Prospective Association Between Parental Problematic Smartphone Use and Early Childhood Internalizing Symptoms

Abstract

Background- Problematic smartphone use is common among parents. This study examines how parental problematic smartphone use when children are 3.5 years old is prospectively associated with the development of internalizing symptoms at age 5.5.

Methods- Participants are 315 Canadian parents who reported problematic smartphone use based on a seven-item scale (e.g., I use my phone to escape when I am with my children) when their children were 3.5 years old and and child internalizing symptoms by age 5.5 using the sadness subscale from the NIH toolbox. Control variables include child baseline emotional reactivity, measured using the CBQ-Short form and parenting stress, measured using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI-4). A structural equation model was estimated to assess associations between a parental problematic smartphone use latent factor and child internalizing symptoms.

Results- Results indicated a positive association between parental problematic smartphone use at age 3.5 and child internalizing symptoms at age 5.5 (β [95% CI] = 0.23 [0.003; 0.45]; p = 0.047).

Conclusion- Our findings indicate that parental problematic smartphone use is associated with increased child internalizing symptoms. These results highlight the importance of considering parental screen media use habits when designing awareness and intervention efforts aimed at promoting healthy child development and well-being.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-9-2026

Publication Title

Child: Care, Health and Development

First Page

e70317

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