Explaining the Impact of Disabled Children’ Engagement with Physical Activity on Their Parents’ Smartphone Addiction Levels: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Research

Abstract

In this research, quantitative findings and qualitative follow-up themes were used to quantify, conceptualize and finally try to explain the impact of disabled children’ engagement with physical activity on their parents’ smartphone addiction levels. An initial phase of quantitative investigation was conducted with 116 parents. Analyses of statistical trends indicated that male parents use smartphones more often than female. Furthermore, quantitizing data towards parents’ smartphone addiction showed that parents watching their disabled children during physical activity exhibit more smartphone-addicted behaviors than non-watching parents. Finally, data obtained from quantitative findings revealed that levels of smartphone addiction of parents whose disabled children participated in more than 60 minutes of physical activity were greater than the levels of smartphone addiction of parents whose disabled children participated in 60 minutes of physical activity. With no adequate theoretical explanation for these results, a follow-up explanations phase of qualitative investigation was conducted with 5 parents. Analyses of interview data emerged three themes: (a) Male dominance in smartphone use, (c) parents passive participation in physical activity with or without smartphones and (b) levels of smartphone addiction among parents in terms of duration of their children daily physical activity engagement.