Research

Children using tablets

Research Publication: Advancing Research on Mobile Screen Media and Young Children's Cognitive Skills

  • by Daniel Ewon Choe

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, screen time for young children has skyrocketed, sparking renewed attention on how mobile devices like smartphones and tablets affect their learning, language development, and self-regulation. A recent progress report builds on a 2020 review, diving deeper into the effects of mobile device use on children's cognitive growth. The findings are both fascinating and complex, revealing how interactive apps can boost learning—while excessive or poorly managed screen time may disrupt language skills and emotional regulation.

Mom holding child

Research Publication: Cognitive and psychophysiological predictors of inductive and physical discipline among parents of preschool-aged children

  • by Daniel Ewon Choe

This article in the American Psychological Association's Journal of Family Psychology shows that parents with lower levels of impulse control and nonverbal intelligence are more likely to endorse the use of physical discipline, such as spanking, in response to their preschool-aged child's misbehavior. Parents low in physiological arousal when at rest report fewer child behavior problems the more they endorse the use of physical discipline.

postpartum depressive mother

Research Publication: Latent class analysis of maternal depression from pregnancy through early childhood - Differences in children’s executive functions

  • by Daniel Ewon Choe

This study shows mothers in the United Kingdom who reported clinically significant depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy, infancy, and toddlerhood had children who performed worst on measures of inhibition during the elementary school years. Inhibition is a key executive function that supports self-regulation, such as emotion regulation and impulse control.

Mom using phone by daughter

Research Publication: The role of different screen media devices, child dysregulation, and parent screen media use in children’s self-regulation

  • by Daniel Ewon Choe

This study shows that preschool-aged children’s screen time on mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, is more negatively related to their self-regulation than their TV use. Children’s earlier self-regulatory deficits and parental screen time were mostly unrelated to their media use, and their self-regulation was unrelated to parents’ screen time. As young children are increasingly exceeding screen time guidelines, these findings encourage parents and other caregivers to limit children’s screen media use in early childhood.

Social withdrawal

Research Publication: Curvilinear Relations Between Preschool-Aged Children’s Effortful Control and Socioemotional Problems - Racial-Ethnic Differences in Functional Form

  • by Daniel Ewon Choe

This published study of PACT Study data collected from Davis families between 2016 and 2019 shows that preschool-age children who are racial-ethnic minorities or non-Hispanic White differ most in internalizing problems, such as anxiety and social withdrawal, among those with low self-regulation.

Subscribe to Research Content