Phone use while parenting: An observational study to assess the association of maternal sensitivity and smartphone use in a playground setting

Smartphone use has become an “always-on” activity. Caring for children and being sensitive to their needs seems to conflict with this immersive and time-consuming activity. Building on John Bowlby's Attachment Theory, we focused on how mothers' smartphone use is related to maternal sensitivity. Using the Mini-Maternal Behavior Q-Sort method and a post-observation questionnaire, we collected data from 89 mother-child dyads on playgrounds. Our...