THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARITY AND ANXIETY LEVELS IN THIRD TRISMESTER PREGNANT WOMEN

Abstract

Background: Gadgets are a technological development whose use is widespread across all ages, including children under 5 years old. During this period, children experience a relatively rapid increase in development across all aspects, such as motor, language-speech, and socialisation-independence. Excessive gadget use at this age can interfere with the child's developmental process. For instance, a gadget screen always displays images of the same size, even though real-life objects vary in size, which can inhibit the child's fine motor development. Moreover, static activity while playing with gadgets can disrupt the child's gross motor development. Object: The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of gadget use on the emotional development of early childhood. Method This study used an analytic observational design with a cross-sectional approach. The study population was children at TK KB Al-Uswah Magetan, conducted from July– October 2023, with a sample size of 134 children, obtained from questionnaires completed by the parents. Results: The results showed that the intensity and attitude of gadget use and the emotional development of early childhood were mostly in the moderate and normal categories, respectively. The Spearman’s rho test yielded a value of ρ = 0.000 (ρ < 0.05) with an OR = -0.216, indicating a low, negative relationship between gadget use and the emotional development of early childhood (difficulty scale). Conclusion: In contrast, there was no relationship found with the emotional development (strength scale) (ρ = 0.820; ρ > 0.05). In conclusion, there is a low but significant relationship between gadget use and the emotional difficulty scale, but not the emotional strength scale, in early childhood.