Validation of the Italian version of the problematic media use measure long and short forms: A parent-report screening tool

Problematic media use (PMU) among young children is associated with negative psychophysical outcomes, necessitating reliable assessment tools. This study validates the Problematic Media Use Measure (PMUM) long and short forms for Italian parents of children aged between 1 and 14 years. Parents were recruited using a snowball sampling method through various social media platforms. A total of 403 parents (86.7% females) completed an online survey comprising the PMUM and the Child–Parent Relationship Scale–Short Form, which included the conflict and closeness subscales. Results from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Italian version of the PMUM supported the unidimensional structure of the original measure, reporting a high internal consistency in both forms. Significant correlations emerged between PMU, parent–child conflict, and closeness, thereby demonstrating a good concurrent validity of the instrument. Moreover, the Kruskal–Wallis sum rank test revealed that parental perceptions of PMU significantly differed according to the child’s age, with parents of older children reporting higher levels of PMU. These results underscore a negative association between the quality of the parent–child relationship and the co-occurrence of PMU during childhood, further confirming the validity and reliability of the PMUM for assessing parental perception of PMU in the Italian context.