Accessing eHealth: Family Members’ Digital Pathways to Health and Well-Being

Over the past decades, increasing attention has been devoted to the role of digital environments in shaping psychological development and well-being across the lifespan. From early childhood to emerging adulthood, interactions with digital media – ranging from screen exposure to social media and artificial intelligence – represent both opportunities for growth and potential sources of risk. The literature highlights how these technologies intersect with developmental tasks, influencing emotion regulation, identity construction, relational processes, and mental health outcomes. At the same time, digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) and preventive approaches are gaining prominence as tools to support well-being across different age groups. 

Within this framework, the present symposium aims to provide a developmental perspective on digital experiences and psychological well-being, focusing on risk and protective factors from childhood to emerging adulthood. Specifically, it brings together empirical contributions that explore how individuals engage with digital contexts at different stages of development, and how these interactions relate to mental health, self-processes, and relational dynamics. 

Starting from early childhood, Niec et al. report the findings from a RCT investigating the efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy-Health (PCIT-Health), an intervention to reduce problematic screen media us for children aged 2 to 6. Moving to middle childhood, Rega et al. use focus groups to explore primary school children’s representations of screen media use, shedding light on how children perceive risks, problematic behaviors, and positive uses of digital technologies in a preventive framework. In adolescence, Bassi et al. present a systematic review of the DMHIs aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety and depression, offering evidence on their effectiveness and potential for early intervention. Lastly, focusing on emerging adulthood, Sukhija et al. investigate how young adults experience interactions with conversational agents, emphasizing emotional responses, motivations, and the personal meanings attributed to these conversations. 

By integrating findings across developmental stages, this symposium seeks to advance understanding of how digital experiences influence well-being trajectories, while identifying key mechanisms that may inform prevention and intervention strategies tailored to different phases of life.