Screen Babysitters: Media Use and Externalizing Problems in Children As Moderated By Maternal Media Use and Stress

We examined the relationship between child media use (CMU) and externalizing problem behaviors (EPB), and the moderating role of maternal media use (MMU) and maternal stress (MS) in 164 preschoolers' mothers. CMU positively correlated with EPB, r(164)=.75, p<.001. MMU and MS individually buffer it, p<.001; combined, they strengthen it, p<.001.