We worry about the time kids spend using screens — but what if the time their caregivers spend on phones is also harmful? Scientists working on digital mental health noticed increasing reports of teenagers struggling with their parents' phone use and decided to investigate. Their new findings show that teenagers who report that their caregivers are often distracted from them by devices are more likely to display insecure attachment styles, which can have serious negative consequences for their future health and wellbeing.
"About 10 years ago I started to notice some concerning primary caregiver device use behaviors," said Dr Don Grant of the Center for Research and Innovation at Newport Healthcare, a corresponding author of the article in Frontiers in Psychology. "In addition, my teen clients began sharing their negative feelings about the same behaviors. These were also introduced by kids during our family counseling sessions.
"Finally, a clinical psychologist colleague of mine, who is also a fantastic mom and familiar with my work in the device behavior space, came to me several years ago and shared that her daughter had asked if she loved her phone more than her. My brilliant colleague was both dumbstruck and devastated."
Competing with a smartphone
Smartphones affect every aspect of our lives, including parenting: for example, in one study, children and teenagers reported that they were competing with their parents' phones for attention. The researchers wanted to find out if behavior like this affects teenagers' attachment style, which describes how they relate to others. People with an insecure attachment style can become anxious and cling to others for reassurance, or avoid relationships to minimize the risk of emotional pain. Insecure attachment is associated with poorer mental health and problems with healthy relationships, while secure attachment is associated with more successful relationships and greater wellbeing.
"Attachment is malleable," said Grant. "Thus, even if there is an established secure attachment with a child, it can be pivoted to an insecure one, even during teenaged years. Obviously, this is not something any parent would want for their child."
To investigate, the team developed the 'device attachment interference scale'. The measure asked teenagers to rate their feelings about their caregivers' device use and their perceptions of how caregivers' device use affected attention, availability, and interactions with them. The scientists wanted to know if higher scores on the scale were associated with higher levels of insecure attachment.
The scientists then recruited a sample of 600 teenagers aged 12-17, representative of the United States' general population, and asked them to fill out both a survey that investigates attachment style and the device attachment interference scale.
Alarming results
The scientists found that the higher the score on the scale, the greater levels of both anxious and avoidant insecure attachment reported by the affected teenagers.
"The fact that our results were so significant across the board means that this issue appears to be much more prevalent than even I thought," said Grant. "I believe millennials especially really need to know about this research. Considered by some to be the first 'digital native' generation, they were in turn more potentially vulnerable to becoming dependent on their devices. They are now becoming parents themselves. I really want them to know about our study to help them avoid potentially negative outcomes of their device behaviors in terms of their children's attachment security."
However, the researchers pointed out that although this study showed a strong correlation between insecure attachment and caregivers' device use, it can't confirm causation. For instance, it's possible that children with insecure attachment styles tend to perceive their caregivers as unavailable, regardless of their phone habits.
But while more research is being carried out, the scientists say these results call for caution. Because smartphones are so ubiquitous, even comparatively small effects of distraction on teenagers' attachment styles could have negative consequences over time.
"We are not saying that every time a child submits a bid for attention a parent has to drop everything, including whatever they are doing on their devices, and answer it," explained Grant. "We are recommending that when those bids occur, a parent does acknowledge and respond to them in some way."
