JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The prevalence of and growth in digital technology presents opportunities for educational and social enrichment; however, there are also many health and digital safety risks for children engaging with digital technology. While there is a growing body of research on digital safety programs to enhance children's digital safety through parental support, evidence regarding the effectiveness of such interventions remains limited.

Objective:

To evaluate the effectiveness of digital safety interventions on parental practices related to safeguarding children’s digital activities.

Methods:

The review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for systematic reviews and has been reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A comprehensive search was performed in May 2024 in MEDLINE, CINAHL Ultimate, PsycINFO, Web of Science, The Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, ProQuest Central and IEEE Xplore databases to identify peer-reviewed articles that were 1) published in English, 2) included parents as participants, and 3) reported on programs or interventions designed to enhance parents' knowledge and skills to safeguard children’s digital safety.

Results:

The meta-analysis included 11 studies published between 2012 and 2014: five randomised controlled studies with 1091 participants and two quasi-experimental studies with 277 participants. In a meta-analysis, a significant effect (Hedges' g = -0.47, 95% CI [-0.85 to -0.08]) was observed in randomised controlled studies, while a strong effect was observed in quasi-experimental studies (Hedges' g = -1.23, 95% CI [-1.49 to -0.97]). A substantial level of heterogeneity was evident in the randomised studies (I² = 87.95%), while quasi-experimental studies exhibited no heterogeneity (I² = 0%). Overall, parent’s digital safety knowledge and skills improved as a result of the digital safety interventions. Notably, children’s screen time (p=0.048) and parents' own screen time (p=0.001) decreased with digital safety intervention.

Conclusions:

This review is the first meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of digital security and safety interventions on parental practices related to safeguarding children’s digital activities. The area has received little attention to date. The available data indicates that parents who participate in digital safety interventions report higher levels of digital safety knowledge and skills and a positive change in attitudes including intention to employ strategies to safeguard their children engaging with technology.