Browsing by Author "Altundal, Merve Nur"

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Navigating the Digital Age: Children's Self-Regulatory Skills and Technoference in Parent-Child Interactions
(Wiley, 2025) Yildiz, Ezgi; Kessafoglu, Dilara; Altundal, Merve Nur; Akel, Gizem; Uzundag, Berna A.
ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the pathways connecting child effortful control with technoference while considering the roles of parenting stress and mothers' problematic smartphone use, characterized by an inability to regulate compulsive smartphone use. BackgroundInterruptions caused by technology use, commonly referred to as technoference, have significant implications for child development and parent-child interactions. Despite previous studies indicating a link between technoference and child effortful control, the directionality of this relationship remains ambiguous. MethodA total of 199 mothers with children aged 3 to 7 years living in T & uuml;rkiye participated in an online survey, providing data on the frequency of technoference in parent-child interactions, parenting stress, parental problematic smartphone use, and their children's effortful control. ResultsA significant mediation model, F(6, 187) = 10.73, R-2 = .26, p < .001, indicated that parents of children with lower effortful control reported heightened levels of parenting stress, subsequently resulting in increased problematic smartphone use and a greater incidence of technoference in parent-child interactions (standardized indirect effect coefficient = -.04, SE = .02, 95% bias-corrected and accelerated confidence interval [-.13, -.08]). ConclusionOverall, increased parenting stress related to children's poorer effortful control may drive parents to seek solace in smartphone use, resulting in more interruptions in parent-child interactions. ImplicationsBy identifying a pathway from children's effortful control skills to technoference in parent-child interactions, the study emphasizes the significance of recognizing the role of mobile devices in contemporary family life.
Citation - WoS: 3
Citation - Scopus: 4
Relations Among Self-Reported Maternal Stress, Smartphone Use, and Mother-Child Interactions
(Springer, 2022) Arslan Uzundağ, Berna; Oranc, Cansu; Kessafoglu, Dilara; Altundal, Merve Nur
A growing body of research indicates that parents' smartphone use is associated with interruptions in parent-child interactions and lower levels of parental responsiveness, which may adversely affect children's cognitive and socioemotional development. Studies suggest that parent-child interactions are more frequently interrupted by the use of screen-based devices if parents experience more stress specifically resulting from the demands of parenting, yet there are unexamined questions. Is parents' general daily stress related to technology-based interruptions in parent-child interactions? If so, does parents' use of mobile technology mediate this relationship? In this first study testing the mediating role of parental use of mobile phones between parental stress and technology-based interruptions in parent-child interactions, we collected data from 604 mothers of children younger than age six with an online survey. Results showed that controlling for child age, family income, mothers' employment status, household size, and maternal and paternal education, more stressed mothers reported using their mobile phones more problematically (e.g., not being able to resist checking messages), which was linked to more frequent perceived interruptions in the interactions with their children. Our results suggest that using mobile phones may serve as an outlet for stressed parents and is related to disruptions in the flow of parent-child interactions.
Citation - WoS: 2
Citation - Scopus: 3
Screen Media Exposure in Early Childhood and Its Relation To Children's Self-Regulation
(Wiley-Hindawi, 2022) Uzundag, Berna A.; Arslan Uzundağ, Berna; Altundal, Merve Nur; Kessafoglu, Dilara
Self-regulation, the ability to control thoughts, emotions, and behavior for goal-directed activities, shows rapid development in infancy, toddlerhood, and preschool periods. Early self-regulatory skills predict later academic achievement and socioemotional adjustment. An increasing number of studies suggest that screen media use may have negative effects on children's developing self-regulatory skills. In this systematic review, we summarized and integrated the findings of the studies investigating the relationship between young children's screen media use and their self-regulation. We searched the ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science databases and identified 39 relevant articles with 45 studies. We found that screen time in infancy is negatively associated with self-regulation, but findings were more inconsistent for later ages suggesting that screen time does not adequately capture the extent of children's screen media use. The findings further indicated that background TV is negatively related to children's self-regulation, and watching fantastical content seems to have immediate negative effects on children's self-regulatory skills. We suggest that future studies should take the content and context of children's screen media use into account and also focus on parent- and home-related factors such as parental behaviors that foster the development of self-regulatory skills.