toddler affinity to mobile devices. Separate models were estimated for the two outcomes.

Results: Table 1 shows characteristics of the 373 mother/toddler dyads. Mean maternal smartphone addiction scores were 24.4 (SD=8.0). Toddler median daily mobile device use was 21.4 minutes (IQR:4.3, 55.7). Maternal average daily minutes of mobile device use, but not maternal smartphone addiction risk, was associated with increased toddler average daily minutes of mobile device use (Table 2: Model 1). Maternal smartphone addiction risk was positively associated with toddler affinity to mobile devices (Table 2: Model 2), whereas maternal average daily minutes of mobile device use was not associated with toddler affinity in bivariate analysis (r=-0.02, NS) and was therefore not included in the model.

Conclusion(s): Maternal mobile device use is associated with increased toddler device use, and maternal device addiction risk is associated with increased toddler affinity for mobile devices. Targeted interventions addressing both maternal use and addiction risk could promote healthy mobile device behaviors in toddlers.

Funding: Research reported in this abstract was supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01NR017605 (PI: Thompson). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Table 1: Demographic characteristics of Mexican American mother-toddler dyads recruited from a federally qualified safety net healthcare system (n=373)


Table 2: Regression models evaluating maternal behavioral predictors of toddler average daily minutes of mobile device use (Model 1) and toddler affinity to mobile devices (Model 2) in Mexican American families