Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 18, 2026

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Self-distancing in Young Children
Published on: March 1, 2019
Association between preschool children's media use, parental joint media engagement and prosocial behavior: A
Xuejiao Chen1, Wei-Jun Jean Yeung2,3
1Institute for Human Development and Potential (IHDP), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Background:
This study examines the associations between multiple dimensions of media use, including screen time, parental joint media engagement, rule-setting and preschool children's prosocial behavior in Singapore.
Methods:
Data were drawn from two waves of a nationally representative study- Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study, with children's time diaries being used to enhance the accuracy of media exposure measurement. We employed Structural Equation Modeling and applied propensity weighting to adjust for the selection bias related to screen time and parental joint media engagement at the baseline.
Results:
We found that a sizable preschool children spent long hours on screens, often without parental engagement. We observed a direct positive association between parental joint media engagement and children's prosocial behavior in Wave 1, which further correlates with the children's prosocial behavior in Wave 2. No direct associations were found between screen time or rule-setting and young children's prosocial behavior at either wave, suggesting that active parental mediation through direct parental joint media engagement in preschool children's media use is more important than the duration of screen use and restrictive rule-setting in supporting children's prosocial behavior.
Conclusions:
Parental joint media engagement plays a more important role than screen time and rule-setting in affecting children's prosocial behaviour in early childhood. Our study reveals the need for policies to go beyond focusing solely on quantity of screen time as intervention to emphasize the multidimensional context of media use, especially parental engagement, in order to effectively benefit children's development.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other
Relationship with Other Adult Family Members and Siblings
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Social Foundations of Self IV: Self in Digital Communication

