The mediating role of parental involvement in the relationship between social media exposure and socio-emotional development of children.

Résumé

The study aimed to investigate the effect of parental involvement on social media exposure and socio-emotional development of children in the Awi administrative zone, Ethiopia. Data were collected in 2026 using a quantitative cross-sectional research design. Three hundred parent-child dyads (240 mother-child dyads and 60 father-child dyads) selected from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds participated in the study. The children's ages ranged from 4 to 6 years. A survey questionnaire was employed to collect data from the parents. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and the Process Procedure for Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis macro (model 4) for mediation analysis. The results indicated that social media exposure was significantly and negatively associated with socio-emotional development (β = -0.225, P