Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41562288›Full record

ArticleChild: care, health and development2026

Parental Attitudes and Digital Parenting in the Early Years: Development and Validation of the PADTS Scale.

Katrina McLaughlin, Lisa Bunting, Paul Connolly, Karen Winter, Rosie Flewitt, Sandra El Gemayel, Lorna Arnott, Andrea Dalziell, Julia Gillen, Janet Goodall and 3 more

Abstract readValidation Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Child: care, health and development, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Katrina McLaughlinSchool of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8400-0184
Lisa BuntingSchool of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1857-0074
Paul ConnollyFaculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Ulster University, Belfast, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9176-9592
Karen WinterSchool of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1229-7150
Rosie FlewittEducation and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Birley Fields Campus, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1986-0644
Sandra El GemayelEducation and Social Research Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4024-0415
Lorna ArnottInstitute of Education, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0304-778X
Andrea DalziellSchool of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1112-7181
Julia GillenDepartment of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2356-3423
Janet GoodallSchool of Social Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0172-2035
Min-Chen LiuSchool of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
Sabina SavadovaChildhood Studies and Practice, Holyrood Road, Moray House School of Education and Sport, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5254-5921
Sarah TimminsDepartment for Education and Childhood Studies, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7178-0011

Funding

Economic and Social Research Council ES/W001020/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis paper reports on the development and validation of the 15-item Parental Attitudes to Digital Technology Scale (PADTS), a brief, psychometrically validated measure assessing parents' beliefs confidence, and concerns about their very young children's use of digital technologies.

methodDeveloped as part of the UK-wide Toddlers, Tech and Talk (TTT) study, PADTS addresses a gap in existing research by focusing on children from birth to 3 years, a stage often overlooked in digital parenting literature. Co-developed with parents and early years experts, the scale was tested with a nationally balanced UK sample (N = 934).

resultsExploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a four-factor structure: perceived risks, perceived learning benefits, parental confidence and technology-related anxiety. The PADTS showed strong model fit and measurement invariance across parent gender, ethnicity and region, with some variation by child age. Correlational analyses indicated that benefits, perceptions and confidence were associated with supportive digital parenting, while anxiety was more weakly linked.

conclusionPADTS shows potential as a practical tool for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers and may support a more nuanced understanding of how parental attitudes shape early digital experiences.

Indexed as

Attitude to ComputersDigital TechnologyParentingParentsAdultChild, PreschoolDigital MediaFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleParent-Child RelationsPsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and Questionnairesdigital parentingearly years educationparental attitudespsychometric scale developmentyoung childrens technology use

Identifiers

PMID41562288
PMCPMC12821080

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.