Mediation Effect of Perception of Parenting Efficacy on Relationship between Smartphone Use Level and Parenting Behavior of Mothers of Infants and Children

Abstract

This study is descriptive research which aims to understand what kind of mediation effect the feeling of parenting effectiveness has in relation to mothers' smartphone use and parenting behavior. The subjects of this research were mothers raising infants and children in three regions across Korea, and data were collected using smart phones, where a total of 279 mothers were subjected to statistical analysis. SPSS 25.0 was used for statistical analysis, Chi-square, correlation analysis, and multiple media were derived using Process macro as research methods. To specifically evaluate the smartphone use of mothers with infants and children, they were classified into a “general smartphone use” group and an “overuse smartphone use” groub. In the general smartphone use group, the relationship between smartphone use and parenting behavior was significant, and in the relationship between the general smartphone use group and parenting behavior, affective efficacy, [B=-.0055, (95% CI:-.0127~-.0005)] and game efficacy[B=-.0083, (95% CI:-.0083~-.0004)] were confirmed as mediating factors in the relationship between the general smartphone use group and parenting behavior. Smartphone overuse group was not associated with parenting behavior. In this study, parents with infants and children often use smartphones, and during the time they use their smartphones, they had less time to concentrate on their children, which restricted their active parenting behavior. Therefore, the results of this study can be used as base for various studies on mothers who take care of infants and children.