Video " (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. Paper 592.

Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed their official policy discouraging screen media use with children under two (AAP, 2011). Their statement counters the normative use of TV / video products with infants and toddlers, as parent surveys indicate the majority of these children watch TV/videos regularly. This dissertation research was designed with the underlying premise that the majority of existing research links heavy infant/toddler television and video exposure to disadvantageous health and developmental outcomes and many clinicians and child advocates seek to reduce that exposure. As little is known about the factors associated with more or less screen media use with infants and toddlers, this study examines in-depth the maternal cognitive and structural life circumstance factors predictive of TV/video exposure rates among very young children. Guided by the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010), this survey study examines the relationships between children's estimated rates of foreground and background TV/video exposure and their mothers ' demographics (e.g., race/ethnicity), structural life circumstances (e.g., number of children in the home; employment), and cognitions (e.g., attitudes; norms). Thus, this study essentially tests two competing explanations for infants ' and toddlers ' TV/video exposure: (1) that mothers base thei