Exploring parents' screen-viewing behaviours and sedentary time in association with their attitudes toward their young child's screen-viewing

Primary Care Counseling of Parents Regarding Childhood Screen Media Use

Parental beliefs and motivation are instrumental in improving childhood digital media use (DMU). Parents (n = 611) completed questionnaires about childhood DMU assessing knowledge, interest in counseling, motivation to change, self-efficacy, and beliefs. Less than a third correctly recognized screen time limits. Twenty-seven percent received childhood DMU information from a doctor, while 46% stated they would like such information. Only 2% had a doctor-recommended DMU plan. Interest in DMU topics, motivation to improve, and management self-efficacy were moderate. Top negative beliefs were addiction to DMU (52%), sleep problems (39%), obesity (33%), social skills (33%), and inappropriate content (32%). Differences between age categories existed for social (48%, P = .01) and language (14%, P = .01) concerns (highest for toddlers), attention concerns (27%, P = .02; highest in preschoolers), and depression (13%, P < .001) and low self-esteem (8%, P = .04; highest in teens). Findings support further development of approaches to address DMU, tailored by age-specific common parental views.

Smartphone Use and Inflammation at 2-Year Follow-Up in College Students: The Mediating Role of Physical Activity

Purpose

Smartphone use could lead to being physically inactive and a greater risk for health problems, such as inflammation. However, the associations between smartphone use, physical activity (PA), and systemic low-grade inflammation remained unclear. This study aimed to examine the potential mediating effect of PA on the association between smartphone use and inflammation.

Patients and Methods

A two-year follow-up study was conducted between April 2019 and April 2021. Duration of smartphone use, smartphone dependence and PA were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. Laboratory analysis of blood samples was performed to evaluate the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and CRP as biomarkers of systemic inflammation. The correlations between smartphone use, PA, and inflammation were analyzed using Pearson correlation. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the potential mediating effect of PA on the associations between smartphone use and inflammation.

Results

A total of 210 participants were included with a mean (standard deviation) age of 18.7 (1.0) years, 82 (39%) of whom were males. Smartphone dependence was negatively associated with the total PA level (r=-0.18, P<0.01). PA mediated the associations between the duration of smartphone use and smartphone dependence with inflammatory markers. Specifically, as PA decreased, the duration of smartphone use was more negatively associated with TNF-α (ab=-0.027; 95% CI: -0.052, -0.007) and more positively correlated to IL-6 (ab=0.020; 95% CI: 0.001, 0.046) and CRP (ab=0.038; 95% CI: 0.004, 0.086); smartphone dependency was more negatively associated with TNF-α (ab=-0.139; 95% CI: -0.288, -0.017) and more positively related to CRP (ab=0.206; 95% CI: 0.020, 0.421).

Conclusion

Our study illustrates that there are no direct associations between smartphone use and systemic low-grade inflammation, however, PA level plays a weak but significant mediating effect on the associations between smartphone use and inflammation among college students.

Parental perceptions, attitudes and knowledge on European preschool children's total screen time: the ToyBox-study

BACKGROUND

Preschool children spend a significant proportion of their waking hours being sedentary. Parents play a critical role in developing and shaping their children's lifestyle behaviours, particularly in the early years of life. This study aims to assess parental perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of their preschool children's sedentary behaviours and the association with children's television (TV)/video/DVDs viewing and total screen time.

METHODS

Data were obtained from a sample of 4836 children (3.5-5.5 years), participating in the multi-centre ToyBox-study at baseline (T0) and at 1-year follow-up (T1) periods. Data on children's sedentary behaviours were collected via a standardized proxy-administered primary caregiver's questionnaire.

RESULTS

Regarding total screen time, 66.6% of the children at T0 and 71.8% at T1 in the control group exceeded the recommendations, whereas the proportion in the intervention group varied from 69.7% at T0 to 72.5% at T1. The odds of exceeding total screen time recommendations were significantly higher when parental perceptions towards limiting the total screen time were negative [(both T0 and T1 and in the intervention and control groups (P < 0.05)]. Similarly, the odds of exceeding TV/video/DVDs viewing recommendations were significantly higher (both T0 and T1 is observed in both groups) when parental knowledge of recommendation were absent.

CONCLUSIONS

Preschool children whose caregivers stated rules limiting their sedentary screen time were less likely to spend a high amount of time watching TV/video/DVDs. Interventions to increase parental practices may be a promising approach to decrease total screen time of preschool children but studies are needed to confirm this.

Determining factors in children's screen time in early childhood

The use of media by children in early childhood is increasingly common, and it is necessary to investigate the determinants of screen time, which is understood as the total child screen exposure time, including television and interactive media. This is a descriptive, exploratory, and cross-sectional study conducted with 180 children between 24 and 42 months of age, allocated in Group 1, less than two hours daily screen exposure time; Group 2, daily screen exposure time equal to or more than two hours. Bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Screen time determining factors studied were family environment, evaluated with the Family Environment Resource Inventory; socioeconomic factors; nutritional status and child development status, evaluated with the Bayley III test. As a result, 63% of children had daily screen time exceeding two hours, and television still is the main culprit for children screen exposure. We observed that screen time exposure was positively associated with family resources, economic level, and language development. However, only the last two factors explained the longer screen time.

Home-based screen time behaviors amongst youth and their parents: familial typologies and their modifiable correlates

Background

Excessive screen time behaviors performed by children and parents at home is a major public health concern. Identifying whether child and parent screen time behaviors cluster and understanding correlates of these familial clusters can help inform interventions for the whole family. This study characterized familial typologies of screen time behaviors and identified key modifiable correlates of these typologies.

Methods

Parents participating in the cross-sectional Sitting in the Home (SIT) study reported the duration (mins/day) they and their child (aged 11.2 ± 2.62 years) spent in six screen time behaviors at home (computer/laptop for home/work, computer/laptop for leisure, TV/videos/DVDs, tablet/smart phone for home/work, tablet/smart phone for leisure, and electronic games) and completed items related to 21 potential correlates framed by an adapted Social Cognitive Theory, Family Perspective. Latent Class Analysis was used to identify typologies based on parent and child data for the six behaviors. Multinomial logistic regression analysis assessed the relative risk of typology membership for each potential correlate, adjusting for child and parent age and sex.

Results

The sample comprised 542 parent-child dyads (parents: 40.7 ± 6.3 yrs., 94% female; children: 11.2 ± 2.6 yrs., 46% female). Three typologies were identified: 1) high computer/moderate TV (n = 197); 2) high TV/tablet/smartphone, low computer (n = 135); and 3) low-screen users (n = 210). ‘Low-screen users’ spent the least amount of time in all screen time behaviors (assigned as reference category). Greater child preference for screen time behaviors, parental support for screen time behaviors and frequency of homework requiring a tablet/laptop were associated with higher odds of being in the ‘high computer/moderate TV’ typology. The odds of being in the ‘high TV/tablet/smartphone, low computer’ typology were greater amongst children with a higher preference for screen time behaviors, and lower among more active parents.

Conclusions

Three familial typologies of screen time behaviors were identified. The findings highlight that screen time in the home can be influenced by the home environment, parental behaviours and role modelling, child preferences as well as school policies. Findings can inform the development of family screen time interventions, however more research exploring the influence of factors outside of the home is warranted.

The Effect of Screen Viewing Duration and Self-Efficacy in Limiting Screen Viewing on Loneliness in Adolescent-Parent Dyads: An Application of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

PURPOSE

To examine the influence of parents' screen viewing (SV) duration and self-efficacy in limiting SV on their adolescents' loneliness, and to explore the influence of adolescents' SV duration and self-efficacy in limiting SV on parents' loneliness.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A cross-sectional survey with 1573 adolescent-parent dyads from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study were included in this study. The actor-partner interdependence models were used to examine the effect of each dyadic partner's SV duration and self-efficacy in limiting SV on their own and their dyadic partner's loneliness within adolescent-parent dyads.

RESULTS

There were no significant actor and partner effects of SV duration on loneliness for both parents and adolescents (all p_s > 0.05). Adolescents' self-efficacy in limiting SV was associated with less loneliness of their own (adolescents' actor effect: β = -0.35, SE = 0.04, p < .01) and that of their parents (adolescents' partner effect: β = -0.15, SE = 0.04, p = .001). Parents' self-efficacy in limiting SV was negatively associated with their own loneliness (parents' actor effect: β = -0.25, SE = 0.05, p < .01), but not with their adolescents' loneliness (parents' partner effect: β = -0.06, SE = 0.05, p = .189).

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents' own self-efficacy in limiting SV has a significant impact on their parents' loneliness. Parents' self-efficacy in limiting SV, however, did not influence their adolescents' loneliness.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Our results highlight the importance of providers screening for loneliness as part of the plan of care for adolescents and parents who might have excessive SV, with close attention given to those who possess less self-efficacy in controlling their SV.

Examining the challenges posed to parents by the contemporary screen environments of children: a qualitative investigation

BACKGROUND

The ubiquity of technology in modern society has led to the American Academy of Pediatrics adapting their screen-viewing (SV) recommendations for children. The revised guidelines encourage families to identify an appropriate balance between SV and other activities. The aims of this study were to explore parents' views of their child's SV time and how important it is for families to achieve a 'digital balance'.

METHODS

Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 51 parents of 8-9-year-old children, between July and October 2016. Inductive and deductive content analyses were used to explore parents' perceptions of their child's level of SV (low, medium, high), how parents feel about child SV, and the importance placed on achieving a digital balance. Parent report of child SV behaviours on weekdays and weekend days were assessed via questionnaire.

RESULTS

Interview data revealed that because SV is considered the 'norm', parents struggle to limit it, partly because they want their children to be equipped for the modern technological world. While most parents believe SV to have negative effects on children, parents also report advantages to SV. Many parents feel that not all SV is equal, with tablets considered worse than television because of the isolated nature of activities, and educational SV considered more beneficial than non-educational SV. Most parents feel it is important for their family to achieve a digital balance, primarily to spend more quality family time together. Large variation was observed in parents' descriptions of child SV time on weekdays and weekend days.

CONCLUSIONS

Parents recognise the importance of digital balance but want their children to fit into the ever-advancing digital world. Parents do not treat all SV equally. Watching television and engaging in educational SV may be encouraged, while 'playing' on tablets is discouraged. These findings highlight the challenge faced by researchers and policy makers to help families achieve a digital balance, and strategies are needed to support parents to plan child SV time.

Media Devices in Parents' and Children's Bedrooms and Children's Media Use

OBJECTIVES

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises having no media devices in children's bedrooms. We examined the link between media devices in parents' and children's bedrooms and children's media use.

METHODS

Ninety parent-child dyads participated in a community- based healthy weight management study targeting 8-to-12-year-olds with body mass index (BMI)-for-age ≥75th percentile. Parents and children reported the number of media devices in their bedrooms and hours spent using media devices on weekdays and weekend days.

RESULTS

Most children (61%) and parents (92%) had at least one media device in their bedrooms. The numbers of devices in parents' and children's bedrooms were positively correlated. Children with no bedroom media devices reported less weekday media use compared to children with bedroom devices. A similar non-significant pattern was found for children's weekend media use.

CONCLUSIONS

Study findings indicate similar media devices in the bedrooms of parents and children and a significant association between media devices in children's bedrooms and their weekday media use. Efforts to reduce media in parent bedrooms may enhance interventions targeting reduction of media use among children, especially those with higher BMI.