Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between media as family leisure and family functioning among families with at least one adolescent child. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between family functioning and media use, media connection, and media monitoring over time. Furthermore, because the data were nested in families, and because most family leisure research has been limited to individual-level analyses, this study incorporated mixed modeling into its analysis which accounted for family-level and individual-level variance. The sample consisted of 500 families participating in the Flourishing Families (FFP) Project, a longitudinal study of inner-family life involving families with a child between the ages of 11 and 16. Multiple regression analysis indicated there was a significant negative relationship between media use and family functioning. Mixed model analysis further indicated there was a significant positive relationship between media connection, parental media monitoring, and family functioning, and this relationship was stable over time. These relationships were significant even when accounting for the variance explained by depression, anxiety, conflict, and other demographic variables. Findings support existing media effects and family leisure research. This research, however, goes beyond existing research in its mixed level analysis that accounted for family-level variance and in its analysis of time in the stability of the relationship between media variables and family functioning. Findings further suggest the importance in parental involvement in adolescent media use when explaining variance in family functioning.

Degree

College and Department

Marriott School of Management; Recreation Management

Rights

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