Children’s Internet Use Profiles in Relation to Behavioral Problems in Lithuania, Latvia, and Taiwan
Publication details
| Year: | 2020 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/ijerph17228490 |
| Issued: | 2020 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 17 |
| Issue: | 22 |
| Start Page: | 8490 |
| End Page: | 8509 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Pakalniškienė V.; Jusienė R.; Sebre S.; Chun-Li Wu J.; Laurinaitytė I. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
| Publisher: | MDPI AG |
| Topics: | Internet usage, practices and engagement; Wellbeing |
| Sample: | The participants of this study, both children and their parents, were recruited as part of a larger international collaborative project between Latvia, Lithuania, and Taiwan. The larger study included data collection taken one year apart at time 1 and time 2 (the falls of 2018 and 2019). This paper was based upon the time 1 data only. The time 1 sample included 877 children aged between 8 and 10 years (48.3% female): 269 children from Latvia, 304 from Lithuania, and 304 from Taiwan. |
Abstract
This study explored the profiles of elementary-school-aged children’s Internet use in relation to their emotional and behavioral problems. Participating in this cross-sectional study were 877 child–parent dyads from Latvia, Lithuania, and Taiwan. Children (8–10 years old) provided information on three variables: the amount of time they spent online, frequency of online activities, and knowledge of how to do things online. Latent profile analysis including these three variables provided a four-class solution for child Internet use. A comparison between Latvia, Lithuania, and Taiwan on the percentage of the sample distribution in each class showed that there was no difference between sites for the high class (high ratings on all three variables). The largest differences were for the low and average classes (low and average ratings on all three variables, namely, time online, frequency, and knowledge): the Lithuanian and Taiwanese samples were similar in that a higher percentage of each sample was in the low class, whereas the Latvian sample had children equally distributed between the low class and the average class. Analysis of the data from the entire sample for differences in parent-reported child behavioral difficulties suggested that children in the high class had an elevated level of behavioral problems and compulsive Internet use.
Outcome
Latent profile analysis including these three variables provided a four-class solution for child Internet use. A comparison between Latvia, Lithuania, and Taiwan on the percentage of the sample distribution in each class showed that there was no difference between sites for the high class (high ratings on all three variables). The largest differences were for the low and average classes (low and average ratings on all three variables, namely, time online, frequency, and knowledge): the Lithuanian and Taiwanese samples were similar in that a higher percentage of each sample was in the low class, whereas the Latvian sample had children equally distributed between the low class and the average class. Analysis of the data from the entire sample for differences in parent-reported child behavioral difficulties suggested that children in the high class had an elevated level of behavioral problems and compulsive Internet use.