Patterns of screen time parenting practices among parent-adolescent dyads who participated in a cross-sectional internet-based study

Authors: Thomson, Jessica; LANDRY, ALICIA - University Of Central Arkansas; Walls, Tameka

Submitted to: Childhood Obesity
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/18/2021
Publication Date: 3/1/2022
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/7511057
Citation: Thomson, J.L., Landry, A.S., Walls, T.I. 2022. Patterns of screen time parenting practices among parent-adolescent dyads who participated in a cross-sectional internet-based study. Childhood Obesity. 18(2):92-101. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2021.0117.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2021.0117

Interpretive Summary: In the United States, 59% of adolescents spend at least two hours/day watching television and videos and 57% spend at least one hour/day using the computer outside of school, amounts that exceed expert recommendations. Parents can influence their children’s sedentary behavior through the practices they use to reduce such behavior. However, little is known about how screen time parenting practices are used in combination to influence adolescents’ sedentary behavior. Hence, the objectives of this study were to determine patterns of screen time parenting practices and their associations with demographic, anthropometric, and sedentary behavior measures in parents and their adolescent children (12-17 years). Survey data from Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating, a cross-sectional, internet-based study, conducted in 2014 were analyzed. Screen time parenting practices included permissive, rules/limits, monitoring, modeling, accessibility, and negotiated rules. Other characteristics and measures included adolescent age and parent and adolescent sex, body weight category, and sedentary behavior. Five parent-adolescent classes were identified representing a continuum of practice use (high to low) – Complete, Disagreeing, Positive, Negative, and Indifferent. Older adolescents and female adolescents were more likely to belong to Disagreeing, Indifferent, and Negative classes than the Complete class. Adolescents with overweight/obesity were twice as likely to belong to one of the other four classes than the Complete class. The more time adolescents engaged in sedentary behavior, the more likely they were to belong to one of the other four classes as compared to the Complete class. Parents utilize distinct patterns of practices regarding screen time ranging from high use of practices, use of some practices, to low use of any practice. More positive health outcomes, lowest amounts of adolescent sedentary behavior and overweight/obesity, were observed in the higher use classes. Hence, advocating for parental use of combinations of practices regarding screen time, particularly rules/limits, monitoring, and modeling, may prove more beneficial to adolescent health behaviors than use of permissive and facilitating practices or low use of any practice.

Technical Abstract: Background: Little is known about simultaneous use of ST (ST) parenting practices in children. Study objectives were to determine patterns of ST parenting practices and associations with demographic, anthropometric, and sedentary behavior measures in parents and their adolescent children (12-17 years). Methods: Dyadic survey data from Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating, a cross-sectional, internet-based study, conducted in 2014 were analyzed using latent class analysis on six ST parenting practices – permissive, rules/limits, monitoring, modeling, accessibility, and negotiated rules. Self-report model covariates included adolescent age and parent and adolescent sex, body weight category, and sedentary behavior. Results: Based on 1200 parent-adolescent dyads, five latent classes were identified representing a continuum of practice use (high to low) – Complete Influencers (16%, reference class), Disagreeing Influencers (18%), Positive Influencers (24%), Negative Influencers (23%), and Indifferent Influencers (20%). Disagreeing, Indifferent, and Negative Influencers were 50%-81% and 45%-49% less likely to contain younger adolescent dyads and male adolescent dyads, respectively. Dyads with adolescent overweight/obesity had twice the odds of belonging to one of the other four classes. Odds of belonging to one of the other four classes were 3%-9% lower for every 1 minute/day increase in adolescent sedentary behavior. Conclusions: Parents utilize distinct patterns of ST practices ranging from use of many to no use and these patterns are differentially associated with adolescent age, sex, weight, and sedentary behavior. Advocating for parental use of combinations of practices, like rules/limits and monitoring, to decrease their adolescents’ ST may prove more beneficial than no practice use.