Parental Technoference and Behavioral-Emotional Development in Early Childhood: A 6-Month Prospective Study (TECH-SDQ)

January 27, 2026 updated by: Timucin imdadoglu, MD, Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi

Early Childhood Parental Technoference and Behavioral-Emotional Development: A Six-Month Prospective Study

This study aims to examine the relationship between parental technoference (parents' use of smartphones or other digital devices while spending time with their children) and behavioral and emotional development in early childhood.

The study will include parents of children aged 24 to 60 months who attend a pediatric outpatient clinic. At the beginning of the study, parents will complete an online questionnaire that includes questions about their own smartphone screen time, their child's screen exposure, and standardized questionnaires assessing parental technoference and children's behavioral and emotional characteristics.

Six months after the initial assessment, parents will be contacted again to complete a short follow-up questionnaire, including the behavioral and emotional assessment. The study does not involve any medical intervention or experimental treatment. All participation is voluntary, and responses will be collected anonymously.

The findings of this study are expected to contribute to a better understanding of how parental digital device use during daily interactions may be associated with children's emotional and behavioral development in early childhood.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

This is a single-center, prospective observational study conducted among parents of children aged 24 to 60 months attending a pediatric outpatient clinic at a tertiary training and research hospital.

Parental technoference is defined as interruptions in parent-child interactions due to parental use of smartphones or other digital devices. At baseline, participating parents will complete an online questionnaire that includes sociodemographic characteristics, self-reported average daily smartphone screen time over the previous seven days (recorded from the device's built-in screen time or digital wellbeing function), and information about the child's daily screen exposure.

Parental technoference will be assessed using a validated parental technoference scale, and children's behavioral and emotional characteristics will be evaluated using the parent-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for preschool-aged children. Both instruments have established validity and reliability in the Turkish population.

At the end of the baseline assessment, parents will be provided with a brief informational message aimed at increasing awareness of digital distractions during parent-child interactions. No behavioral intervention will be enforced as part of the study.

Six months after the initial assessment, parents will be re-contacted via phone or email and invited to complete a follow-up questionnaire, including the SDQ and updated information on parental and child screen exposure. The primary outcome is the association between parental technoference levels and children's behavioral and emotional outcomes. Secondary outcomes include changes in SDQ scores over the six-month follow-up period.

All data will be collected anonymously and analyzed using appropriate statistical methods, including correlation analyses and multivariable regression models. This study involves no medical intervention and poses minimal risk to participants.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

250

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Sancaktepe Prof. Dr. Ilhan Varank Training and Research Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consists of parents and their children aged 24 to 60 months who attend a pediatric outpatient clinic at a tertiary training and research hospital.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children aged 24 to 60 months.
  • Parent or primary caregiver able to read and understand Turkish.
  • Parent uses a smartphone and can access device-based screen time information.
  • Ability to complete an online questionnaire.
  • Provision of written informed consent by the parent or legal guardian.
  • Availability for a 6-month follow-up assessment.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children with severe neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, severe intellectual disability, neurometabolic diseases).
  • Parents unable to reliably complete questionnaires due to cognitive, psychiatric, or language-related limitations.
  • Parents who do not use a smartphone or cannot access screen time data.
  • Refusal or inability to provide informed consent.
  • Inability to be contacted for follow-up assessment.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Parent-Child Dyads (24-60 Months)
This cohort includes parents and their children aged 24 to 60 months who attend a pediatric outpatient clinic at a tertiary training and research hospital. Participants are assessed at baseline using questionnaires evaluating parental technoference, parental and child screen time, and children's behavioral and emotional characteristics. A follow-up assessment is conducted six months later. This is an observational study, and no intervention is assigned.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Child Behavioral and Emotional Difficulties (SDQ Total Difficulties Score)
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months
Children's behavioral and emotional difficulties will be assessed using the parent-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The primary outcome is the SDQ Total Difficulties Score measured at baseline and at 6-month follow-up.
Baseline and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Parental Technoference Level
Time Frame: Baseline
Parental technoference will be measured using a validated parental technoference scale assessing the frequency of digital device-related interruptions during parent-child interactions.
Baseline
Changes in Children's Behavioral and Emotional Characteristics Over Time
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Changes in children's behavioral and emotional characteristics will be evaluated by comparing SDQ Total Difficulties and subscale scores between baseline and the 6-month follow-up assessment.
Baseline to 6 months
Child Screen Exposure
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months
Child screen exposure will be assessed based on parent-reported average daily screen time across different digital media devices.
Baseline and 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

March 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 27, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • TEKNOFERANS-SDQ-2026
  • EthicsNo-2026/19-Sancaktepe (Other Identifier: Sancaktepe Şehit Prof. Dr. İlhan Varank Training and Research Hospital Ethics Committee)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared, as the study involves anonymized questionnaire-based data collected for observational research purposes only, and no data sharing plan has been approved by the ethics committee.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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