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Learn more: PMC Disclaimer | PMC Copyright Notice BMC Psychol . 2026 Mar 6;14:518. doi: 10.1186/s40359-026-04263-5 Search in PMC Search in PubMed View in NLM Catalog Add to search Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of a parental mediation scale for children’s digital gaming in a Chinese parent sample Zimi Li Zimi Li 1 College of humanities and arts, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, Liaoning Province China Find articles by Zimi Li 1, # , Huiying Chen Huiying Chen 3 Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China Find articles by Huiying Chen 3, # , Peiyuan Zhou Peiyuan Zhou 1 College of humanities and arts, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, Liaoning Province China Find articles by Peiyuan Zhou 1 , Yizhen Ren Yizhen Ren 2 School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, Guangdong China Find articles by Yizhen Ren 2, ✉ , Zheshi Cui Zheshi Cui 3 Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China Find articles by Zheshi Cui 3 , Kaisheng Xie Kaisheng Xie 4 School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong China Find articles by Kaisheng Xie 4 Author information Article notes Copyright and License information 1 College of humanities and arts, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, Liaoning Province China 2 School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, Guangdong China 3 Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China 4 School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong China ✉ Corresponding author. # Contributed equally. Received 2025 Dec 12; Accepted 2026 Feb 25; Collection date 2026. © The Author(s) 2026 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ . PMC Copyright notice PMCID: PMC13077796 PMID: 41787588 Abstract Objective To investigate the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Chinese version of the Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale of Children’s Digital Game Use within a sample of Chinese parents. Methods The study use 995 valid responses retained for analysis. The Parenting Styles Scale, Parent–Child Attachment Scale, and Short‑Form Video Addiction Scale were used as validity criteria. After a three‑week interval, 237 parents were randomly selected for retest to examine temporal stability. Results Exploratory factor analysis supported a four‑factor structure, accounting for 73.69% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated acceptable structural validity (CFI = 0.89, TLI = 0.88, SRMR = 0.07, RMSEA = 0.07). The scale demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α > 0.7) and test–retest reliability ( r > 0.7). Moreover, measurement invariance across gender groups was established. Conclusion The Chinese version of the Digital Parental Play Mediation Scale shows satisfactory reliability and validity among Chinese parents. It can be used to assess parental mediation behaviors in the context of children’s digital gaming and allows for meaningful comparisons across genders. Keywords: Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale, Children, Reliability, Validity, Cross-cultural adaptation, Psychometric properties Introduction With the advancement and iteration of technology, electronic devices have gradually permeated nearly every facet of human life, exerting a profound impact on behavioral patterns and modes of thinking [ 1 , 2 ]. As technological influence continues to deepen, the living environments and activity scopes of children have also been inevitably transformed [ 3 , 4 ]. In today’s family ecosystems, digital entertainment—particularly video gaming—has evolved into a predominant leisure activity for children and adolescents, significantly shaping their cognitive development, social adaptation, and psychological well-being [ 5 , 6 ]. As primary gatekeepers to their children’s digital engagement, parents play an essential role in managing gaming behaviors, a process broadly conceptualized as parental mediation [ 7 ]. This construct has gained considerable attention across developmental psychology, communication studies, and media research, particularly within contexts of rapid digitalization [ 8 , 9 ]. Parental mediation of digital media refers to the strategies caregivers employ to guide, regulate, or supervise their children’s media use [ 10 ]. Originating from television studies, early frameworks outlined three core strategies: active mediation (discussing media content), restrictive mediation (setting rules and limits), and co-use (shared media engagement [ 11 ]. With the rise of interactive and social media, scholars have expanded these categories to reflect contemporary monitoring and communicative practices. For instance, Ho et al. [ 12 ] identified four distinct strategies in social media contexts: active and restrictive mediation, authoritarian surveillance (direct account monitoring), and non-intrusive inspection (viewing publicly available content). In China, video games have become integral to the daily lives of hundreds of millions of young people [ 13 ]. While digital gaming holds potential for entertainment, learning, and socialization, its pervasive use has also sparked societal concerns about problematic use, academic interference, and developmental risks [ 14 ]. Consequently, parental mediation is increasingly regarded as a critical buffering mechanism—one that can mitigate harms while promoting meaningful and balanced digital experiences [ 15 ]. Despite conceptual advances, empirically validated tools for assessing parental mediation specific to digital gaming remain scarce. An early six-dimensional scale was proposed by Şen et al. [ 16 ], yet the most widely applied measure in recent years is Budak’s [ 17 ] 21-item Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale (DPPM), which captures four mediation dimensions and has demonstrated strong psychometric properties in several cultural contexts. However, its applicability within Chinese populations—where familial norms, parenting styles, and digital access patterns may differ markedly—has yet to be systematically examined [ 18 ]. To establish the criterion validity of the Digital Parental Mediation Scale (DPPM), this study selected external criteria that are theoretically closely related to parental mediation. First, parenting style was included as it represents the overarching emotional and behavioral context in which specific mediation strategies are implemented. Previous research has confirmed that different parenting styles significantly influence parents’ attitudes toward their children’s use of digital products and further shape children’s related usage behaviors. Second, parent-child attachment was also chosen as a key criterion, as secure attachment forms the relational foundation for open communication and cooperative rule-following, which are prerequisites for effective active and restrictive mediation [ 19 ]. Finally, this study included children’s short-form video addiction tendency as an important behavioral outcome variable, as theoretically, the absence or permissive nature of mediation strategies is closely associated with poorer self-regulation and a higher risk of compulsive media use among children [ 20 ]. To address this gap, the present study aims to culturally adapt and psychometrically validate the DPPMS among Chinese parents of children engaged in digital gaming. We examine its factor structure, reliability, and validity within a Chinese familial context. By establishing a culturally relevant and psychometrically robust measure, this research seeks to provide scholars and practitioners with a reliable tool to investigate parental mediation practices in China, ultimately supporting evidence-based interventions that foster healthier digital engagement among youth. Methods Participants and procedure This study employed a combination of online questionnaire surveys and random sampling. Data were collected in two phases from two schools in Jiangsu Province, China. Approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee of Education School, Guangzhou University (No.GZHUSE2024045).All participants provided written informed consent prior to their participation in the study.Before conducting exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, a preliminary survey was administered to 85 parents from a school in Jiangsu Province to assess whether the translated questionnaire aligns with Chinese language conventions. Based on this, and incorporating expert evaluations, a preliminary version of the Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale was developed.To establish content validity, a panel of five experts was convened. The panel was composed of two developmental psychologists, two specialists in digital media education, and one bilingual linguist with extensive experience in cross-cultural research. Each expert independently rated the relevance of each of the 21 items to the construct of digital play parental mediation using a 4-point scale (1 = not relevant, 4 = highly relevant). All 21 items received a rating of “4” (highly relevant) from every expert. Consequently, the Item-level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) achieved a perfect score of 1.00 for all items. The Scale-level Content Validity Index (S-CVI), calculated as the average of the I-CVI values across all 21 items, was also 1.00. This indicates unanimous expert judgment of excellent content relevance for all scale items. In the first phase, 600 questionnaires were distributed for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), resulting in 540 valid responses. In the second phase, 500 questionnaires were distributed for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), yielding 455 valid responses. To ensure the stability and reliability of the EFA results, a larger sample size was used for the exploratory phase compared to the confirmatory phase. A total of 1100 questionnaires were distributed across both phases. After excluding 150 invalid questionnaires (e.g., incomplete responses or patterned answers), 955 valid questionnaires were retained, representing a valid response rate of 86.8%. Among the participating parents, 25.7% were fathers and 74.3% were mothers(Screening and distinction were performed based on the phone number endings and other relevant information, ensuring that only one dataset (either from the father or the mother) was retained for each child). Three weeks after the initial survey, 300 participants were randomly selected for a retest, from which 237 valid questionnaires were retrieved to assess the scales’ test-retest reliability. Measures Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale (DPPM) The Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale (DPPM) was used to assess parental guidance or mediation strategies employed during their children’s digital gameplay(Budak & Işıkoğlu,2022). The scale consists of 21 items encompassing four dimensions: Active Parental Guidance Strategies, Technical Parental Guidance Strategies, Free Parental Guidance Strategies, and Digitally Oriented Parental Guidance Strategies. The scale was administered as an other-report measure, completed by the children’s parents based on their actual practices. All items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale: 1 = “Never,” 2 = “Rarely,” 3 = “Sometimes,” 4 = “Often,” 5 = “Always.” In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the four dimensions were 0.79, 0.61, 0.57, and 0.76, respectively. Short-form Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran (Chinese version) (S-EMBU-C) The Short-form Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran (Chinese version) (S-EMBU-C), [ 21 ] was used to assess children and adolescents’ perceived parental rearing styles. This study adopted the Chinese version revised by [ 22 ], which comprises 21 items across three subscales: Emotional Warmth (6 items), Rejection (8 items), and Overprotection (7 items). This study primarily utilized the Emotional Warmth (e.g., “When my child encounters difficulties, I try my best to comfort and encourage him/her”) and Rejection(e.g., “I would severely punish my child for minor mistakes”) subscales. The original scale was a self-report measure for adolescents. For this study, the item phrasing was adapted to create a parent-report version assessing parental rearing behaviors. All items were rated on a 4-point scale: 1 = “Never,” 2 = “Occasionally,” 3 = “Often,” 4 = “Always.” Parent-child attachment scale Parent-child attachment was assessed using the Parent-Child Attachment Scale. The original scale was developed by Armsden and Greenberg (1987) [ 23 ] and consists of three dimensions: Trust, Communication, and Alienation. For ease of administration, Raja et al. (1992) [ 24 ] selected the 4 items with the highest item-total correlation from each dimension of the original scale to form a brief 12-item version, preserving the original three-dimensional structure. This brief version demonstrated an internal consistency coefficient of 0.82 and was used in the current study. Short-form video addiction scale (SFVA) This study utilizes a questionnaire adapted from the SFVA Scale [ 25 ] to assess short-form video addiction. The scale consists of six items, including statements such as “Watching short videos makes it difficult for me to concentrate on studying” and “Watching short videos takes up a lot of my sleep time and affects my sleep quality.” Responses are measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (“not at all true for me”) to 5 (“completely true for me”), with higher scores indicating a stronger tendency toward short-form video addiction. The scale demonstrated sound psychometric properties in this study, with a KMO value of 0.81 and a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.895, confirming its high internal consistency for measuring short-form video addiction among adolescents. Statistical analysis Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 25.0 for descriptive statistics, Item analysis, correlation analysis, McDonald’s ω coefficient, test-retest reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with oblique rotation and the maximum likelihood method. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was also performed, and model fit was evaluated using multiple indices: the chi-square to degrees of freedom ratio (χ²/df), the comparative fit index (CFI), the Tucker–Lewis index (TLI), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) with its 90% confidence interval, and the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR). Generally, χ²/df < 3, CFI/TLI > 0.90 (ideally > 0.95), and RMSEA/SRMR < 0.08 (ideally < 0.06) indicate acceptable model fit (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Parallel analysis was conducted, and measurement invariance across gender was tested using Mplus 7.4. The models examined included configural invariance (baseline model), weak invariance (equal factor loadings), strong invariance (equal item intercepts), and strict invariance (equal residual variances). According to common criteria, ΔCFI ≤ 0.010 and ΔRMSEA ≤ 0.015 support the establishment of higher levels of invariance. Results Item analysis Participants were categorized into high- and low-scoring groups, corresponding to the top and bottom 27% of total scores on the Chinese version of the Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale. Independent samples t-tests were performed to compare item scores between these two groups. As illustrated in Table 1 , all items exhibited significant differences between the high- and low-scoring groups ( p < 0.001). Furthermore, each item on the Chinese version of the Parental Digital Device Use Attitude Scale demonstrated significant correlations with the total score, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.46 to 0.64 ( p < 0.001). Table 1. The correlation coefficients and results of the independent sample t-test (N 1 =540) Item t r Item t r 1 -17.43 *** 0.56 *** 12 -8.36 *** 0.48 *** 2 -17.51 *** 0.61 *** 13 -9.84 *** 0.53 *** 3 -17.14 *** 0.62 *** 14 -10.95 *** 0.52 *** 4 -13.72 *** 0.53 *** 15 -11.57 *** 0.54 *** 5 −15.80 *** 0.60 *** 16 -9.70 *** 0.52 *** 6 -19.87 *** 0.64 *** 17 -9.87 *** 0.51 *** 7 -19.45 *** 0.63 *** 18 -9.81 *** 0.49 *** 8 -11.62 *** 0.51 *** 19 -15.80 *** 0.54 *** 9 -10.88 ** 0.52 *** 20 -16.95 *** 0.56 *** 10 -7.87 *** 0.53 *** 21 -17.00 *** 0.57 *** 11 -8.09 *** 0.46 *** Open in a new tab * p<0.05 ** p<0.01 *** p<0.001 Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) Participants were randomly divided into two groups: the first group ( N = 540) was used for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the second group ( N = 455) was reserved for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). EFA was conducted on the first group. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy was 0.92, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ² = 11863.59, p < 0.001), indicating that the data were suitable for factor analysis. Using principal component analysis with varimax rotation, four factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 were extracted, which together accounted for 73.69% of the total variance. Factor loadings for all items ranged from − 0.75 to 0.95 (see Table 2 ). Based on the results of item analysis and EFA, a four-factor Chinese version of the Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale was established. The factor structure and item assignment remained consistent with the original scale, and the factor names were retained accordingly.In addition, we calculated McDonald’s Omega coefficient to assess reliability. The overall McDonald’s Omega for the scale was 0.81, and the coefficients for its four subscales/ dimensions were 0.80, 0.79, 0.76, and 0.84, respectively. According to conventional psychometric criteria, internal consistency is generally considered acceptable when Cronbach’s α (or ω) exceeds 0.70. These results indicate good internal consistency for the overall scale and its subscales. Table 2. Factor loadings of items (N₁ = 540) Active Parental Guidance Strategies Digitally Oriented Parental Guidance Strategies Free Parental Guidance Strategies Technical Parental Guidance Strategies Item Loading Item Loading Item Loading Item Loading 1 0.59 9 0.79 15 0.77 19 −0.75 2 0.77 10 0.86 16 0.88 20 −0.93 3 0.87 11 0.93 17 0.82 21 −0.88 4 0.85 12 0.95 18 0.77 5 0.76 13 0.80 6 0.80 14 0.76 7 0.61 8 0.77 Open in a new tab Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed using Mplus 7.4 on the second sample (N₂ = 455). The results indicated that all model fit indices met acceptable psychometric standards: χ²/df = 3.59, CFI = 0.89, TLI = 0.88, SRMR = 0.07, RMSEA = 0.07 (See Table 3 ). Table 3. The model fit for the digital parental mediation scale scale (N 2 =455) Model χ 2 df χ 2 /df CFI TLI RMSEA SRMR Four-factor Model 657.42 183 3.59 0.89 0.88 0.07 0.07 Open in a new tab Criterion-related validity Criterion-related validity was examined using parent-child attachment, parenting styles, and short-form video addiction as external criteria for the Chinese version of the Digital Parental Play Mediation Scale. As presented in Table 4 , correlation analyses revealed the following patterns: the Active Parental Guidance Strategies dimension correlated significantly with all three parenting style dimensions—rejection ( r = 0.06), emotional warmth ( r = 0.18), and overprotection ( r = 0.10). Digitally Oriented Parental Guidance Strategies were significantly associated with short-form video addiction ( r = 0.47), the rejection dimension of parenting styles ( r = 0.15), and parent-child attachment ( r =–0.34). Free Parental Guidance Strategies showed significant correlations with short-form video addiction ( r = 0.38), parent-child attachment ( r =–0.26), and the rejection ( r = 0.13) and emotional warmth ( r = 0.53) dimensions of parenting styles, whereas no significant correlation was observed with overprotection. Finally, Technical Parental Guidance Strategies were significantly correlated with the emotional warmth dimension of parenting styles ( r = 0.12) and parent-child attachment ( r = 0.20). Table 4. Correlation analysis between the dimensions and total score of the scale and criterion scales (N2=455) Active Parental Guidance Strategies Digitally Oriented Parental Guidance Strategies Free Parental Guidance Strategies Technical Parental Guidance Strategies SFVA -0.04 0.47 ** 0.38 ** -0.02 Rejection 0.06 * 0.15 *** 0.13 *** 0.06 Emotional Warmth 0.18 ** -0.01 0.53 *** 0.12 ** Overprotection 0.10 ** -0.11 0.03 0.06 Parent-Child Attachment 0.25 ** -0.34 ** -0.26 ** 0.20 ** Open in a new tab * p < 0.05 **, p < 0.01*** , p < 0.001 SFVA Short-form video addiction Convergent validity The average variance extracted (AVE) and composite reliability (CR) of the Chinese version of the Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale were determined utilizing the path coefficients from the four-factor model. The analysis revealed that the AVE values for the four dimensions—Active Parental Guidance Strategies, Digitally Oriented Parental Guidance Strategies, Free Parental Guidance Strategies, and Technical Parental Guidance Strategies—were 0.72, 0.81, 0.79, and 0.78, respectively, all surpassing the established threshold of 0.50. Correspondingly, the CR values for these dimensions were 0.95, 0.95, 0.95, and 0.91, each exceeding the recommended benchmark of 0.70. These results substantiate the adequate convergent validity of the Chinese version of the Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale (refer to Table 5 ). Table 5. Convergent validity Factor AVE CR Active Parental Guidance Strategies 0.72 0.95 Digitally Oriented Parental Guidance Strategies 0.81 0.95 Free Parental Guidance Strategies 0.79 0.95 Technical Parental Guidance Strategies 0.78 0.91 Open in a new tab Reliability analysis Test-retest reliability The full scale demonstrated good test-retest reliability ( r = 0.71, p < 0.01). Similarly, all subscales—Active Parental Guidance Strategies, Digitally Oriented Parental Guidance Strategies, Free Parental Guidance Strategies, and Technical Parental Guidance Strategies—also showed satisfactory retest reliability, with coefficients of 0.79, 0.76, 0.77, and 0.75, respectively ( p < 0.001). These findings collectively support the temporal stability of the scale. Measurement invariance across gender Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) was conducted to examine measurement invariance of the Chinese version of the Parental Digital Device Parenting Scale across gender groups. The fit indices are presented in Table 6 . The configural invariance model demonstrated satisfactory fit, meeting the criteria for subsequent invariance tests. Subsequent comparisons of constrained models showed that all ΔCFI values were less than 0.01 and all ΔRMSEA values were less than 0.015, supporting strict invariance across gender groups. Table 6. Results of measurement invariance testing across gender groups (N 2 =455) Model Model Fit Model Comparison χ² df RMSEA CFI TLI SRMR △CFI △RMSEA Configural Invariance 2112.07 366 0.098 0.90 0.88 0.07 Weak Invariance 2127.92 383 0.096 0.90 0.89 0.07 0 0.002 Strong Invariance 2137.82 400 0.093 0.90 0.89 0.07 0 0.003 Strict Invariance 2183.45 421 0.092 0.90 0.90 0.07 0 0.001 Open in a new tab Discussion Parental mediation of children’s digital gaming is critical for understanding contemporary digital behaviors and has attracted increasing scholarly interest. The present study culturally adapted and psychometrically validated the Chinese version of the Digital Play Parental Mediation Scale (DPPM). Item analysis indicated satisfactory discriminative validity, with all items correlating significantly with total scores ( r = 0.46–0.64) and effectively differentiating between high- and low-scoring groups. Exploratory factor analysis supported a four-dimensional structure comprising Restrictive/Active Mediation, Technical Mediation, Permissive Strategies, and Encouraging Mediation. Confirmatory factor analysis further corroborated this structure, demonstrating good model fit and construct validity. Additionally, the scale demonstrated satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity, as indicated by acceptable average variance extracted (AVE) and composite reliability (CR) estimates from the four-factor model. Both the full scale and subscales exhibited good internal consistency and three-week test-retest reliability, confirming its psychometric soundness and temporal stability. Criterion validity analysis revealed that Active Parental Guidance Strategies showed a significant positive correlation with emotional warmth in parenting ( r = 0.18), while associations with rejection ( r = 0.06) and overprotection ( r = 0.10) were negligible. This aligns with recent international research indicating that effective mediation, characterized by communication and guidance, is often embedded within a responsive and supportive family climate [ 9 , 26 ]. The result suggests that in Chinese contexts, proactive and communicative mediation is closely aligned with authoritative parenting, implying that digital parenting interventions may be most effective when integrated into broader positive parenting programs rather than addressed as isolated skills training. Consistent with theoretical expectations, both Digitally-Oriented and Free Parental Guidance Strategies were significantly associated with higher short-form video addiction in children, lower parent-child attachment, and higher parental rejection. This pattern carries important theoretical and practical implications. First, it supports contemporary perspectives that restrictive mediation—particularly when implemented through intrusive digital monitoring—may erode trust and prove counterproductive [ 12 , 27 ]. Second, the notable “permissiveness-risk paradox,” wherein permissive strategies correlate with parental warmth ( r = 0.53) but also with adverse child outcomes, suggests that emotional support alone is insufficient without clear behavioral boundaries. Recent studies indicate that such technological permissiveness, absent appropriate guidance, is associated with increased online risk exposure and self-regulation difficulties in children [ 28 , 29 ]. These findings caution against viewing parental control and permissiveness as binary opposites; rather, both may reflect relational contexts marked by digital tension, parental anxiety, or intergenerational disconnect regarding digital norms. Therefore, efforts to enhance digital mediation should extend beyond prescribing specific behaviors and focus on fostering dialogue, mutual understanding, and the co-construction of digital boundaries within families. The positive association between Technical Parental Guidance Strategies and parent-child attachment ( r = 0.20) offers culturally insightful implications. In Budak’s [ 17 ] original framework, this dimension emphasized parental gaming proficiency. However, in the Chinese context—where family harmony and intergenerational bonding are highly valued—technical engagement appears to function more as a form of “digital companionship” or interest-based co-use. Parents’ efforts to understand and participate in their children’s digital worlds may be perceived as relational investment, thereby strengthening emotional bonds [ 18 ]. This departure from a purely instrumental conceptualization underscores how the meaning of mediation strategies is culturally embedded. Practically, promoting parent-child joint digital activities as relational—rather than solely supervisory—investments may enhance both attachment and digital literacy in Chinese families. This reflects how digital mediation strategies may undergo meaningful adaptation when applied across different cultural settings.Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four-factor structure of the DPPM achieved configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across parent groups. This suggests that the latent variable structure, factor loadings, and intercepts of the Chinese version of the DPPM are equivalent across parents. Overall, the findings support that the four-factor structure of the DPPM demonstrates measurement invariance across genders in the parent sample, with consistent scaling and reference points. The relationships between observed indicators and latent traits hold equal measurement significance across parents. Despite these contributions, several limitations warrant consideration. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference, and common-method variance may be a concern given the reliance on parent-reported data. Future studies would benefit from multi-informant or longitudinal designs to clarify directionality and mitigate bias. Generalizability may also be limited by the regional sampling frame; future research should examine whether these patterns hold across diverse socioeconomic, regional, and family structures in China. In summary, the Chinese DPPM is a psychometrically valid instrument that advances the study of digital parenting in a culturally distinct context. Beyond validation, this study highlights the complex interplay between mediation strategies, parenting styles, and child outcomes—emphasizing the importance of integrating warmth with structure, and dialogue with boundary-setting, in digital mediation practices. Future research should further explore moderating factors such as child age, family digital literacy, and cultural values to inform culturally responsive parenting interventions in the digital age. Acknowledgements None. Data transparency statement The work described is original research that has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. Authors’ contributions All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Zimi Li and Huiying Chen designed the study and prepared the first draft. Yizhen Ren organized the survey and collected the data. Zheshi Cui and Peiyuan Zhou conducted the data curation and analyzed the data. Kaisheng Xie revised the manuscript. All authors have read and given final approval of the submitted versions. Funding This study was funded by the Youth Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences Research, Ministry of Education of China (No. 25YJC190019). Data availability The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee of Education School, Guangzhou University (No.GZHUSE2024045). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided written informed consent prior to their participation in the study. All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Footnotes Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. 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