Digital Parenting Education: Impact on Mothers' Social Media Use and Children's Tech Attitudes

NCT07008651 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: ArtvinÇoruhU-SHMYO-ET-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 152
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The aim of the study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of mothers regarding social media addiction and their children's technology use. The research is a randomized controlled trial. The universe of the research consists of all family health center affiliated with the Artvin Provincial Health Directorate, and the sample consists of mothers with healthy preschool children (3-6 years old) registered in family health center No. 1, determined by drawing lots. The sample size was determined as 152 participants, with 76 assigned to the experimental group and 76 to the control group. The digital parenting training to be given to mothers consists of 8 sessions of 20 minutes each. The digital parenting training content, presentation and brochure were prepared according to the Ministry of Family and Social Services' "Parental Guide for Protecting Children from Digital Risks", the Ministry of Health's "Technology Addiction Parental Guide" and the Presidency's Directorate of Communications' "Social Media Usage Guide". Opinions of 10 experts were received for the prepared training presentation and brochure. As a result of the evaluation, descriptive statistics; number (N) and percentage (%) for variables between groups, mean, standard deviation (SD), minimum (min), maximum (max) values for numerical data and significance level will be stated as p\<0.05.

Conditions

Parenting; Social Media Addiction; Internet Addiction

Keywords

digital parent; mother; social media; technology

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Parental Knowledge Change on Technology Use Post-Intervention

  The Parental Knowledge Scale on Technology Use is a 10-item, unidimensional instrument designed to quantitatively assess parents' cognitive understanding of children's technology use. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree). The total score ranges from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater knowledge and awareness. Since the scale measures a single construct, total scores are used for pre- and post-intervention comparisons. An increase in score post-intervention is interpreted as improved parental knowledge. The scale has demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties, including internal consistency and construct validity, and is suitable for use in educational research on digital parenting.

  12 weeks

• Parental Attitude Change on Technology Use Post-Intervention

  The Parental Attitude Scale on Technology Use is a 19-item, multidimensional instrument designed to assess parental perspectives regarding children's technology use. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree) across two sub-dimensions: behavioral (parental control, rules, supervision) and relational (communication and relational strategies). Scores are calculated separately for each sub-dimension; computing a total score is methodologically inappropriate. Scores range from 0 to 76 (maximum 38 per dimension). Higher subscale scores reflect more conscious, structured parental attitudes. Pre- and post-intervention scores are compared to evaluate changes in parental behavior and approach. The scale's reliability and factorial validity have been confirmed in prior research.

  12 weeks

• Social Media Addiction Level Change Post-Intervention

  The Social Media Addiction Scale is a 20-item tool used to measure individuals' perceived social media addiction. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale and divided into two sub-dimensions: virtual tolerance (self-control and usage tolerance) and virtual communication (social interactions via platforms). Total scores range from 20 to 100, with higher scores reflecting greater perceived dependence and addictive tendencies. While not diagnostic, the scale offers insight into social media-related behaviors. It is used for pre- and post-intervention comparisons to assess the impact of digital parenting education. The scale's psychometric strength, including reliability and construct validity, is well established.

  12 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Mothers taking digital parenting training

EXPERIMENTAL

Arm Description: Pre-test data will be collected face-to-face between March and May 2025 according to the randomization list among the mothers who meet the inclusion criteria. Consent will be obtained from the mothers who agree to participate in the study and the Questionnaire, the Parental Knowledge and Attitude Scale in Technology Use, and the Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Form will be applied.After the completion of the training process of the experimental group and the collection of the post-test data, a post-test will be administered to the control group. After the pre-test application of the experimental group, it is planned to implement face-to-face digital parenting training in eight sessions, once a week. The training will be carried out in two sessions of 20 minutes each week. In order for the quality of the training to be permanent and effective, the necessary tips will be given to mothers in brochures to be distributed before the training.

Behavioral: Digital parenting education

Control group mothers

NO INTERVENTION

Arm Description: Pre-test data will be collected face-to-face between March and May 2025 from mothers who meet the inclusion criteria according to the randomization list. Consent will be obtained from mothers who agree to participate in the study and the Questionnaire, Parental Knowledge and Attitude Scale on Technology Use and Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Form will be applied. A post-test will be applied to mothers in the control group in October and post-test data will be collected.

Interventions

Digital parenting education BEHAVIORAL

Description: The digital parenting training to be given to mothers consists of 8 sessions of 20 minutes each. In the first week of the training process, a meeting will be held with the mothers in the experimental group and a brief introduction will be made to the subject. In the second week, information will be provided on the following topics: "Definition and Roles of Digital Parenting", "How Does the Use of Information Technologies Affect the Parent-Child Relationship?", "How Does the Use of Information Technologies Affect Children's Behavior?", "How Should Social Media Be Used Properly?", "What are the Opportunities and Risks of Information Technologies for Parents and Children?", and "What Should Parents Pay Attention to in the Use of Information Technologies?" in the sixth week. In the eighth week, "Question and Answer/Closing" will be conducted to collect post-test data and end the training session.

Mothers taking digital parenting training

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Having at least a primary school degree
• Being a mother with a 3-6 year old child
• Using at least one of the digital devices such as a smart phone/tablet/computer
• Having a social media account (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp etc.)

You may not qualify if:

• Diagnosis of acute/chronic disease by the child or mother during the data collection period
• Wanting to leave the study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Artvin Coruh University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Family Health Center No. 1 affiliated to Artvin Provincial Health Directorate

Artvin, Centre, 08100, Turkey (Türkiye)

RECRUITING

Related Publications (7)

• Beal JA. Screen Time and Toddlers: New Evidence on Potentially Negative Effects. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2020 Jul/Aug;45(4):241. doi: 10.1097/NMC.0000000000000632. No abstract available.

  PMID: 32604184 BACKGROUND

• Hutton JS, Dudley J, Horowitz-Kraus T, DeWitt T, Holland SK. Associations Between Screen-Based Media Use and Brain White Matter Integrity in Preschool-Aged Children. JAMA Pediatr. 2020 Jan 1;174(1):e193869. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3869. Epub 2020 Jan 6.

  PMID: 31682712 BACKGROUND

• Kimball HG, Fernandez F, Moskowitz KA, Kang M, Alexander LM, Conway KP, Merikangas KR, Salum GA, Milham MP. Parent-Perceived Benefits and Harms Associated With Internet Use by Adolescent Offspring. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Oct 2;6(10):e2339851. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.39851.

  PMID: 37883086 BACKGROUND

• Madigan S, Browne D, Racine N, Mori C, Tough S. Association Between Screen Time and Children's Performance on a Developmental Screening Test. JAMA Pediatr. 2019 Mar 1;173(3):244-250. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5056.

  PMID: 30688984 BACKGROUND

• Eilert N, Wogan R, Leen A, Richards D. Internet-Delivered Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Children and Young People: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JMIR Pediatr Parent. 2022 May 12;5(2):e33551. doi: 10.2196/33551.

  PMID: 35551071 BACKGROUND

• Ponti M. Screen time and preschool children: Promoting health and development in a digital world. Paediatr Child Health. 2023 May 16;28(3):184-202. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxac125. eCollection 2023 Jun.

  PMID: 37205134 RESULT

• Bozzola E, Spina G, Agostiniani R, Barni S, Russo R, Scarpato E, Di Mauro A, Di Stefano AV, Caruso C, Corsello G, Staiano A. The Use of Social Media in Children and Adolescents: Scoping Review on the Potential Risks. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 12;19(16):9960. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19169960.

  PMID: 36011593 RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Internet Addiction Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Technology Addiction; Behavior, Addictive; Compulsive Behavior; Impulsive Behavior; Behavior

Study Officials

• Fatma GUDUCU TUFEKCI, Professor

  Ataturk University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

ELİF TİRYAKİ, PhD Student

CONTACT

+90 506 315 72 32; elfbodur@artvin.edu.tr

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: INSTRUCTOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 1, 2025
• First Posted: June 6, 2025
• Study Start: March 27, 2025
• Primary Completion: September 18, 2025
• Study Completion: December 19, 2025
• Last Updated: June 6, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)