Buabbas Ali, Hasan Huda, Shehab Abrar Abdulmohsen
Department of Community Medicine and Bahavioural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Hawally Governorate, Kuwait.
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, Alshowaikh, Kuwait.
JMIR Pediatr Parent. 2021 May 20;4(2):e24196. doi: 10.2196/24196.
Parents' awareness of the risks of the overuse of smartphones (SPs) among their children and parents' attitudes toward this societal phenomenon are crucial factors to consider when investigating the causes and effects of, as well as interventions to control, this public health issue.
This study aimed to explore the awareness and attitudes of parents regarding SP overuse among their children and the detrimental impacts associated with it.
The qualitative method of semistructured face-to-face interviews was used to collect data from fathers and mothers of children aged 6-18 years from all 6 educational/governorate regions in the governmental sector in Kuwait.
A total of 120 parents agreed to participate in the study; there were more female (75/120, 62.5%) than male (45/120, 37.5%) respondents. Almost all of the participants (118/120, 98.3%) were aware that the overuse of SPs could lead to their children becoming addicted to the devices; they were also aware that there could be side effects on their children's health (117/120, 97.5%). Although the participants, mostly the mothers, supervised their children's use of SPs closely (106/120, 88.3%), the majority could not control their children's length of time using SPs, as the children considered this a deprivation of their rights. Eye-related problems, headaches, and anger were the most common side effects experienced by the children.
Although the parents were aware of the detrimental impacts of SP overuse, the majority could not control the length of time their children spent using the devices. It was found that strong social bonds among family members play a large role in controlling the use of SPs. A number of solutions for families and the government to combat the overuse of SPs are suggested.
在调查这一公共卫生问题的成因、影响以及控制干预措施时，父母对孩子过度使用智能手机（SP）风险的认知以及父母对这一社会现象的态度是需要考虑的关键因素。
本研究旨在探讨父母对孩子过度使用SP的认知和态度以及与之相关的有害影响。
采用半结构化面对面访谈的定性方法，从科威特政府部门所有6个教育/省份地区的6至18岁儿童的父亲和母亲中收集数据。
共有120名父母同意参与该研究；女性受访者（75/120，62.5%）多于男性受访者（45/120，37.5%）。几乎所有参与者（118/120，98.3%）都意识到过度使用SP会导致孩子对这些设备上瘾；他们也意识到这可能会对孩子的健康产生副作用（117/120，97.5%）。尽管参与者（大多数是母亲）密切监督孩子使用SP（106/120，88.3%），但大多数人无法控制孩子使用SP的时间长度，因为孩子们认为这是对他们权利的剥夺。与眼睛相关的问题、头痛和愤怒是孩子们最常出现的副作用。
尽管父母意识到过度使用SP的有害影响，但大多数人无法控制孩子使用这些设备的时间长度。研究发现家庭成员之间牢固的社会纽带在控制SP的使用方面起着很大作用。针对家庭和政府提出了一些应对SP过度使用的解决方案。
