ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between preschool children’s digital game addiction tendencies and psychomotor development levels and to reveal how these variables interact with demographic factors. The study was conducted with a quantitative approach based on the descriptive scanning model. The research group consists of a total of 300 preschool children, 149 male and 151 female students who are continuing their education and training. The “Digital Game Addiction Tendency Scale” (DOBE) and “Test of Gross Motor Development - 2” (TGMD-2) were used as data collection tools. The data were evaluated with the Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis H test, Chi-square test and Spearman Correlation analysis. In the study, the scores obtained from TGMD-2 and DOBE scales were analyzed according to variables such as gender, mother’s sports status, whether the child has his/her own room, presence of internet material, number of siblings, parental education level and daily technology usage time. In the study, it was determined that there was a significant difference in psychomotor development and digital game addiction scores according to the gender variable. Significant differences were found in some psychomotor development scores according to mother’s sports status, child’s own room, presence of internet material and number of siblings. It was determined that parental education level and children’s technology usage time significantly affected the tendency to digital game addiction. In addition, it was determined that there were negative significant relationships between students’ psychomotor development scores and digital game addiction scores. As a result, it was concluded that digital game addiction negatively affects the psychomotor development of preschool children; gender, family structure, parental habits and accessibility of digital environments are determinants in this relationship.