The mediating role of social skills in the effect of screen use on emotion regulation in children

This study aimed to determine the mediating role of social skills in the effect of children's screen use on emotion regulation. The study was conducted with 477 children aged 60-72 months attending private and public preschools in the Menteşe district of Muğla, Turkey, and their parents. Data collection tools included a Personal Information Form, Problematic Media Use Scale, Emotion Regulation Scale, and Early Childhood Social Skills Scale. Data obtained in the study were analyzed using the SPSS Statistics 27.0 package and SPSS PROCESS macro software. The study found that children's problematic screen use positively impacted emotional lability and negativity, while problematic screen use negatively impacted emotion regulation skills. Furthermore, the study determined that children's problematic media use negatively impacted social skills, and social skills negatively impacted children's emotion dysregulation and lability. Finally, social skills positively impacted children's emotion regulation skills. Additionally, cooperation skills partially mediated the relationship between children's problematic media use and emotion dysregulation and negativity, and self-control skills partially mediated the relationship between children's problematic media use and emotion dysregulation and negativity. Furthermore, advocacy skills partially mediated the relationship between children's problematic media use and emotion dysregulation and negativity; cooperation skills partially mediated the relationship between children's problematic media use and emotion regulation skills; self-control skills partially mediated the relationship between children's problematic media use and emotion regulation skills; and advocacy skills partially mediated the relationship between children's problematic media use and emotion regulation skills. Furthermore, participants' emotion regulation scores differed according to family income, mothers' education level, and fathers' education level. Furthermore, problematic media use scores differed according to family income and mothers' daily screen time, and social skills scores differed according to mothers' daily screen time. This study demonstrates that developing emotion regulation and social skills is critical for reducing the negative effects of screen use during early childhood. To help children interact more healthily with media content, it is recommended that media literacy programs for parents be expanded, family child interactions strengthened, and child development professionals incorporate emotion regulation-focused strategies into early intervention programs. These findings suggest that systematic support for emotional and social skills at an early age can play a protective role in preventing screen-based risks.