Time use and change in academic achievement: A longitudinal follow-up

Associations Between Household Chores and Childhood Self-Competency

OBJECTIVE

The development of self-competence and self-efficacy is important to achieving academic, social, and career success. Examining whether performing chores in early elementary school contributes to later self-competence is needed.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 9971 children participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 2011 cohort entering kindergarten in the United States in 2010 to 2011. During kindergarten, parents reported the frequency with which their child performed chores. In the third grade, children responded to a questionnaire regarding their perceived interest or competence in academics, peer relationships, prosocial behavior, and life satisfaction. Children also completed direct academic assessments for reading, math, and science. Data were analyzed using linear and logistical regressions, adjusting for possible confounders.

RESULTS

The frequency of chores in kindergarten was positively associated with a child's perception of social, academic, and life satisfaction competencies in the third grade, independent of sex, family income, and parent education (all P < 0.001). Compared with children who regularly performed chores, children who rarely performed chores had greater odds of scoring in the bottom quintile on self-reported prosocial, academic ability, peer relationship, and life satisfaction scores (odds ratio [OR] = 1.17, 1.25, 1.24, and 1.27, respectively). Performing chores with any frequency in kindergarten was associated with improved math scores in the third grade (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In this longitudinal cohort study, performing chores in early elementary school was associated with later development of self-competence, prosocial behavior, and self-efficacy.

The 3-Year Longitudinal Impact of Sedentary Behavior on the Academic Achievement of Secondary School Students

BACKGROUND

Sedentary behavior is linked to many adverse health outcomes; however, its relationship with academic achievement is less understood. We examined sedentary behavior's impact on academic achievement over 3 years in 4408 adolescents from the COMPASS study.

METHODS

Sedentary behavior (screen-based: watching/streaming television shows/movies, video/computer games, surfing the internet; communication-based: texting/messaging/emailing, talking on the phone; and doing homework) and academic achievement (overall math and English marks) were self-reported.

RESULTS

Holding time fixed, moving from the lowest quartile (Q1) to Q2, Q3, or Q4 of watching/streaming television shows/movies (Q2: OR = 0.90; 95%CI: 0.84-0.97, Q3: OR = 0.85; 95%CI: 0.74-0.98, Q4: OR = 0.74; 95%CI: 0.64-0.85) or to Q2 of surfing the internet (Q2: OR = 0.87; 95%CI: 0.78-0.97) decreased the likelihood of surpassing English standards. Moving from Q1 to Q2 of communication-based sedentary behavior (OR = 0.90; 95%CI: 0.82-0.99) decreased the likelihood of surpassing math standards. Moving from Q1 to Q4 (OR = 1.31; 95%CI: 1.15-1.50) of watching/streaming television shows/movies increased the likelihood of surpassing math standards. Moving from Q1 to Q4 of doing homework (OR = 1.16; 95%CI: 1.02-1.31) increased the likelihood of surpassing English standards.

CONCLUSIONS

Predicting academic achievement from total sedentary behavior is challenging. Targeting specific types of sedentary behavior should be considered for improving math and English achievement.

Female College Students' Media Use and Academic Outcomes: Results from a Longitudinal Cohort Study

This longitudinal study describes women's media use during their first year of college and examines associations between media use and academic outcomes. Female students (N = 483, M_age = 18.1 years) reported on their use of 11 media forms and their grade point average, academic behaviors, academic confidence, and problems affecting schoolwork. Allowing for multi-tasking, women reported nearly 12 hours of media use per day; use of texting, music, the Internet, and social networking was heaviest. In general, media use was negatively associated with academic outcomes after controlling for prior academics and demographics. Exceptions were newspaper reading and music listening, which were positively associated with academic outcomes. There were significant indirect effects of magazine reading and social networking on GPA via academic behaviors, confidence, and problems. Results show that female college students are heavy users of new media, and that some forms of media use may adversely impact academic performance.

Diverse Family Types and Out-Of-School Learning Time of Young School Age Children

=Sources of differentials in out-of-school learning time between children in first marriage biological parent families and children in six nontraditional family types are identified. Analyses of time diaries reveal that children in four of the six nontraditional family types spend fewer minutes learning than do children in first marriage biological parent families. In all four cases, however, the differentials are explained by the presence of siblings age 18+, lower levels of family income, or younger maternal age.