Is digital technology use associated with child well-being? : a test of the Goldilocks hypothesis with children in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

The rise of electronic media has driven concerns that digital device-use may affect the well-being of children. However, research with children is limited with largely mixed results. The present project tested the Digital Goldilocks Hypothesis, and therefore assessed whether there is a U-shaped association between digital technology-use and psychological health problems. The parents of 703 New Zealand children, aged six- to eleven-years old, answered questions about the typical time their child spent watching videos and playing digital games on weekends and weekdays. Child psychological well-being was measured using parent and teacher reports on the Behaviour Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2). Inconsistent with the Digital Goldilocks Hypothesis we found no evidence of reliable curvilinear associations. However, small, positive, linear associations were found between video engagement and three areas of parent-reported psychological well-being: internalising problems, externalising problems, and adaptive skills. All measured associations between digital game play and child psychological well-being were non-significant, except for two associations between weekend digital game play and the adaptive and internalising composites. Results suggest that passive digital media use may have a larger impact on well-being than active digital media use for children. In addition, results suggest that linear, rather than curvilinear, associations may best explain the link between well-being and video engagement for primary school aged children. Future research is required to explore replicability and understand the causal nature of the data.