Mindful parenting and preschoolers’ digital overuse: exploring the roles of executive function and gender differences

The present study explored bidirectional relationships among mindful parenting (MP), child executive function (EF), and child digital overuse (DO) by using a longitudinal method. A total of 1,244 Chinese preschooler (50.3 % boys; age: M = 3.90 years, SD = 0.78) were assessed at two time points, one year apart. Using cross-lagged panel analysis, we found that MP positively predicted EF (β = 0.11, p < 0.001) and negatively predicted DO (β = −0.074, p < 0.05) in children over time, but the reverse was not significant. Additionally, there were bidirectional and negative associations between EF and DO (βEF-T1→DO-T2 = −0.079, p < 0.05; βDO-T1→EF-T2 = −0.082, p < 0.01) in preschooler. Child’s EF significantly mediated the relationship between MP and child’s DO (β = −2.00, p < 0.05, 95 %CI: −0.42, −0.06), with the mediating effect of child executive function at T2 being stronger than at T1. Nevertheless, these findings may not apply to all preschoolers, as our study observed potential gender differences in these associations. Specifically, for boys, there are bidirectional and negative associations between EF and DO (βEF-T1→DO-T2 = −0.14, p < 0.01; βDO-T1→EF-T2 = −0.12, p < 0.01). However, MP neither predicts boys’ EF nor their DO. In contrast, for girls, MP predicts both girls’ EF (β = 0.15, p < 0.01) and their DO (β = −0.11, p < 0.01), though no bidirectional association between EF and DO existed. The implications for the current study are also discussed.