Longitudinal Predictors of Self-Regulation at School Entry: Findings from the All Our Families Cohort

Prospective associations between child screen time and parenting stress and later inattention symptoms in preschoolers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

Child attention skills are critical for supporting self-regulation abilities, especially during the first years of life. On the other hand, inattention symptoms in preschoolers have been associated with poor school readiness, literacy skills and academic achievement. Previous research has linked excessive screen time with increased inattention symptoms in early childhood. However, most research has only focused on TV exposure and did not investigate this association during the COVID-19 pandemic. This atypical context has increased screen time in children worldwide, including preschoolers. We hypothesize that higher levels of child screen media and parenting stress at age 3.5 will be associated with higher child inattention symptoms at age 4.5.

Method

This study draws on participants followed longitudinally over the span of 2-years for an investigation of Canadian preschoolers' screen media use during the pandemic (N = 315, 2020). A follow-up with this sample was completed in 2021 (N = 264).

Results

Analyses using multiple linear regression, revealed a positive association between child screen time at age 3.5 and inattention symptoms at 4.5 years. Parental stress was also positively associated with child inattention symptoms. Associations were observed above individual (child age, inhibitory control, and sex) and family (parent education and family income) characteristics.

Discussion

These results confirmed our hypothesis and highlight that preschooler screen use and parenting stress may undermine attentional skills. Since attention is a crucial component for children development, behavior and academic outcomes, our study reinforces the importance for parents of adopting healthy media habits.

Longitudinal associations between digital media use and ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents: a systematic literature review

Previous reviews have often shown a link between digital media ADHD symptom levels. However, longitudinal studies are needed to find stronger evidence of a causal effect as well as to determine the direction of effects. The aim of the present review (PROSPERO CRD42021262695) was therefore to provide a systematic review of studies meeting the following inclusion criteria: (1) include longitudinal data investigating associations between digital media (i.e., gaming and social media) and later ADHD symptoms or vice versa, (2) be published within the past 10 years (i.e., 2011 until June 2021), (3) be published in a peer-reviewed journal in English, and (4) include children or adolescents (age 0-17 years). After a systematic search in the Web of Science and PsycInfo databases, we included 28 studies, all with adequate or high quality. Results showed support for reciprocal associations between digital media and ADHD symptoms, with associations being more consistent for problematic use of digital media than for screen time. Thus, children with ADHD symptoms appear more vulnerable to developing high or problematic use of digital media (i.e., selection effects), and digital media also have effects on later ADHD symptom levels, either because of specific characteristics of digital media or because of indirect effects on, for example, sleep and social relations (i.e., media effects). However, it should be emphasized that further studies investigating potential moderators and mediators are needed if we are to better understand the complex associations between digital media and ADHD symptom levels.

Screen Media Exposure in Early Childhood and Its Relation to Children’s Self-Regulation

Self-regulation, the ability to control thoughts, emotions, and behavior for goal-directed activities, shows rapid development in infancy, toddlerhood, and preschool periods. Early self-regulatory skills predict later academic achievement and socioemotional adjustment. An increasing number of studies suggest that screen media use may have negative effects on children’s developing self-regulatory skills. In this systematic review, we summarized and integrated the findings of the studies investigating the relationship between young children’s screen media use and their self-regulation. We searched the ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science databases and identified 39 relevant articles with 45 studies. We found that screen time in infancy is negatively associated with self-regulation, but findings were more inconsistent for later ages suggesting that screen time does not adequately capture the extent of children’s screen media use. The findings further indicated that background TV is negatively related to children’s self-regulation, and watching fantastical content seems to have immediate negative effects on children’s self-regulatory skills. We suggest that future studies should take the content and context of children’s screen media use into account and also focus on parent- and home-related factors such as parental behaviors that foster the development of self-regulatory skills.

Factors of Having Difficulties Raising 3-Year-Old Children in Japan: Usefulness of Maternal and Child Health Information Accumulated by the Local Government

Background: Difficulties raising children may be associated with depressive tendencies and abuse by parents, for which maternal and child health information may be useful. We clarified factors related to difficulties in raising children at the time of the 3-year-old child health checkup. Method: This was a retrospective cohort study. We used maternal and child health information collected from the time of pregnancy notification until the 3-year-old child health checkup. The subjects were the parents of 507 children who were born and eligible for the 3-year-old child health checkup between September 2013 and October 2017. Logistic regression and ROC analyses were performed. The dependent variable was “having difficulties raising children at the 3-year-old health checkup”. Result: Eleven factors were clarified as risk factors. Three major factors among them were having difficulties raising children at the 18-month-old checkup (adOR, 6.3; 95%CI, 3.0–13.9), actions are at the child’s own pace and adult instructions are difficult to follow at the 18-month-old health checkup (adOR, 5.0; 95%CI, 1.3–25.4), and EPDS score ≥ 2 (adOR, 3.4; 95%CI, 1.5–8.1). The AUC of this predictive model was 0.86. At a cutoff value of 0.387, the sensitivity was 79.7% and the specificity was 77.6%. Conclusion: Having difficulties raising children at the 3-year-old health checkup has factors from the time of pregnancy and requires continued support. It was possible and useful to use maternal and child health information when screening high-risk parents.