Wired: parent–child relationship quality and recreational media use in a diverse sample of US children and adolescents

Media use among US children is high and access to new media outlets continues to grow, which has important implications for how children spend their time. This study builds upon research on other lifestyle behaviors to explore the impact of a global rating of parent–child relationship quality on recreational media use (RMU). Data from a nationally representative sample of US children and adolescents aged 8–18 years (n = 1727) were analyzed. Multiple linear regression tested the association between parent–child relationship quality and RMU as well as if the association between parent–child relationship quality and RMU varied with age. Overall, higher quality parent–child relationships were associated with lower RMU, but this association was only significant for children aged 11–13 years. This study points to possible intervention strategies to limit excessive media use in children such as improving parent–child relationship quality, especially during the critical period of the pre-teen years.