Table 1 Measures used to assess mediators in the home environment setting
Measures | Survey Items in the Parental Questionnaire | Scale and Range | Descriptives (N) |
|---|---|---|---|
Access to screens at homea | Does your child have access to the following equipment at home?: television, DVD, video, tablet, smartphone, and computer. | Screen availability score was formed by summing all the equipment that the child had access to in the household. | Mean = 5 devices, SD = 1 device (N = 827) |
Descriptive norm for children’s screen time | I think a suitable amount of daily screen time for children aged 3–6 years is a maximum of ____. | Open-ended answers in hours and minutes were transformed to minutes and treated as continuous in analyses. | Mean = 88 min, SD = 36 min |
Satisfaction of children’s screen time | I am pleased with my child’s screen time. | The answer options ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). | Mean = 4.0, SD = 1.0 (N = 795) |
Rules for limiting children’s screen time | Do you have limits for how much time your child can spend a) watching television and b) using other electronic devices? | The three answer options were “yes,” “no,” and “don’t have the equipment.” This question was recoded so that “don’t have the equipment” answers [for the television N = 20 (2.5%) and for other equipment N = 15 (2%)] were set as missing values. | Yes (0) = 74% (N = 565), No (1) = 26% (N = 197) |
Parental screen time in front of children | About how many hours per day do YOU use electronic devices during leisure time when your child is around? a) during weekdays and b) during weekends | Answer options (per day): 1 = none, 2 = less than 30 min, 3 = 30 min–1 h, 4 = 1–2 h, 5 = 3–4 h, 6 = 5 h or more. The items were recoded so that 1 = less than 30 min, 2 = 30–60 min, 3 = more than 60 min, and they were combined into one variable. This sum variable was recoded into three categories: 1 = less than 30 min, 2 = 30–60 min, 3 = more than 60 min. | Less than 30 min (1) = 33% 30–60 min (2) = 40% More than 60 min (3) = 27% (N = 796) |
Parental importance for limiting children’s screen time (two items)b | It is important for me to limit my child’s screen time; I make sure that there are other activities available for my child to do instead of using electronic devices. | The answer options ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The statements were combined and divided by two. | Cronbach alpha = 0.30 Mean = 4.4; SD = 0.60 |
Parental attitude toward societal pressures for screen time (three items)b | There is pressure from society to purchase and use different electronic devices; sports as a hobby and the related costs (e.g., equipment, materials, subscription fees) are too expensive; it is important for my child to learn how to use electronic devices because I am not very good at using them myself. | The answer options ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The statements were combined and divided by three. | Cronbach alpha = 0.399 Mean = 2.8; SD = 0.80 |
Parental self-efficacy for limiting children’s screen time (three items)b | I find it difficult to limit my child’s screen time if he/she does not want it limited and is nagging; I find it difficult to restrain myself from using electronic devices when my child is around; I am concerned about my child’s use of electronic devices. | The answer options ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The statements were combined and divided by three. | Cronbach alpha = 0.462 Mean = 1.9, SD = 0.74 |