Development and Validation of the Child Screen Use Rating Scale (CSU)
Authored by Dr. Hui S. Jiang
Please read the following information about the research study before deciding whether to take part.
Your child's privacy is very important to us.
We do not collect any information that could identify your child — no name, birthdate, photo, or contact details — so nobody, including us, can tell who your child is from these responses. The only contact information we collect is your email (used only to send your results), and it is stored separately from the answers. All data is sent over a secure connection and stored encrypted.
You will receive two reports by email.
After you complete this survey, we will send two separate reports to the email you provide. The first is an automated report, sent immediately after you finish, with some basic information about your answers. Later, once our team has collected and studied the data, we will send a more in-depth, individualized report written and reviewed by a member of our team.
This study is for parents who meet all of the following:
- I am a parent or legal guardian, age 18 or older.
- I have a child between the ages of 4 and 17.
- I am fluent in the language of this survey.
Key Information
The following focused information is being presented to assist you in understanding the key elements of this study, as well as the basic reasons why you may or may not wish to consider taking part. This section is only a summary; more detailed information follows under the “Detailed Information” heading.
What should I know about a research study?
Someone will explain this research study to you.
Taking part in the research is voluntary; whether or not you take part is up to you.
You can choose not to take part.
You can agree to take part and later change your mind.
Your decision will not be held against you.
You can ask all the questions you want before you decide, and can ask questions at any time during the study.
Invitation & purpose
We invite you to take part in a research study about how parents understand and respond to children’s screen use and how well a new questionnaire works. You may be eligible if you are (1) a parent or legal guardian age 18 or older, (2) have a child age 4–17, and (3) are fluent in English.
This research is not externally sponsored or funded, and there is no payment for participation.
The purpose of this research is to develop and test a new questionnaire — the Child Screen Use Rating Scale (CSU) — that helps researchers and clinicians better understand children and adolescents who have difficulty controlling their screen use, and to examine how well it works by comparing it with other measures.
What does participation involve?
Your participation involves completing a one-time online survey that includes (a) the Child Screen Use Rating Scale (CSU), (b) a brief demographic questionnaire, and (c) questionnaires about digital parenting and related child screen-use behaviors. This takes about 15 minutes and can be completed at a time and place you choose.
We may invite you to fill out a shorter survey again in one month, which takes another 5–10 minutes and is also voluntary.
This study does not include audio recording, video recording, or photography. We expect to enroll about 600 parents. It is a single-site study conducted online.
After completing the survey, you may have the option to view brief, automated feedback based on your responses; this feedback is for informational purposes only and is not clinical advice.
Risks and discomforts
Risks from participating are expected to be minimal. Some parents may experience mild emotional discomfort when answering questions about their child’s behavior or family conflict. You may skip any question or stop the survey at any time.
There is also a small risk to confidentiality, as with any online activity, but we take steps to protect your information. No significant physical, social, legal, or economic risks are anticipated.
Costs, payment, and benefits
Taking part will not lead to added costs to you, and you will not be paid for taking part.
We cannot promise any benefits to you or others from your taking part. However, possible benefits may include gaining insight into your child’s screen-use patterns.
What happens if I change my mind?
You can leave the research at any time and it will not be held against you.
If you stop being in the research, we will ask for your permission to use the data already collected in de-identified analyses, which you can decline without penalty. If you request removal, the research team will permanently delete your data.
What happens to the information collected?
The only potentially identifiable information collected is your email address. We will assign each participant a study ID, and de-identified data used for analysis will contain only that study ID. The linking key between your study ID and email address will be kept separate in a secured UH folder, accessible only to the research team.
Study data are collected through a secure web-based form developed and maintained by 3E Center and hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the U.S. Data are encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest, and access is restricted to authorized study personnel. Google reCAPTCHA may be used to reduce automated submissions. IP addresses are not collected or stored.
We may publish the results of this research. However, unless otherwise detailed here, we will keep your information confidential.
Who can I talk to?
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints, or think the research has hurt you, talk to the research team at jwang258@central.uh.edu.
This research has been reviewed and approved by the University of Houston Institutional Review Board (IRB). You may also talk to them at (713) 743-9204 or cphs@central.uh.edu if your concerns are not being answered by the research team, you cannot reach the team, you want to talk to someone besides the team, or you have questions about your rights as a research subject.
By selecting “I agree and continue” below, you confirm that:
- I have read and understood the information above.
- I understand my participation is voluntary and I may stop at any time.
- I am the parent or legal guardian of the child I am reporting on, and I consent to take part in this research.
Thank you for taking part
Your responses have been submitted. We'll be in touch at the email you provided.