Parenting in the digital age: Examining the relationships between artificial intelligence attitudes, digital parenting competencies and language development support

The aim of this thesis is to examine the effects of parents of middle school students' digital parenting skills and attitudes towards artificial intelligence on the development of their children's language skills. In line with this purpose, the study aims to determine both parents' digital parenting self-efficacy and their attitudes towards artificial intelligence technology and to explain the effects of these factors on the development of children's language skills. The study was created by using correlational research and causal-comparative research models, which are subtypes of the relational screening model from quantitative research designs. Data were collected from a sample of 438 parents of students attending 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades across Turkey, and 416 valid data were analyzed. In the data collection process, the Demographic Information Form was used to determine the personal characteristics of the participants, the Digital Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale to determine the level of parents' digital skills, the Attitude Towards Artificial Intelligence Scale to understand their attitudes towards artificial intelligence and the Parental Support Scale in Language Skills. Reliability and validity tests of these scales were conducted and it was found that all of the scales had a high reliability level. The data were collected via Google Form and analyzed using the SPPS 26 program. In addition, the Pearson correlation method was used to examine the relationships between scale scores. The ANOVA method was used for variables with more than two categories. As a result of the findings, it was found that the majority of the participants were female and between the ages of 30-50. It was found that there was a weak positive significant relationship between the participants' digital parenting self-efficacy and their attitudes towards artificial intelligence, and a moderate positive significant relationship between digital parenting self-efficacy and parental support in the development of language skills. On the other hand, it was found that there was no significant relationship between parents' attitudes towards artificial intelligence technology and parental support in the development of language skills. In line with the results of multiple regression analysis, digital parenting self-efficacy skills stood out as a significant factor in supporting the development of children's language skills; It was found that the attitude towards artificial intelligence technology did not have a significant effect in this direction. In the analyzes made in terms of demographic variables; It was revealed that male participants had more positive attitudes towards artificial intelligence than female participants, and that parents with higher levels of education had higher attitudes towards artificial intelligence and higher levels of support for the development of language skills. In addition, it was determined that parents who frequently use artificial intelligence applications in their daily lives have higher self-efficacy in terms of their digital skills. The findings of the study showed that developing parents' digital competencies makes a positive contribution to the development of children's language skills, and that a positive attitude towards artificial intelligence technology alone is not sufficient. In this respect, it is recommended that educational programs be planned to develop parents' digital self-efficacy skills, that artificial intelligence technology be encouraged to be used specifically for language skills, and that digital parenting activities be supported. Keywords: Digital Parenting, digital competence, artificial intelligence, language skills