A longitudinal study of parent-child relationship and behavioral problems in children aged 3 to 6: the mediating role of screen time.

In the context of the digital era, screen media has become deeply embedded in family life, reshaping traditional parent-child interactions and altering the developmental ecology of early childhood. To examine how these dynamics unfold over time, we conducted a longitudinal study involving 532 Chinese children aged 3 to 6 years, assessed across three waves spaced 4 months apart. Analyses revealed that conflictual parent-child relationships at Time 1 significantly predicted both externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems at Time 3, with screen time at Time 2 serving as a partial mediator. In contrast, close parent-child relationships at Time 1 did not significantly predict later screen time but were directly associated with lower levels of externalizing behavioral problems at Time 3.