Valeria Rega

Background: Parental mediation (PM) refers to the communication strategies parents use to maximize opportunities and mitigate risks associated with children’s screen media use. Although the literature has long shown that PM can be associated with reduced problematic and risky media use in children, studies examining this phenomenon in the Italian context are still lacking. Objective: This study aims to develop and validate the Italian Parental Mediation Scale (I-PMS), a parent-report assessment tool specifically designed for the Italian context. Method: A combined theory- and data-driven approach oriented the development of items. Five experts assessed the content validity of the scale. The study involved 497 Italian parents (85.5% women) of children aged 6–13. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed. Concurrent and convergent validity were examined through bivariate correlations, and the Mann-Whitney test assessed group differences. Results: EFA and CFA revealed a four-factor structure (Rule-Setting Restrictive, Technical Restrictive, Parent-Initiated Enabling, and Child-Initiated Enabling Mediation), with a second-order factor named Parental Mediation. Overall, the I-PMS showed good psychometric properties. The I-PMS correlated with lower conflict, reduced problematic media use, and higher closeness. Parents were more likely to use rule-setting and technical restrictive mediation with younger children, while they preferred to use enabling mediation more with preadolescents. Conclusion: The I-PMS proved to be a useful and reliable instrument that could be applied to early identify the strategies most associated with healthy and less risky screen media use in children and preadolescents, in clinical, educational, and family contexts.

In recent years, the centrality of photos on Social Networking Sites (SNSs) dramatically increased among young adults. The particular attention addressed to visual self-presentation might lead to body shame, influencing individuals’ body esteem and, likely, promoting photo manipulation (PM). Indeed, manipulating photos to alter how the body appears might be driven by the need to improve self-esteem and reduce body shame, albeit by digitally modified body image. Consequently, two studies were conducted. Study1 psychometrically evaluated the PM scale in a sample of Italian young adults (N = 922). Study2 verified the direct and indirect effect of body shame on PM, testing the mediating effect of body esteem and the moderating effect of gender (N = 595). The PM scale for young adults showed good psychometric properties. The tested mediation model revealed that body shame was both directly and indirectly associated with PM, via body esteemappearancein both male and female participants and via body esteem attribution among young men (R² = 0.204;p < .001). Implications for young adults’ appearance-related issues are discussed.

Introduction: Digital screen media use has significantly grown in all age groups and at an increasingly young age, including toddlers, schoolers, and primary school children. Although there is evidence that excessive early childhood media exposure can lead to several negative developmental outcomes, no systematic review on Problematic Media Use (PMU) of children under 10 years old have been provided. The aim of the present systematic review was to identify (i) the main instruments used to measure children’s PMU across different studies; (ii) the risk and protective factors which might increase or reduce children’s PMU; and (iii) the negative outcomes associated with children’s PMU. Methods: This study was conducted following the systematic review guidelines proposed in the PRISMA statement. A total of 35 studies published between 2012–2022 and with a mean sample age between 0 and 10 years old were ultimately included in this literature review. Results: Use of media for more than 2 h a day, male gender, and higher age increased the risk of developing PMU among children. PMU led to several negative consequences for children’s development and well-being (e.g., more problematic behaviors, sleep problems, higher depressive symptoms, lower emotional intelligence, and lower academic achievements). Children who experienced negative psychological symptoms, a dysfunctional parent–child relationship, and difficulties in school context were more prone to develop PMU. However, an authoritative parenting style and restrictive parental mediation reduced the risk of developing PMU among children. Finally, self-report measures specifically designed to get the younger children’s perspective are still few and not so widely used. Conclusions: Overall, this research field is still in its infancy and needs further investigation. Likely, a dysfunctional family system can lead children to experience emotional distress and negative psychological symptoms, which they try to manage by escaping into the virtual world, thus increasing the risk of developing PMU. As the children’s PMU is closely affected by the family environment, future prevention interventions should target both children and their parents to improve their self-regulatory and mentalizing capabilities, as well as parental mediation strategies and general parenting practices.