Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31299/ksi.34.1.2
“Wait, let me check who is calling/texting me”: an experimental examination of the effects of technoference and parental warmth on paternal behaviour
Matea Bodrožić Selak
orcid.org/0000-0003-0697-3631
; University Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of technoference and parental warmth on the behaviour of fathers during a joint father-child activity. The study included 66 fathers with a mean age of 39 years (SD = 4.47; range 30–52 years) and 66 preschool children (57.6% boys) with a mean age of 5.5 years (SD = 0.50). The study used a quasi-experimental design and was conducted online. Fathers and children created sketches on a laptop or a desktop computer using the Etch A Sketch Online (ESO) programme, operating the application via keyboard controls. Participants were divided into two groups: a control group in which father-child dyads were not interrupted, and an experimental group in which dyads were interrupted by technology due to the father’s mobile phone use. Data were collected by recording the behaviours of fathers and children during the joint activity and then coding them using the Parent-Child Interaction System (PARCHISY; Deater-Deckard et al., 1997). The results show that technoference has short-term adverse effects on paternal behaviours. Fathers who were interrupted by technology were less likely to use positive control, showed more negative control and negative affect; they were less responsive and persistent during the task, and communicated less with their child. Parental warmth proved to be a significant determinant of fathers’ behaviour, regardless of technological interference. Fathers who expressed higher parental warmth used more positive control and less negative control, showed more positive and less negative affect, were more responsive, and communicated more with their child. The results also indicate that parental warmth moderates the relationship between technology interference and the use of control. These findings provide guidelines for designing evidence-based preventive programmes focused on families, aimed at reducing the negative effects of digital technology on the parent-child relationship, thus, promoting child and family well-being.
Keywords
technoference; children; fathers; parental warmth
Hrčak ID:
348444
URI
Publication date:
29.6.2026.
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