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| Author: |
Vandewater, Elizabeth A.; Bickham, David S.
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| Year: |
2004 |
| Article Title: |
The impact of educational television on young children's reading in the context of family stress |
| Journal: |
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology |
| Volume: |
25 |
| Edition: |
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| Issue: |
6 |
| Pages: |
717-728 |
| ISBN/ISSN: |
0193-3973 |
| Source of Funding: |
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01-HD40851-01, R01-HD33474); |
| Study Design: |
Correlational Study
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| Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
| Age Group: |
Childhood (birth-12 yrs), Preschool Age (2-5 yrs) |
| URL: |
http://www.cdmc.ucla.edu/downloads/impactof.pdf |
| Abstract: |
Objective: To examine if family stressors influence children's reading/pre-reading skills through the use of educational media or the quality of the home learning environment.
Design: Cross-sectional cohort study. Family stressors included SES (income-to-needs ratio), family conflict, and maternal depression (Composite International Diagnostic Interview). Educational television viewing measured by time-use diaries on a randomly selected weekday and weekend day. Educational programs defined as those educating children in reading, counting, or color identification skills. Quality of the home learning environment assessed by observation and self-report data using the short form of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME).
Subjects and Setting: Children ages 2-5 from the Child Development Supplement (CDS-I) part of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Subjects with incomplete data were excluded. Mean age = 4; 43% female; 60% Caucasian; 33% African American. Mean family income = $38,196. Mean parental education = 13.2.
Intervention(s): N/A
Outcome Measure(s): Reading/pre-reading skills measured by the Woodcock-Johnson letter-word recognition test.
Results: Decreased quality of the home learning environment was correlated with lower SES (ß = -0.24, p < 0.05), high family conflict (ß = -0.17, p < 0.05), and high maternal depression (ß = -0.24, p < 0.05). A higher quality home learning environment and more frequent educational television viewing were positively associated with higher reading skills across all family stressors. Greater family conflict was related to decreased educational TV viewing (ß = -0.11, p < 0.05). SES and maternal depression not significantly related to educational TV viewing. SES and family conflict were found to have a direct effect on children's reading skills beyond their indirect effects through the home learning environment and educational media.
Conclusions: Suggest social and psychological stressors impact the home learning environment. Educational media seems to be more robust against family stressors than the home environment. Recommend continued promotion of educational media among parents and further study into the impact of family conflict on children's media use. © Center on Media and Child Health |
| Keywords: |
Achievement
Children's Literature
Children's Television
Conflict
Educational Television
Families and Family Life
Learning
Media Diet
Parent Child Relations
Parents and Parenting
Reading
Reading Ability
Stress
Television
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