부모의 미디어 교육 경험과 아동의 스마트폰 이용의 구조적 관계: 부모 미디어 중재와 아동의 자기조절능력의 이중 매개 및 주 보호자 성별 다중집단 분석 = Parents’ Media Education and Children’s Smartphone Use: A Dual-Mediation Model and Multi-Group Analysis by Primary Caregiver Gender

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 연구는 부모의 미디어 교육 경험이 부모의 미디어 중재와 아동의 자기조절능력을 통해 아동의 스마트폰 이용량에 미치는 영향을 분석하고, 그러한 구조적 관계가 주 보호자의 성별에 따라 어떻게 달라지는지 실증적으로 검증하였다. 이를 위해 한국언론진흥재단의 ｢2023 어린이 미디어 이용조사｣ 데이터를 활용해, 스마트폰을 이용하는 만 3~9세 아동 보호자 2,097명을 대상으로 다중집단 구조방정식 모형 분석을 수행하였다. 분석 결과, 첫째, 부모의 미디어 교육 경험은 어머니·아버지 집단 모두에서 감독형, 설명형, 기술형 중재를 유의하게 강화하였다. 그러나 아동의 스마트폰 이용량에 대한 직접 효과는 어머니 집단에서 정적으로 유의하였고, 아버지 집단에서는 유의하지 않았다. 둘째, 어머니 집단에서는 감독형 및 설명형 중재가 아동의 자기조절능력을 높였으며, 자기조절능력은 스마트폰 이용량을 낮추었다. 반면 아버지 집단에서는 설명형 중재만이 아동의 자기조절능력을 높였고, 자기조절능력은 스마트폰 이용량에 유의한 영향을 미치지 않았다. 셋째, 이중 매개효과는 어머니 집단에서만 확인되었다. 즉, 부모의 미디어 교육 경험은 어머니 집단에서 감독형 및 설명형 중재와 아동의 자기조절능력을 거쳐 스마트폰 이용량을 감소시키는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과는 부모 미디어 교육의 효과가 부모의 중재 행동과 아동의 자기조절능력을 통해 간접적으로 작동하며, 주 보호자 성별과 중재 유형에 따라 달라질 수 있음을 시사한다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study investigated how parents’ media education experience is associated with children’s smartphone use, with particular attention to the roles of parental media mediation and children’s self-regulation. Although prior research has emphasized the importance of parental mediation and parental media literacy, less is known about whether parents’ media education experience functions as an antecedent that shapes specific mediation practices and, in turn, children’s internalization of media-use rules. To address this gap, this study proposes and tests a dual-mediation model in which parents’ media education experience influences children’s smartphone use through parental media mediation and children’s self-regulation. It further examines whether these structural relationships differ by the gender of the primary caregiver.
Using data from the Korea Press Foundation’s 2023 Survey on Children’s Media Use, this study analyzed responses from 2,097 primary caregivers of smartphone-using children aged 3 to 9. Parents’ media education experience was measured by whether caregivers had previously received media-related education. Parental media mediation was operationalized as three distinct forms: supervisory mediation, referring to monitoring and checking children’s media use; explanatory mediation, referring to discussion, explanation, and guidance regarding media use; and technology control mediation, referring to the use of technological tools such as passwords, content filters, or parental control applications. Children’s self-regulation was conceptualized as the extent to which children internalize and comply with household rules regarding media use. Multi-group structural equation modeling was conducted to compare the hypothesized pathways between mother and father primary-caregiver groups.
The results showed that parents’ media education experience significantly increased supervisory, explanatory, and technology control mediation in both the mother and father groups. However, its direct effect on children’s smartphone use differed by caregiver gender: it was positively significant in the mother group but not significant in the father group. In the mother group, supervisory and explanatory mediation significantly increased children’s self-regulation, which in turn reduced children’s smartphone use. Supervisory mediation also directly reduced children’s smartphone use, whereas explanatory mediation showed a positive direct association with smartphone use, suggesting that its beneficial role may operate primarily through children’s internalization of media-use rules rather than through an immediate reduction in use time. In the father group, only explanatory mediation significantly increased children’s self-regulation, while self-regulation did not significantly predict smartphone use.
The dual mediation effect was confirmed only in the mother group. Specifically, parents’ media education experience reduced children’s smartphone use through supervisory and explanatory mediation and children’s self-regulation. These findings suggest that the effects of parents’ media education operate indirectly by strengthening parental mediation practices and promoting children’s self-regulation. They also indicate that the pathways linking parental education, mediation, self-regulation, and smartphone use may vary depending on the gender of the primary caregiver and the type of parental mediation.