취업모의 근무시간 외 업무목적 스마트기기 사용이 유아의 자기통제력에 미치는 영향

Effect of Employed Mothers’ Work-Related Smart Device Use after Office Hours on Preschoolers’ Self-Control: The Sequential Mediating Effects of Percepetion of Work-Family Conflict and Motivation for Allowing Smart Device Use

The present study empirically investigates the mechanisms linking working mothers’ work-related smart device use after office hours and preschoolers’ self-control, focusing on the sequential mediating effects of the mother’s perception of work-family conflict and her inappropriate motivation (e.g., for mother's free time) to allow smart device use to her child. A sample of 380 mothers of three to five-year-old preschoolers (boys: 159, girls: 221) was recruited to answer an online survey. SPSS 25.0 Process macro was used to examine the sequential mediation model. The findings are as follows. First, work-related smart device use after office hours was found to be negatively correlated with preschoolers’ self-control reported by the mothers. In addition, perceived work-family conflict and inappropriate motivation for allowing smart device use were negatively correlated with preschoolers’ self-control. Finally, working mothers’ work-related smart device use after office hours had an indirect effect on their preschoolers’ self-control through the sequential mediating effect of perceived work-family conflict and inappropriate motivation for allowing smart device use. These findings point out the importance of reducing work-related smart device use after office hours to enable the healthy development of self-control in children. These findings have implications for policies for the protection of employees’ work-life balance.