Association Between Screen Time and Children's Performance on a Developmental Screening Test
Madigan S, Browne D, Racine N, Mori C, Tough S
JAMA pediatrics · 300 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Cohort study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Nonprofit
- Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation
Based on 1 listed funder(s).
Publication
- Published
- 2019-01-28 · JAMA Pediatr · vol. 173 · issue 3 · p. 244
- Publisher
- American Medical Association
- Cited
- 745 citations · more than 100% of similar papers · 172.7× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 56 works
- Access
- Free to read
- Research areas
- Child Development and Digital Technology · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Infant Development and Preterm Care
- Keywords
- screen time, child development, developmental screening, Ages and Stages Questionnaire, toddlers, preschool children, developmental delay, maternal report
- MeSH
- humans, follow-up studies, prospective studies, child behavior, child development, parent-child relations, parenting, child, preschool, infant, surveys and questionnaires, screen time, sedentary behavior
5 authors
From CA
- Sheri L. Madigan · correspondingUniversity of Calgary; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
- Dillon Thomas BrowneUniversity of Waterloo
- Nicole M. RacineUniversity of Calgary; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
- Camille MoriUniversity of Calgary; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
- Suzanne ToughAlberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
Abstract
Importance
Excessive screen time is associated with delays in development; however, it is unclear if greater screen time predicts lower performance scores on developmental screening tests or if children with poor developmental performance receive added screen time as a way to modulate challenging behavior.
Objective
To assess the directional association between screen time and child development in a population of mothers and children.
Design, setting, and participants
This longitudinal cohort study used a 3-wave, cross-lagged panel model in 2441 mothers and children in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, drawn from the All Our Families study. Data were available when children were aged 24, 36, and 60 months. Data were collected between October 20, 2011, and October 6, 2016. Statistical analyses were conducted from July 31 to November 15, 2018.
Exposures
Media.
Main outcomes and measures
At age 24, 36, and 60 months, children's screen-time behavior (total hours per week) and developmental outcomes (Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition) were assessed via maternal report.
Results
Of the 2441 children included in the analysis, 1227 (50.2%) were boys. A random-intercepts, cross-lagged panel model revealed that higher levels of screen time at 24 and 36 months were significantly associated with poorer performance on developmental screening tests at 36 months (β, -0.06; 95% CI, -0.10 to -0.01) and 60 months (β, -0.08; 95% CI, -0.13 to -0.02), respectively. These within-person (time-varying) associations statistically controlled for between-person (stable) differences.
Conclusions and relevance
The results of this study support the directional association between screen time and child development. Recommendations include encouraging family media plans, as well as managing screen time, to offset the potential consequences of excess use.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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