Abstracts

Innovations in Clinical Sexology

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Dr. Michael Eiden

Eiden Integrative Counseling

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eiden.integrative@gmail.com

Website: 

www.eiden-integrative.com

Abstract
An Assessment of the Effectiveness of an Educational Program to Improve Parental Self-Efficacy in Managing Children's Addictive Internet Use

Addictive internet usage is at the forefront of an ongoing mental health epidemic affecting all people, but landing hardest on children. Addictive internet use affects neurodevelopment in children, altering brain regions critical for language and emotional regulation (Darnai et al., 2022), in addition to a multitude of negative effects on social belonging, increased loneliness, and emotional dysregulation (Haidt, 2024; Vismara et al., 2022; Spruit et al., 2020; Tironi et al., 2021). A significant barrier to improving the trajectory of this social issue’s impact on our modern world is parents’ limited self-efficacy in their ability to accurately recognize addictive behavior in their children online and respond with appropriate parental mediation strategies like limit setting and ongoing active dialogue about digital life (Beyens & Beullens, 2016; Nagata et al., 2022a; Muppalla et al., 2023). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 2-hour interactive educational program (The Digital-Age Parenting Workshop: How to identify addictive behavior online and set limits) aimed at enhancing parents' self efficacy in establishing age-appropriate screen limits for their children. Specifically, this research investigated whether participation in the program increases parents' self-efficacy in effectively monitoring their children’s internet usage, with a focus on reducing exposure to high-risk online behaviors such as excessive gaming, pornography use, social media, and vulnerability to online sexual solicitation. This study addressed a critical gap in current literature by providing empirical evidence on a brief educational intervention designed to empower parents to implement protective screen time boundaries, thereby protecting the social, neurological, and sexual development of their children. The primary outcome measured was the degree of change in parental self-efficacy in regards to accurately recognizing addictive internet use and ability to set age appropriate limits. The secondary outcome measured was the behavioral change participants engaged in at one-month 4 post participation. Attachment theory was used as the primary theoretical framework of the study, due to its relevance to the focus on preserving the healthy development of children. Transformative Learning Theory was chosen as the secondary theoretical framework guiding this study as it served as the foundational learning strategy for the program being evaluated. This study was conducted using a mixed-methods design that collected pre- and post-test surveys from a total of six parents, including using a convenience sampling method, that participated in a two-hour educational program. The data analysis for the study was conducted using Cohen’s d to measure the magnitude of change in learning outcomes and a thematic qualitative analysis to glean insight from the parent participants’ experience to better inform future research.

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