Problematic media use in children and factors affecting it

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to determine problematic media use and factors affecting it in children aged 4-11 years. The sample of the study consisted of 400 parents who applied to the paediatric clinics of two hospitals in Şanlıurfa province. Data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Questionnaire, Problematic Media Use Scale-Short Form, Strengths-Difficulties Questionnaire and Sleep Habits in Children Questionnaire. The data were analysed using MANOVA and Regression analysis. Of the parents included in the study, 88.5 % were mothers and 35.5 % were in the age group 30-35 years. 59.3 % of the children were male, 41.8 % were in the age group 4-7 years and 58.3 % were in the age group 7-11 years. The mean score from the Problematic Media Use Scale was 2.7 ± 1.03, the mean score from the Strengths-Difficulties Questionnaire was 17.0 ± 4.7 and the mean score from the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire was 46.9 ± 7.7. The average daily media use time of children was 2.9 ± 1.4 hours. Forty-five per cent of parents reported using media to relieve the child's restlessness and 44 per cent reported using media for gaming purposes. A statistically significant difference was found between children's gender, report card score, response to the media tool and problem media use score. As the sleep problem and difficulty score increased, so did the problematic media use score. It is recommended to provide training to parents on the effects of problematic media use in children and to carry out intervention studies.