ERIC Number: EJ1208014
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2289-3156
EISSN: N/A
Exploratory Analysis of Pilot Data: Trends of Gadget Use and Psychosocial Adjustment in Pre-Schoolers
Khiu, Alexander L.; Hamzah, Hazalizah
International Journal of Early Childhood Education and Care, v7 p14-23 2018
Current mobile media presence in the lives of young children are at an all-time high prompting the need for studies to examine this phenomenon. The current study aims to describe the trends of gadget use and to explore the relationship between gadget use duration and psychosocial adjustment variables among Malaysian pre-schoolers. The respondents of the current study were 27 parents of pre-schoolers and a majority of the sample were Malays (96.3%). Mean age of parents in this study for mothers (M=35.58, SD=4.45) and fathers (M=36.42, SD=4.58). This study employed the gadget use survey and the Malay version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). It was found that the most commonly available and used device was smartphones and that children mainly used mobile devices for leisure purposes such as watching videos and playing games. An alarming number of children, more than 40%, did not adhere to AAP recommendation of less than 2 hours of media usage daily. A key finding was that the functional relationship between psychosocial adjustment variables and duration of use is curvilinear in nature. However, with a small sample size, caution must be applied, as the findings might not be transferrable to the population.
Descriptors: Preschool Children, Social Adjustment, Handheld Devices, Foreign Countries, Parents, Behavior Problems, Child Behavior, Screening Tests, Questionnaires, Mass Media Use, Computer Use, Influence of Technology
National Child Development Research Centre. Sultan Idris Education University, 35900 Tanjong Malim, Perak. e-mail: ncdrc@upsi.edu.my; Web site: https://ejournal.upsi.edu.my/journal/IJECEC
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Malaysia
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A