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Beliefs About Child TV Viewing in Low-Income Mexican American Parents of Preschoolers: Development of the Beliefs About Child TV Viewing Scale (B-TV)

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Abstract

Objectives Parental beliefs about child television viewing may affect the way parents regulate child television viewing. Despite this, little research has focused on the development of measures of parental beliefs about child television viewing, particularly among ethnic minority parents and parents of young children. This study’s objective was to develop and test a culturally-based measure of parental beliefs about television viewing in low-income Mexican American mothers of preschoolers. Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, 22 items reflecting parental beliefs about influences of TV on children were developed and assessed for psychometric properties in a sample of 312 low-income Mexican American mothers of preschoolers. Results Using exploratory factor analysis, we identified four factors reflecting four domains of parental beliefs: positive general beliefs, positive sleep-related beliefs, positive functional beliefs, and negative general beliefs. Internal reliabilities were acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.70–0.89) for all factors except negative general beliefs (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.61). Positive sleep-related beliefs and Positive Functional Beliefs were correlated with children’s average daily hours of TV (r = 0.16, p < .01; r = 0.22, p < .001, respectively) and with mother’s average daily hours of TV (r = 0.14, p < .05; r = 0.22, p < .001, respectively), providing initial support for construct validity. Conclusions for Practice The Beliefs about Child TV viewing scale measures four domains of parental beliefs regarding child TV viewing, and has good initial reliability and validity for three factors. Future use will allow investigators to conduct more in-depth evaluations on the influence of parental beliefs on the way parents shape their child’s use of the TV.

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Abbreviations

TV:

Television

AAP:

American Academy of Pediatrics

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Acknowledgements

We thank Russell Jago, PhD and Teresia O’Connor MD, MPH for providing expert input during the development of this measure. Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award number K23HD060666 and by NIH/NCRR Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) Grant Number UL1 RR025780. The design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and the content does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA

    Susan L. Johnson & Richard E. Boles

  2. Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, University of Colorado, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA

    Sarah J. Schmiege

  3. Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health-Austin Regional Campus, Houston, TX, USA

    Elizabeth A. Vandewater

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Denver Health, Denver, CO, USA

    Jerusha Lev

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Jeanne M. Tschann

  6. Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Mail Stop F561, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Room 2605, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Darcy A. Thompson

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  1. Darcy A. Thompson
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Correspondence to Darcy A. Thompson.

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Thompson, D.A., Johnson, S.L., Schmiege, S.J. et al. Beliefs About Child TV Viewing in Low-Income Mexican American Parents of Preschoolers: Development of the Beliefs About Child TV Viewing Scale (B-TV). Matern Child Health J 22, 849–857 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2458-5

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