A novel digital competence assessment tool for parents: Development and validation study
Background In the digital era, parental digital competence is being recognized to be essential for effective parenting and improved child health. To address a gap in existing tools that lack specificity for assessing digital competence within the childcare context, this study aimed to develop and va...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Digital Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251353319 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850121985253703680 |
|---|---|
| author | Yitong Jia Bojun Xu Yuxuan Li Xinqi Zhuang Jianzhong Zhang Yin-Ping Zhang |
| author_facet | Yitong Jia Bojun Xu Yuxuan Li Xinqi Zhuang Jianzhong Zhang Yin-Ping Zhang |
| author_sort | Yitong Jia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background In the digital era, parental digital competence is being recognized to be essential for effective parenting and improved child health. To address a gap in existing tools that lack specificity for assessing digital competence within the childcare context, this study aimed to develop and validate a novel Parental Digital Competence Scale (PDCS). Methods The PDCS was developed through a four-phase process: (1) Clarifying the content to be measured based on the European Commission's Digital Competence Framework; (2) Creating an item pool through a literature review; (3) Refining items with expert panel feedback and a pilot test; and (4) Conducting a psychometric validation to evaluate item characteristics. The validation study included 477 family caregivers selected from Northwest China. Construct validity with exploratory (EFA, n = 248) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA, n = 229) was carried out to identify the factor structure of the scale. Convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated. The reliability was assessed through internal consistency, split-half reliability, and test–retest reliability. Results Twenty-three items were included in the final instrument. The content validity index of the PDCS reached 0.975. The EFA results revealed a three-factor structure that explained 80.499% of the total variance. The CFA results further demonstrated that the second-order three-factor model achieved a satisfactory fit. The final version of PDCS included three dimensions: Digital Methods Application, assessing parents’ skills in leveraging digital tools for information creation, problem-solving, and communication; Digital Security, covering online safety, privacy protection, and responsible digital behaviors; and Information Retrieval and Evaluation, measuring parental ability to locate, understand, and critically appraise online child-related information. The PDCS demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.981). Conclusions The PDCS seems to be a valid and reliable tool. Its potential application enables researchers to identify parental digital competence gaps, track improvements following targeted interventions and promote safer, more productive digital family environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6c654db8afa74d9580ff315d2ff974b6 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2055-2076 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Digital Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-6c654db8afa74d9580ff315d2ff974b62025-08-20T02:34:56ZengSAGE PublishingDigital Health2055-20762025-06-011110.1177/20552076251353319A novel digital competence assessment tool for parents: Development and validation studyYitong Jia0Bojun Xu1Yuxuan Li2Xinqi Zhuang3Jianzhong Zhang4Yin-Ping Zhang5 Faculty of Nursing, , Xi’an, Shaanxi, China School of Journalism, , Xi’an, Shaanxi, China Faculty of Digital Economics, , Xi’an, Shaanxi, China Faculty of Nursing, , Xi’an, Shaanxi, China Faculty of Nursing, , Xi’an, Shaanxi, China Faculty of Nursing, , Xi’an, Shaanxi, ChinaBackground In the digital era, parental digital competence is being recognized to be essential for effective parenting and improved child health. To address a gap in existing tools that lack specificity for assessing digital competence within the childcare context, this study aimed to develop and validate a novel Parental Digital Competence Scale (PDCS). Methods The PDCS was developed through a four-phase process: (1) Clarifying the content to be measured based on the European Commission's Digital Competence Framework; (2) Creating an item pool through a literature review; (3) Refining items with expert panel feedback and a pilot test; and (4) Conducting a psychometric validation to evaluate item characteristics. The validation study included 477 family caregivers selected from Northwest China. Construct validity with exploratory (EFA, n = 248) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA, n = 229) was carried out to identify the factor structure of the scale. Convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated. The reliability was assessed through internal consistency, split-half reliability, and test–retest reliability. Results Twenty-three items were included in the final instrument. The content validity index of the PDCS reached 0.975. The EFA results revealed a three-factor structure that explained 80.499% of the total variance. The CFA results further demonstrated that the second-order three-factor model achieved a satisfactory fit. The final version of PDCS included three dimensions: Digital Methods Application, assessing parents’ skills in leveraging digital tools for information creation, problem-solving, and communication; Digital Security, covering online safety, privacy protection, and responsible digital behaviors; and Information Retrieval and Evaluation, measuring parental ability to locate, understand, and critically appraise online child-related information. The PDCS demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.981). Conclusions The PDCS seems to be a valid and reliable tool. Its potential application enables researchers to identify parental digital competence gaps, track improvements following targeted interventions and promote safer, more productive digital family environments.https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251353319 |
| spellingShingle | Yitong Jia Bojun Xu Yuxuan Li Xinqi Zhuang Jianzhong Zhang Yin-Ping Zhang A novel digital competence assessment tool for parents: Development and validation study Digital Health |
| title | A novel digital competence assessment tool for parents: Development and validation study |
| title_full | A novel digital competence assessment tool for parents: Development and validation study |
| title_fullStr | A novel digital competence assessment tool for parents: Development and validation study |
| title_full_unstemmed | A novel digital competence assessment tool for parents: Development and validation study |
| title_short | A novel digital competence assessment tool for parents: Development and validation study |
| title_sort | novel digital competence assessment tool for parents development and validation study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251353319 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yitongjia anoveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT bojunxu anoveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT yuxuanli anoveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT xinqizhuang anoveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT jianzhongzhang anoveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT yinpingzhang anoveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT yitongjia noveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT bojunxu noveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT yuxuanli noveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT xinqizhuang noveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT jianzhongzhang noveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy AT yinpingzhang noveldigitalcompetenceassessmenttoolforparentsdevelopmentandvalidationstudy |