Parental Attitudes and Digital Parenting in the Early Years: Development and Validation of the PADTS Scale.

The study tested a questionnaire, not an intervention, so it cannot show that using the PADTS changes parenting behaviour or child development. The total survey responses were not all used for the main reliability and validity testing. The child age range was skewed toward older toddlers, so scores may not be directly comparable across age groups. Data were self-reported and collected at one time point, so parents may have answered in socially desirable ways and the study cannot show how attitudes change over time. Some negatively worded items were removed because they were confusing or created response artefacts, so the final scale is not the same as the original item set. The anxiety subscale was very short and the authors note it may need future item refinement. Validation was limited to UK parents, so cultural and language adaptation is still needed.

The Economic and Social Research Council funded the work, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest. They also stated that ChatGPT was used for editing, summarising reviewer feedback and checking references, not for generating original research content, data analysis or conclusions.

Do not read the PADTS as proof that digital technology is beneficial or harmful, or that parental anxiety predicts parenting actions. The study validates a questionnaire and reports associations with self-reported behaviours, not effects of an intervention.