TY - JOUR
T1 - Associations between media parenting practices and early adolescent consumption of R-rated movies and mature-rated video games
AU - Nagata, Jason M.
AU - Li, Karen
AU - Sui, Shirley S.
AU - Talebloo, Jonanne
AU - Otmar, Christopher D.
AU - Shao, Iris Yuefan
AU - Kiss, Orsolya
AU - Ganson, Kyle T.
AU - Testa, Alexander
AU - He, Jinbo
AU - Baker, Fiona C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - Objective: To assess whether specific parent media practices are associated with the consumption of R-rated (restricted) movies and mature-rated video game use in early adolescents. Methods: Data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 10,054, 12–13 years, Year 3, 2019–2021) were analyzed. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to assess associations among media parenting practices and R-rated movies or mature-rated video game use, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Parental allowance of bedroom screen use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.36–1.53), family mealtime screen use (AOR 1.19, 95% CI 1.13–1.25), and parent screen use (AOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03–1.20) were positively associated with watching R-rated movies. Parental allowance of bedroom screen use (AOR 1.44, 95% CI 1.36–1.52), family mealtime screen use (AOR 1.26, 95% CI 1.19–1.32), and parent screen use (AOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.02–1.20) were positively associated with playing mature-rated video games. Greater parental monitoring and limiting of screen time were negatively associated with watching R-rated movies (AOR 0.81, 95% CI 0.77–0.85 and AOR 0.73, 95% CI 0.68–0.79 respectively) and playing mature-rated video games (AOR 0.81, 95% CI 0.77–0.86 and AOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.67–0.77). Restricting screen time as a punishment for misbehavior was linked to a higher odds of watching R-rated movies (AOR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01–1.11) and playing mature-rated video games (AOR 1.12, 95% CI 1.07–1.17) while offering screen time to reward for good behavior was negatively associated with watching R-rated movies (AOR 0.95, 95% CI 0.90–0.99). Conclusions: Media parenting practices such as monitoring or limiting screen use are significantly associated with playing mature-rated video games and watching R-rated movies. Punitive measures, such as restricting screen time as a punishment are slightly associated with increased engagement with such content. These findings highlight the importance of intentional and thoughtful parental strategies in managing children’s media consumption effectively.
AB - Objective: To assess whether specific parent media practices are associated with the consumption of R-rated (restricted) movies and mature-rated video game use in early adolescents. Methods: Data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 10,054, 12–13 years, Year 3, 2019–2021) were analyzed. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to assess associations among media parenting practices and R-rated movies or mature-rated video game use, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Parental allowance of bedroom screen use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.36–1.53), family mealtime screen use (AOR 1.19, 95% CI 1.13–1.25), and parent screen use (AOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03–1.20) were positively associated with watching R-rated movies. Parental allowance of bedroom screen use (AOR 1.44, 95% CI 1.36–1.52), family mealtime screen use (AOR 1.26, 95% CI 1.19–1.32), and parent screen use (AOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.02–1.20) were positively associated with playing mature-rated video games. Greater parental monitoring and limiting of screen time were negatively associated with watching R-rated movies (AOR 0.81, 95% CI 0.77–0.85 and AOR 0.73, 95% CI 0.68–0.79 respectively) and playing mature-rated video games (AOR 0.81, 95% CI 0.77–0.86 and AOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.67–0.77). Restricting screen time as a punishment for misbehavior was linked to a higher odds of watching R-rated movies (AOR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01–1.11) and playing mature-rated video games (AOR 1.12, 95% CI 1.07–1.17) while offering screen time to reward for good behavior was negatively associated with watching R-rated movies (AOR 0.95, 95% CI 0.90–0.99). Conclusions: Media parenting practices such as monitoring or limiting screen use are significantly associated with playing mature-rated video games and watching R-rated movies. Punitive measures, such as restricting screen time as a punishment are slightly associated with increased engagement with such content. These findings highlight the importance of intentional and thoughtful parental strategies in managing children’s media consumption effectively.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Mature content
KW - Media
KW - Parenting
KW - Screens
KW - Social media
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85218072615
U2 - 10.1186/s12887-024-05367-w
DO - 10.1186/s12887-024-05367-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 39905395
AN - SCOPUS:85218072615
SN - 1471-2431
VL - 25
JO - BMC Pediatrics
JF - BMC Pediatrics
IS - 1
M1 - 90
ER -