Association Between Screen Time Trajectory and Early Childhood Development in Children in China
Zhao J, Yu Z, Sun X, Wu S, Zhang J, Zhang D, Zhang Y, Jiang F
JAMA pediatrics · 60 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
- Government
- Shanghai Municipal Health Commission
- Government
- Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality
Based on 2 listed funder(s).
Publication
- Published
- 2022-06-06 · JAMA Pediatr · vol. 176 · issue 8 · p. 768
- Publisher
- American Medical Association
- Cited
- 128 citations · more than 100% of similar papers · 57.6× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 45 works
- Access
- Free to read
- Research areas
- Child Development and Digital Technology · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- screen time, early childhood development, cognitive development, social-emotional development, toddlers, infant temperament, maternal mental health, birth cohort, child mental health, group-based trajectory modeling
- MeSH
- humans, cohort studies, prospective studies, child development, child, child, preschool, infant, china, female, male, screen time
8 authors
From CN, US
- Jin Hua ZhaoShanghai Jiao Tong University; Shanghai Children's Medical Center
- Zhangsheng YuShanghai Jiao Tong University
- Xiaoning SunShanghai Jiao Tong University; Shanghai Children's Medical Center
- Saishuang WuShanghai Jiao Tong University; Shanghai Children's Medical Center
- Jun ZhangShanghai Jiao Tong University; XinHua Hospital
- Donglan “Stacy” ZhangUniversity of Georgia
Abstract
Importance
Screen time has become an integral part of children's daily lives. Nevertheless, the developmental consequences of screen exposure in young children remain unclear.
Objective
To investigate the screen time trajectory from 6 to 72 months of age and its association with children's development at age 72 months in a prospective birth cohort.
Design, setting, and participants
Women in Shanghai, China, who were at 34 to 36 gestational weeks and had an expected delivery date between May 2012 and July 2013 were recruited for this cohort study. Their children were followed up at 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 72 months of age. Children's screen time was classified into 3 groups at age 6 months: continued low (ie, stable amount of screen time), late increasing (ie, sharp increase in screen time at age 36 months), and early increasing (ie, large amount of screen time in early stages that remained stable after age 36 months). Cognitive development was assessed by specially trained research staff in a research clinic. Of 262 eligible mother-offspring pairs, 152 dyads had complete data regarding all variables of interest and were included in the analyses. Data were analyzed from September 2019 to November 2021.
Exposures
Mothers reported screen times of children at 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 72 months of age.
Main outcomes and measures
The cognitive development of children was evaluated using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th edition, at age 72 months. Social-emotional development was measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, which was completed by the child's mother. The study described demographic characteristics, maternal mental health, child's temperament at age 6 months, and mental development at age 12 months by subgroups clustered by a group-based trajectory model. Group difference was examined by analysis of variance.
Results
A total of 152 mother-offspring dyads were included in this study, including 77 girls (50.7%) and 75 boys (49.3%) (mean [SD] age of the mothers was 29.7 [3.3] years). Children's screen time trajectory from age 6 to 72 months was classified into 3 groups: continued low (110 [72.4%]), late increasing (17 [11.2%]), and early increasing (25 [16.4%]). Compared with the continued low group, the late increasing group had lower scores on the Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (β coefficient, -8.23; 95% CI, -15.16 to -1.30; P < .05) and the General Ability Index (β coefficient, -6.42; 95% CI, -13.70 to 0.86; P = .08); the early increasing group presented with lower scores on the Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (β coefficient, -6.68; 95% CI, -12.35 to -1.02; P < .05) and the Cognitive Proficiency Index (β coefficient, -10.56; 95% CI, -17.23 to -3.90; P < .01) and a higher total difficulties score (β coefficient, 2.62; 95% CI, 0.49-4.76; P < .05).
Conclusions and relevance
This cohort study found that excessive screen time in early years was associated with poor cognitive and social-emotional development. This finding may be helpful in encouraging awareness among parents of the importance of onset and duration of children's screen time.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
Community trust
Loading…
How much do you trust this study's findings?
Comments
Sign in to rate, comment on or flag this study.Sign inSomething wrong here?
Flag this study if its information, labels or funding look wrong. An editor reviews every flag.
Sign in to rate, comment on or flag this study.Sign inEducational information about published research. Not medical advice, and not a recommendation to start or stop anything.