Children's excessive screen use is associated with health risks such as obesity, sleep problems, attention problems, and others. The effect of parental regulative efforts focused on screen/media use (media parenting) is currently unclear and difficult to examine given the heterogeneity of measuring tools used for its assessment. We aimed to develop an inventory that would enable reliable and valid measurement of media parenting practices (especially active and restrictive mediation) in parents of primary school children. The inventory builds on existing tools, it is comprehensive, yet easy to use in research setting. The original MEPA-36 (36 items) and revised MEPA-20 (20 items) inventories were examined using data from 341 Czech and Slovak parents of children aged between 6 and 10 years. Psychometrical properties were estimated using confirmatory factor and reliability analyses. Model fit was better for MEPA-20 and similar to other currently available tools. Both active and restrictive mediation subscales demonstrated high internal consistency. The internal consistency of newly constructed risky mediation subscales (risky active, risky restrictive, and over-protective mediation) was low. MEPA-20, especially active and restrictive mediation subscales, can be recommended for research on media parenting in context of screen/media use of school-aged children.

• Keywords
• active mediation, inventory, measurement, media parenting, media use, parental mediation, psychometrics, restrictive mediation, screens, self-report,
• MeSH
• Child Behavior * MeSH
• Child MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
• Psychometrics MeSH
• Reproducibility of Results MeSH
• Parenting * MeSH
• Schools MeSH
• Parent-Child Relations MeSH
• Check Tag
• Child MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

The COVID-19 outbreak and related restrictions meant a higher incidence of screen-related risk behaviors in both children and adolescents. Our goal was to assess the perceived importance and extent of school-based preventions related to these risks during the long-term, nation-wide distant schooling period in the Czech Republic. The online survey was responded to by the school-based prevention specialists (N = 1698). For the analysis, within-subject analysis of variance (ANOVA) and binominal logistic regression were used. At-risk internet use and cyber-bullying were perceived as pressing, but other risks, for example, excessive internet use or the use of cyberpornography, received substantially less priority. The differences in all grades were significant and moderate to large (η2G between 0.156 and 0.288). The proportion of schools which conducted prevention interventions of screen-related risks was low (between 0.7% and 27.8%, depending on the grade and the type of the risk). The probability of delivering prevention intervention was in all grades significantly predicted by the presence of screen-related problems in pupils (OR 3.76-4.88) and the perceived importance of the screen-related risks (OR 1.55-1.97). The limited capacity of schools to deliver prevention interventions during distant schooling as well as the low awareness and impaired ability to recognize the importance of some screen-related risks should be addressed.

• Keywords
• adolescents, children, cross-sectional survey, distant schooling, excessive/problematic use of screens, internet, school-based prevention,
• MeSH
• COVID-19 * MeSH
• Child MeSH
• Disease Outbreaks MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Cross-Sectional Studies MeSH
• Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
• Risk-Taking MeSH
• SARS-CoV-2 MeSH
• Schools MeSH
• Check Tag
• Child MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Problematic internet use (PIU) is a highly prevalent condition with severe adverse effects. The literature suggests that parent-child bonding and parental behavioral control exert protective effects against PIU. However, the most relevant studies rely on simplistic measurement of parenting, cross-sectional designs and mixed-aged samples. Our study analyzed the effect of maternal and paternal parenting on PIU by using a prospective design and a cohort sample of same-aged children. METHODS: Data from 1,019 Czech 12-year-old sixth-graders who were followed until ninth grade were used. Maternal and paternal responsiveness and strictness were reported by children using the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) and the Parental Control Scale (PCS). PIU was measured by the Excessive Internet Use Scale (EIUS). RESULTS: The self-reported PIU prevalence in nine-graders (15-year-old) was 8.1%. Parenting, reported by adolescents 18 months before PIU screening, showed significant relationships with PIU: parental responsiveness was negatively and moderately associated, while maternal strictness showed a weak positive association; the authoritative parenting style in both parents decreased PIU, with a PIU probability of 3.21%, while a combination of maternal authoritarian and paternal neglectful parenting was associated with PIU probability as high as 20.9%. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The self-reported prevalence of PIU in Czech adolescents was found to be high. The effects of parenting on PIU were similar to the effects of parenting on other problematic behavior among adolescents. Our findings showed the need for interventions to prevent PIU by helping parents to apply optimal parenting styles.

• Keywords
• adolescence, internet addiction, parental control, parental warmth, parenting styles, problematic use of internet,
• MeSH
• Adolescent Behavior psychology   MeSH
• Child MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Internet Addiction Disorder psychology   MeSH
• Prospective Studies MeSH
• Parenting psychology   MeSH
• Parent-Child Relations * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Child MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The current level of knowledge concerning the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on internet use, gambling, and substance use in structurally disadvantaged regions is scarce. The objective of this study was an investigation of the relationship between SES and risky internet use, gambling and substance use in a structurally disadvantaged region in Central Europe. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among high school students (n = 1063) in a Czech structurally disadvantaged region in autumn 2017. Binary Logistic Regression models were applied to data from the modified Excessive Internet Use scale (mEIUS), a standard tool for measuring the risk of addictive behavior on the internet and the risk of excessive gaming. Other data were collected using the Lie/Bet (problematic gambling), CAGE (acronym of the key words: cut, angry, guilty and eye-opener), and the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) (problematic alcohol/cannabis use) tools. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences between at-risk and not-at-risk groups in addictive behavior on the internet and gaming, while none were found in problematic gambling. Individual dimensions of SES showed significant effects on substance use. Regarding parenting styles, significant differences were found only in the risk of addictive behavior on the internet or gaming between the authoritarian and authoritative styles. Being engaged in behavioral addictions with one´s parents increased the odds of the behavioral addiction risk and decreased the odds of the substance addiction risk. Engagement with one´s parents in substance addictions decreased the odds of the behavioral addiction risk and increased the odds of the substance addiction risk. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The results point at specific relations between SES and the risk of addictive behaviors on the internet and gaming within structurally disadvantaged regions. The results of SES and/or structurally disadvantaged region measures obtained in research, policy-making, and care-provision may improve the focus of actions taken.

• Keywords
• adolescents, disadvantaged region, gambling, internet use, socioeconomic status, students, substance use,
• MeSH
• Gambling epidemiology   MeSH
• Internet * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Behavior, Addictive epidemiology   MeSH
• Substance-Related Disorders epidemiology   MeSH
• Cross-Sectional Studies MeSH
• Social Class MeSH
• Video Games * MeSH
• Vulnerable Populations MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Europe MeSH