Digital play addiction tendency in 5- to 6-year-old children: the role of parental mediation strategies in Russia and Türkiye

IntroductionThe rapid digitalization of early childhood has raised growing concerns about the development of digital play addiction among preschoolers. However, little is known about how parental mediation strategies relate to this tendency across different cultural contexts. To address this gap, this study had two primary aims: (1) to identify similarities and differences in the tendency toward digital play addiction among 5- to 6-year-old children and in parental digital mediation strategies between Russia and Turkey, and (2) to examine the relationship between these mediation strategies and children’s addiction tendency in both countries.MethodsThe sample consisted of 452 parents of 5- to 6-year-old children (226 from Russia and 226 from Turkey). All participants completed the Digital Play Addiction Tendency Scale (DPAT) and the Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale (DPPM). Latent mean comparisons were conducted to examine cross-cultural differences in parental mediation practices, and regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of addiction tendency subscales in each country.ResultsLatent mean comparisons revealed that Turkish parents showed a significantly lower latent threshold mean on the Encouraging dimension compared to their Russian counterparts. No statistically significant cross-cultural differences were found for the Active, Permissive, or Technical mediation dimensions, indicating a relatively uniform structural profile across both countries in how these three positive strategies are hierarchically deployed. Regression analyses showed that Encouraging Parental Mediation was a consistent positive predictor of most addiction tendency subscales in both countries. However, notable cross-cultural differences emerged: in Russia, Constant Play was positively associated with both Encouraging and Permissive Mediation but negatively linked to Active Mediation, whereas in Turkey, Encouraging Mediation was the dominant predictor across all subscales.DiscussionThese findings suggest that while the overall profile of parental mediation strategies is similar across Russia and Turkey, the specific relationships between mediation practices and children’s addiction tendency exhibit both culturally universal and culturally specific patterns. The protective role of Active Parental Mediation observed in Russia highlights the importance of discussing digital content with children. The results have practical implications for developing evidence-based parental guidance programs that are tailored to the specific cultural contexts of each country.