Impacts of Parental Technoference on Parent-Child Relationships and Child Health and Developmental Outcomes: A Scoping Review
Creators: name: MacKay, Lyndsay
name: Komanchuk, Jelena
name: Hayden, K
name: Letourneau, Nicole
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Psychiatry and Psychology
subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
subject: Other Mental and Social Health
subject: Mental and Social Health
subject: Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
subject: Attachment
subject: Child Development
subject: Child Health
subject: Parent-Child Bonding
subject: Parent-Child Relationships
subject: Phubbing
subject: Scoping Review
subject: Technoference

description: Background: With increases in the ubiquity of cellphones, parental technoference poses a relevant concern for parent-child relationships (i.e., parent-child interactions, attachment and bonding), children's development (i.e., gross and fine motor, language, social, cognitive) and children’s health (i.e., psychological, biological). Parental technoference refers to disrupted interactions between a parent and their child due to a parent’s use of a technological device. Researchers have started to report associations between parental technoference and parent-child relationships (e.g., reduced parental responsiveness toward their child) and children’s health outcomes (e.g., increased risk for behavioral concerns). Although previous reviews have been conducted on parental technoference, our scoping review comprises the first comprehensive, systematic review on the impacts of parental technoference on parent-child relationships and children's health and development. Objective: We aim to map, describe and summarize existing evidence from published research articles on the impacts of parental technoference on parent-child relationships and child health and developmental outcomes and identify limitations in the studies or gaps in the literature. Inclusion criteria: This scoping review will include primary research studies and review papers (i.e., systematic, scoping) that evaluate the impacts of parental technoference on parent-child relationships and children's health and developmental outcomes. In our review, parents are defined as primary caregivers (i.e., biological, adopted, foster parents) of children under the age of 18 years. Methods: This scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. Databases will include APA PsycInfo, MEDLINE, Central, Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews, JBI EBP and Embase (OVID). CINAHL (Ebsco) and Scopus will also be searched. Grey and popular literature will be excluded, with the exception of dissertations. Studies will be written in English with no time limit. Two reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full texts of studies according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles will be appraised with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data will be extracted into a data charting table including; author(s), year of publication, country, research aim, methodology/design, population and sample size, variables/concepts and corresponding measures and main results. Data will mapped and presented in tables and figures along with a corresponding narrative summary. Significance: This review will illuminate the current state of evidence and identify gaps in the literature on the impacts of technoference on parent-child relationships and children’s health and development. The findings from this review will inform future research to enhance understanding of the impacts of parental technoference and aid in the development of interventions and programs to promote positive parent-child relationships and children’s health and development in an increasingly digital world.