Navigating Short-Form Videos: Translation and Validation of Parental Mediation Scale of Children’s Short-Form Video Use

Research Findings: This study presents the translation and validation of a parental mediation scale for short-form videos, designed specifically for parents of Chinese preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years. The original English Parental Mediation Questionnaire was translated into Standard Mandarin, following rigorous translation, back-translation, and expert review processes, resulting in a final scale consisting of 22 items categorized into five distinct subscales: co-use, general restrictive mediation, active mediation with protection, active mediation with technical usage, and restriction on content. The scale was administered to a sample of 393 parents, yielding a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.86, indicating high internal consistency. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive relationships between three subscales of parental mediation and parents’ attitudes toward children’s media usage, alongside negative correlations with measures of problematic media use. Thus, the findings provide initial support for the Parental Mediation Scale’s reliability and validity, highlighting its potential as a valuable tool for understanding and facilitating parental mediation strategies in the context of young children’s short-form video consumption in China. Practice or Policy: Educators and parents could utilize the validated mediation scale to guide preschoolers’ short-form video consumption. Policymakers should implement evidence-based guidelines promoting these targeted parental mediation practices to prevent problematic media use among young children.