Parental technoference and preschoolers’ emotional and behavioral problems: the serial mediation of emotion regulation and self regulation

Introduction The present study explores how technoference in parent -child interactions is linked to emotional and behavioral problems in preschool aged children and examines whether emotion regulation and self-regulation function as serial mediators in this relationship. Methods To evaluate the proposed associations, mediation analysis was carried out using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). A crosssectional research design was employed in the present study. The study sample consisted of 518 children attending independent preschools located in the central districts of Denizli, Türkiye, along with their parents. Among the children, 304 were girls (58.7%) and 214 were boys (41.3%). Of the children, 216 (41.7%) were 5 years old, and 302 (58.3%) were 6 years old. Data were collected using the Technoference Scale in Parent Child Relationships, Emotion Regulation Scale, Psychological Well-Being Scale for 5 and 6 Year Old Children (PWBSC), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The technoference Scale in Parent -Child Relationships was completed by parents, whereas the other measures were completed by teachers. Results Results demonstrated that the link between parent -child technoference and children’s emotional and behavioral problems was indirectly explained through a serial mediation process involving emotion regulation and self-regulation (B = 0.083, 95% bootstrap CI = [0.022, 0.177], β = 0.045). Findings further showed that parent -child technoference predicted children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties through the mediating role of emotion regulation (B = 0.055, 95% bootstrap CI = [0.007, 0.162], β = 0.035). The analysis also revealed that parent -child technoference is associated with children’s emotional and behavioral problems through the mediating role of selfregulation (B = 0.235, 95% bootstrap CI = [0.105, 0.424], β = 0.078). Discussion The findings imply that fostering children’s emotion regulation and self-regulation skills could be key to lessening emotional and behavioral difficulties linked to technoference during parent -child interactions. In this respect, the present study contributes to addressing an important gap in the existing literature. The study’s results were thoroughly examined and interpreted in the context of existing literature.