ABSTRACT

Although children are increasingly being exposed to television in Ethiopia, much is unknown about related parental responses. This study investigated parenting practices associated with schoolchildren’s television viewing, with a focus on parental concern and mediation strategies. Three hundred and eighty-seven parents of primary schoolchildren (grades 1 through 4; M_age = 9.6 years, SD = 1.81; age: 6 to 15 years) attending six schools in Addis Ababa, completed a validated measure of concern and mediation. Results indicated that children viewed on average 2.32 h (SD ± 1.70) of television per day, and parents reported a moderate level of concern about the negative effects of television on children. The study further showed that parents mostly used restrictive mediation over instructive and co-viewing practices. Regression analysis showed that while demographic variables, together with child and parent viewing hours, significantly predicted all three mediation practices, parental concern significantly predicted restrictive and instructive mediations but not co-viewing. As children’s television exposure has become an emerging societal concern in Ethiopia, future research is recommended for contextualized understanding and intervention.

摘要

尽管埃塞俄比亚的儿童越来越多地接触电视，但有关父母的反应却鲜为人知。本研究调查了与学童看电视相关的育儿做法，重点是父母的关注和调解策略。三百八十七名小学生家长（1-4年级；M_年龄 = 9.6 年，SD = 1.81；年龄：6 至 15 岁）在亚的斯亚贝巴的六所学校就读，完成了经过验证的关注和调解措施。结果表明，儿童平均每天看 2.32 小时 (SD ± 1.70) 的电视，父母对电视对儿童的负面影响表示中等程度的关注。该研究进一步表明，父母大多使用限制性调解而不是指导性和共同观看的做法。回归分析表明，虽然人口统计变量，连同儿童和家长的观看时间，显着预测了所有三种调解实践，但父母的关注显着预测了限制性和指导性调解，但不是共同观看。随着儿童电视曝光已成为埃塞俄比亚新兴的社会问题，