Home-rearing environment and preschoolers' academic and behavioral competence: The indirect role of children's screen time

Early childhood development significantly impacts future academic and behavioral competence. The home-rearing environment (HRE), encompassing parental involvement, resources, and interactions, plays a crucial role in this development. However, with the increasing prevalence of screen time in children's lives, its influence on the HRE-child development relationship needs exploration. This study, conducted across three provinces in China with 825 child-parent dyads, aims to examine the direct relationship between HRE and children's outcomes (language/cognitive skills, self-regulation, self-efficacy, problem behaviors) and determine if screen time mediates this relationship. The study draws upon the Bioecological theory and childcare environment framework to understand the complex interplay between HRE, screen time, and child development. It hypothesizes that a high-quality HRE will positively predict child outcomes and that screen time will indirectly mediate this relationship, with less screen time associated with better outcomes in children from better HREs.

Existing research extensively demonstrates the strong link between HRE quality and positive child development. High parental involvement, positive parent-child interactions, and a supportive marital relationship contribute to better academic achievement, social skills, and emotional well-being. Conversely, negative family dynamics are detrimental to child development. The role of screen time is increasingly recognized, with excessive screen use linked to behavioral problems, poorer cognitive function, and reduced self-efficacy. While some studies have examined HRE and screen time separately, their combined impact on child development remains under-investigated, particularly concerning the mediating role of screen time within the context of the HRE. This study seeks to fill this gap in the literature, specifically focusing on the Chinese context where such research is limited.

This study employed a stratified random sampling method across three regions in China representing diverse socioeconomic levels, selecting 825 child-parent dyads from 15 preschools. Data collection involved online questionnaires administered through the Wenjuan Xing platform. The Index of Child Care Environment (ICCE) assessed HRE, considering human stimulation, social stimulation, avoidance of restriction, and social support. Children's screen time was measured using global estimates of media usage, averaging parent-reported daily screen hours across various devices. Children's language and cognitive abilities were assessed using the Chinese Version of the Early Development Instrument (CEDI), self-efficacy with the Chinese version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), self-regulation with the Children's Self-regulation Questionnaire (CFQ), and problem behaviors using the Chinese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Hierarchical multiple regression and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data, controlling for child age, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES). Bootstrap confidence intervals were calculated to assess indirect effects of screen time.

The study found a significant positive direct relationship between HRE and preschoolers' language/cognitive skills, self-efficacy, and self-regulation. A significant negative direct relationship was found between HRE and problem behaviors. Importantly, screen time played a significant indirect mediating role in the HRE-child outcome relationship for language/cognitive skills, self-efficacy, and self-regulation. Specifically, higher HRE quality was associated with less screen time, which in turn, predicted better outcomes in these areas. However, screen time did not significantly mediate the relationship between HRE and problem behaviors. The regression analysis (Table 3) shows the significant Beta coefficients for the direct effect of HRE on each outcome variable, and the SEM (Figure 1 and Table 4) details the significant indirect effects through screen time for cognitive skills, self-efficacy, and self-regulation, but not problem behavior. The bootstrap confidence intervals confirmed the significance of these indirect effects (Table 4).

The findings strongly support the significance of HRE in fostering preschoolers' academic and behavioral competence, aligning with existing literature and theoretical frameworks. The study's contribution lies in highlighting the mediating role of screen time, showing that a supportive HRE leads to reduced screen time, consequently benefiting children's cognitive and self-regulatory skills. The lack of mediation for problem behavior suggests that other factors beyond screen time and HRE might be influential, such as peer influence or school environment. The relatively small effect sizes of the indirect effects suggest other mechanisms beyond screen time might explain the HRE's influence on development. This suggests the importance of direct, face-to-face parent-child interaction in supporting development.

This study emphasizes the vital role of HRE in children's development and the indirect influence of screen time. Interventions should focus on enriching home environments and providing alternatives to excessive screen use. Future research should explore longitudinal effects, other mediating factors influencing problem behavior, and cultural variations in the HRE-screen time-child development interplay.

The study's cross-sectional design limits causal inferences. Parent-reported data may introduce response bias. The study did not differentiate between educational and entertainment screen time or types of electronic devices. The findings might not be generalizable beyond the Chinese cultural context.